Survey Updates
The Marine Directorate team successfully completed their survey work for Task 1.1 in the Firth of Forth as per figure 1, with seabird at sea surveys undertaken along acoustic transect lines.
Undertaking seabird at sea surveys during acoustic transects provides predator (seabird) and prey (fish) contemporaneous data to be used in future modelling.
A RoxAnn survey of the substrate was also conducted along the acoustic transects allowing the production of seabed maps which show the detailed material composition of the seabed. This will support fish distribution model predictions.
The team are currently offshore undertaking the second summer Firth of Forth survey, focussing on Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) and fish traps for fine-scale fish distribution.
Engagement
The PrePARED team from BioSS attended the International Statistical Ecology Conference (ISEC) 2024, which was hosted in Swansea, Wales.
During the week, they attended and contributed to various talks and discussions on spatial modelling (how to best map and predict animal distributions over space), movement modelling (how to best use animal tracking data to understand animal movement and behaviour), software development, and integrating statistics with conservation and management decisions.
Katherine Whyte presented in one of the conference sessions, with a talk entitled “Using movement modelling to understand predator-prey interactions at multiple scales”.
ICES Annual Science Conference
Aude Benhemma-Le Gall (University of Aberdeen) will present PrePARED research on harbour porpoise and prey behaviour around operating windfarms at the ICES Annual Science Conference in Gateshead, UK.
This conference takes place between 9-12 September 2024.
Looking Forward
Keep your eyes peeled over the next month for:
- An update on survey works within the Moray Firth
- An update on survey works within the Firth of Forth
- A report on Monopile Effective Deterrent Ranges (EDR)
With more reports due by the end of September!
