Temporal variation in environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages around an offshore oil platform in the North Sea

Toyonobu Fujii

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.03.013

Temporal variation in environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages around an offshore oil platform in the North Sea

Toyonobu Fujii

Aberdeen Centre For Environmental Sustainability

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

34 Citations (Scopus)

6 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study reports temporal variations in the environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages observed in the vicinity of an offshore oil platform and the surrounding seafloor in the North Sea. Multi-seasonal sampling was conducted at a typical large steel jacketed facility, using mid-water fish traps at three different depths (i.e., 10, 50 & 100 m). Commercially important gadoids such as saithe Pollachius virens, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus and cod Gadus morhua were the most abundant species, however, the species composition and the relative abundances of the species varied with depth, season and between years. Comparisons with a large-scale bottom trawl survey data suggested highly dynamic and species-specific interactions between fish movements, changing environmental conditions and the physical presence of an offshore platform. Given the number of platforms currently installed across the North Sea, there is a need to identify biological mechanisms behind such dynamic interactions.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	69-82
Number of pages	14
Journal	Marine Environmental Research
Volume	108
Early online date	9 Apr 2015
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.03.013
Publication status	Published - Jul 2015

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Acknowledgements
The author would like to thank ICES for providing fish and oceanographic data, OSPAR for providing data for offshore structures in the North Sea, and Imants G. Priede, Alan Jamieson, Jim Mair, Inigo Martinez, Michelle Horsfield, Anne Walls and all the crew members of the Miller platform for invaluable advice and support in conducting this fish biology project. This work was coordinated by Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen and supported by the BP Fellowship in Applied Fisheries Programme.

Keywords

artificial reefs
offshore oil/gas platforms
marine ecology
anthropogenic influences
fish assemblages
North Sea

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.03.013Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Temporal variation in environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages around an offshore oil platform in the North Sea
© 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Final published version, 5.21 MBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Temporal variation in environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages around an offshore oil platform in the North Sea",

abstract = "This study reports temporal variations in the environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages observed in the vicinity of an offshore oil platform and the surrounding seafloor in the North Sea. Multi-seasonal sampling was conducted at a typical large steel jacketed facility, using mid-water fish traps at three different depths (i.e., 10, 50 & 100 m). Commercially important gadoids such as saithe Pollachius virens, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus and cod Gadus morhua were the most abundant species, however, the species composition and the relative abundances of the species varied with depth, season and between years. Comparisons with a large-scale bottom trawl survey data suggested highly dynamic and species-specific interactions between fish movements, changing environmental conditions and the physical presence of an offshore platform. Given the number of platforms currently installed across the North Sea, there is a need to identify biological mechanisms behind such dynamic interactions.",

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author = "Toyonobu Fujii",

note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank ICES for providing fish and oceanographic data, OSPAR for providing data for offshore structures in the North Sea, and Imants G. Priede, Alan Jamieson, Jim Mair, Inigo Martinez, Michelle Horsfield, Anne Walls and all the crew members of the Miller platform for invaluable advice and support in conducting this fish biology project. This work was coordinated by Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen and supported by the BP Fellowship in Applied Fisheries Programme.",

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N1 - Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved. Acknowledgements The author would like to thank ICES for providing fish and oceanographic data, OSPAR for providing data for offshore structures in the North Sea, and Imants G. Priede, Alan Jamieson, Jim Mair, Inigo Martinez, Michelle Horsfield, Anne Walls and all the crew members of the Miller platform for invaluable advice and support in conducting this fish biology project. This work was coordinated by Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen and supported by the BP Fellowship in Applied Fisheries Programme.

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N2 - This study reports temporal variations in the environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages observed in the vicinity of an offshore oil platform and the surrounding seafloor in the North Sea. Multi-seasonal sampling was conducted at a typical large steel jacketed facility, using mid-water fish traps at three different depths (i.e., 10, 50 & 100 m). Commercially important gadoids such as saithe Pollachius virens, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus and cod Gadus morhua were the most abundant species, however, the species composition and the relative abundances of the species varied with depth, season and between years. Comparisons with a large-scale bottom trawl survey data suggested highly dynamic and species-specific interactions between fish movements, changing environmental conditions and the physical presence of an offshore platform. Given the number of platforms currently installed across the North Sea, there is a need to identify biological mechanisms behind such dynamic interactions.

AB - This study reports temporal variations in the environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages observed in the vicinity of an offshore oil platform and the surrounding seafloor in the North Sea. Multi-seasonal sampling was conducted at a typical large steel jacketed facility, using mid-water fish traps at three different depths (i.e., 10, 50 & 100 m). Commercially important gadoids such as saithe Pollachius virens, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus and cod Gadus morhua were the most abundant species, however, the species composition and the relative abundances of the species varied with depth, season and between years. Comparisons with a large-scale bottom trawl survey data suggested highly dynamic and species-specific interactions between fish movements, changing environmental conditions and the physical presence of an offshore platform. Given the number of platforms currently installed across the North Sea, there is a need to identify biological mechanisms behind such dynamic interactions.

KW - artificial reefs

KW - offshore oil/gas platforms

KW - marine ecology

KW - anthropogenic influences

KW - fish assemblages

KW - North Sea

U2 - 10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.03.013

DO - 10.1016/j.marenvres.2015.03.013

M3 - Article

C2 - 25965149

SN - 0141-1136

VL - 108

SP - 69

EP - 82

JO - Marine Environmental Research

JF - Marine Environmental Research

ER -

Temporal variation in environmental conditions and the structure of fish assemblages around an offshore oil platform in the North Sea

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

UN SDGs

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