Short description of the research
Offshore wind farms are built at an enormous rate in European waters to meet with the imposed targets for renewable energy production. The introduction of hard structures and their scour protection layers in an otherwise sandy environment such as the Belgian part of the North Sea entails various opportunities for reef-associated species. However, it is also thought to impact the marine environment in a negative way through e.g. sound pollution, changes in hydrological and light conditions and the introduction of electro-magnetic fields. Therefore, it is of vital importance to study the influences of this newly introduced habitat on commercially important species that are not directly associated with reef-like structures.
Activities
The student will assist in research activities related to a PhD project about the effects of offshore wind farms on fish communities in the Belgian part of the North Sea. The work will consist of field work, office work and lab work. The following list gives an idea about the activities that the student will be doing, but can be modified according to the needs of the project.
Field work
- Going at sea to help install acoustic receivers for a passive acoustic telemetry study on plaice (Pleuronectes platessa)
- Tagging of plaice with electronic tags
- Using a drop-camera set-up in the field to study fish communities near a wind turbine
- Assisting in dissecting plaice for health indicator study
Lab work
- Preparing samples for stomach content analysis using the PCR technique
- Preparing samples for fatty acid analysis
Office work
- Analysing images from drop-camera
- Entering data in a data bank
