Reef effects

The biological processes which take place at artificial reefs as for example offshore foundations as well as their impact on the local ecosystem, such as increased biofouling production, redistribution and production of mobile demersal megafauna, are summarised as reef effects (Langhammer et al., 2009; Petersen and Malm, 2006). Due to the increasing utilization of wind power, thousands of large secondary artificial reefs will be introduced into the North Sea. There remains a lack of research into the ecological consequences of a large-scale introduction of windmill foundations into marine areas world-wide.

Reef effects of offshore foundations on benthic and demersal fauna and interactions with the pelagial during the operational phase. The width of the arrows indicates the importance as assumed by the author. Biofouling is of major importance (Krone).

Cited: Langhammer O, Wilhelmsson D, Engström J (2009) Artificial reef effect and fouling impacts on offshore wave power foundations and buoys – a pilot study. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 82: 426-432. Petersen JK, Malm T (2006) Offshore windmill farms: threats to or possibilities for the marine environment. AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment 35: 75-80.

Riff-Effekte

Deutscher Text folgt in Kürze