The Offshore Renewables Group in BioSS is participating in a NERC project called Ecosystem Change, Offshore Wind, Net Gain and Seabirds (ECOWINGS).  Each year, we gather to meet in person with the other projects in the Ecological Consequences of Offshore Wind (ECOWind) research programme, along with external participants from the offshore renewables sector such as decision-makers, consultants, and other scientists. This year, we met at Central Hall in Southampton, for a two-day meeting. The first day focused on science, with students and early career researchers presenting their work. From ECOWINGS, the University of Strathclyde presented work on climate projections of zooplankton and forage fish, and the shifting baseline for seabird-prey fields against which offshore wind expansion can be assessed. Heriot-Watt University spoke about the sampling challenges in offshore windfarms and how these are being overcome to build innovative low risk, low carbon, and low-cost marine autonomous systems. UKCEH presented work on estimating effects of displacement on seabirds via changes in prey consumption, which BioSS has contributed to. The second day was policy-led and organisations such as Defra, Scottish Government, Natural England, and The Crown Estate. 

BioSS presented a poster on some of our work within the ECOWINGS project, on how to quantify the effects of offshore windfarms on seabird-prey patch dynamics, using spatio-temporal models to investigate how seabirds and prey interact and change over time.