The functional diversity of fish assemblages in the vicinity of oil and gas pipelines compared to nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats

Alethea Madgett; Travis S. Elsdon; Michael J. Marnane; Karl D. Schramm; Euan Harvey

doi:10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105931

The functional diversity of fish assemblages in the vicinity of oil and gas pipelines compared to nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats

Alethea Madgett^* (Corresponding Author), Travis S. Elsdon, Michael J. Marnane, Karl D. Schramm, Euan Harvey

^*Corresponding author for this work

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

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As the offshore hydrocarbon industry matures and decommissioning activities are expected to increase, there is a requirement to assess the environmental consequences of different pipeline decommissioning options. Previous research on fish and other ecological components associated with pipelines has focused on examining species richness, abundance and biomass surrounding structures. The extent to which subsea pipelines mimic or alter ecosystem function compared with nearby natural habitats is unknown. We analyse differences in fish assemblage biological trait composition and the functional diversity at exposed shallow-water subsea pipelines, nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats, using mini stereo-video remotely operated vehicles (ROV). Habitats significantly differed in assemblage trait composition. The pipeline and reef habitats shared a more similar functional composition and had the presence of key functional groups required for the development and maintenance of healthy coral reef systems. The reef habitat had the greatest functional diversity, followed by the pipeline habitat and soft sediment habitat respectively.

Original language	English
Article number	105931
Number of pages	16
Journal	Marine Environmental Research
Volume	187
Early online date	24 Mar 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105931
Publication status	Published - May 2023

Bibliographical note

We would like to thank skippers John Totterdell and Kylie Skipper who assisted and made data collection possible. We acknowledge David Whillas and Kevin Holden who operated the stereo-ROV on the pipelines. The contributions of Laura Fullwood and Damon Driessen both in the field and with image analysis are gratefully acknowledged, as is Jack Park for his assistance with image analysis. This research project was funded by Chevron through its Anchor Partnership with the UK National Decommissioning Centre. We also acknowledge in-kind support from Net Zero Technology Centre and the University of Aberdeen through their partnership in the UK National Decommissioning Centre.

Data Availability Statement

Data will be made available on request.

Keywords

Decommissioning
Australia
Functional ecology
Oil and gas pipelines
Environmental management
Stereo-video

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10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105931Licence: CC BY

Madgett_etal_MER_Functional_Diversity_Fish_VOR
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Final published version, 10.7 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

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title = "The functional diversity of fish assemblages in the vicinity of oil and gas pipelines compared to nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats",

abstract = "As the offshore hydrocarbon industry matures and decommissioning activities are expected to increase, there is a requirement to assess the environmental consequences of different pipeline decommissioning options. Previous research on fish and other ecological components associated with pipelines has focused on examining species richness, abundance and biomass surrounding structures. The extent to which subsea pipelines mimic or alter ecosystem function compared with nearby natural habitats is unknown. We analyse differences in fish assemblage biological trait composition and the functional diversity at exposed shallow-water subsea pipelines, nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats, using mini stereo-video remotely operated vehicles (ROV). Habitats significantly differed in assemblage trait composition. The pipeline and reef habitats shared a more similar functional composition and had the presence of key functional groups required for the development and maintenance of healthy coral reef systems. The reef habitat had the greatest functional diversity, followed by the pipeline habitat and soft sediment habitat respectively.",

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author = "Alethea Madgett and Elsdon, {Travis S.} and Marnane, {Michael J.} and Schramm, {Karl D.} and Euan Harvey",

note = "We would like to thank skippers John Totterdell and Kylie Skipper who assisted and made data collection possible. We acknowledge David Whillas and Kevin Holden who operated the stereo-ROV on the pipelines. The contributions of Laura Fullwood and Damon Driessen both in the field and with image analysis are gratefully acknowledged, as is Jack Park for his assistance with image analysis. This research project was funded by Chevron through its Anchor Partnership with the UK National Decommissioning Centre. We also acknowledge in-kind support from Net Zero Technology Centre and the University of Aberdeen through their partnership in the UK National Decommissioning Centre. ",

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AU - Schramm, Karl D.

AU - Harvey, Euan

N1 - We would like to thank skippers John Totterdell and Kylie Skipper who assisted and made data collection possible. We acknowledge David Whillas and Kevin Holden who operated the stereo-ROV on the pipelines. The contributions of Laura Fullwood and Damon Driessen both in the field and with image analysis are gratefully acknowledged, as is Jack Park for his assistance with image analysis. This research project was funded by Chevron through its Anchor Partnership with the UK National Decommissioning Centre. We also acknowledge in-kind support from Net Zero Technology Centre and the University of Aberdeen through their partnership in the UK National Decommissioning Centre.

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AB - As the offshore hydrocarbon industry matures and decommissioning activities are expected to increase, there is a requirement to assess the environmental consequences of different pipeline decommissioning options. Previous research on fish and other ecological components associated with pipelines has focused on examining species richness, abundance and biomass surrounding structures. The extent to which subsea pipelines mimic or alter ecosystem function compared with nearby natural habitats is unknown. We analyse differences in fish assemblage biological trait composition and the functional diversity at exposed shallow-water subsea pipelines, nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats, using mini stereo-video remotely operated vehicles (ROV). Habitats significantly differed in assemblage trait composition. The pipeline and reef habitats shared a more similar functional composition and had the presence of key functional groups required for the development and maintenance of healthy coral reef systems. The reef habitat had the greatest functional diversity, followed by the pipeline habitat and soft sediment habitat respectively.

KW - Decommissioning

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KW - Environmental management

KW - Stereo-video

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DO - 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.105931

M3 - Article

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VL - 187

JO - Marine Environmental Research

JF - Marine Environmental Research

M1 - 105931

ER -

The functional diversity of fish assemblages in the vicinity of oil and gas pipelines compared to nearby natural reef and soft sediment habitats

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Availability Statement

Keywords

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Cite this