GPS Tracking Data Reveals Seals Find Prey at Offshore Wind Farms
28 Aug 2014According to recent tracking data, seals are finding prey at local wind farms at the coasts of the North Sea.
Current Biology has published data following a GPS tracking project that examined where seals go during the day and how exactly they find their prey. The data shows that they are finding offshored wind farms at the North Sea coasts, including the Dutch and British coasts.
At both of these sites, the GPS tracking data showed that the seals were traveling in straight lines between turbines, going in a grid-like patterns, in order to focus on the prey, like cod and whiting.
Deborah Russell is a researcher at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. She told reporters that they believe this tracking study is the first of its kind to find that marine mammals, such as seals, are using wind farms to find their prey and feed in these areas.
The tracking project was led by marine biologists at the university, who tracked 11 seals in total. This pack of seals were finding and feeding on their prey in the southwestern coast of England, as well as the coast of Germany. They were traveling from individual turbines, trying to find prey that was currently living in near one of these artificial reefs.
Russell notes that she and her fellow researchers were surprised to find that the seals were working in a grid pattern. Through the data that GPS provided them, you could clearly see them traveling in straight lines from one turbine to the next, only stopping to forage at ones that must have had their prey.
These offshore windfarms are used in England and Germany as a way to provide renewable resources for their geographic locations. The farms provide more eco-friendly energy options, as well as more affordable energy. They are still struggling in the United States, as many people don’t like the look of the wind farms, particularly on the couch where their view of the ocean is being obstructed. Europe in particular is leading the way toward using wind farms on the coast for affordable, natural energy sources.
Now marine biologists are finding that there are even benefits for seals and other marine mammals, who are using them as a way to hunt for food.
With the wind farms, there are artificial reefs included. This is where some animals are hiding and making homes, while seals are using that as their advantage to hunt for food. It is proving to be successful to them, although there are some issues with them being in the vicinity. Either way, the advanced GPS tracking technology used by researchers has found out new information that is likely not yet known anywhere else in the world.
GPS continues to be a pivotal part of animal and marine science all over the world.
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