Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/K007769/1
Quantifying fish response to acoustic bubbles in fresh and saline water: the pathway to effective "Scarefish" technology
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor PS Kemp, University of Southampton, Faculty of Engineering & the Environment
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Natural Resource Management
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- The UK is facing an era of extensive water resource and energy infrastructure development. Population growth is placing unprecedented pressure on water resources, a situation that will be exacerbated by climate change. Highest precipitation is in the northwest while the southeast is the driest, and most densely populated, with the expectation to accommodate an additional 1 million people by 2026. Current infrastructure will be unable to cope with future demand, particularly during drought. At the same time, to meet greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and ensure long-term energy security the UK will increasingly depend more on nuclear, "clean" coal and gas, and marine renewables. By 2020, 30% of UK current electricity generating capacity will need to be replaced as ageing power stations are decommissioned. Considerable reinvestment (#200 billion over 10 years) is needed to ensure energy security and reduce dependency on hydrocarbons. Water management will remain integral to electricity generation, in cooling or to drive tidal turbines. Development of water and energy resources and operation of associated infrastructure can significantly impact other valuable water based ecosystem services, including fisheries (globally worth US$225-$240 billion pa). Technologies developed to mitigate for impacts, e.g. screens and bypass systems that divert and carry fish away from turbines or water intakes, are not only costly to install (predicted to be #532 million in England and Wales to meet WFD obligations and EU Eel regulations), but are generally incapable of meeting the requirements of environmental legislation that considers multiple species (from juvenile eels to basking sharks). Failure to provide mitigation in parallel with water resource and energy development will jeopardise fisheries, but also consent, construction, and as a consequence water resource and energy security. Devices that repel fish from hazardous areas have been developed as an alternative to mechanical screens, but are considered less effective. Bubble screens are used to constrain sound to a particular locality, but tend to work only in relatively shallow rivers when water velocities are sufficiently slow. Effective technologies have not been developed for the marine environment because there is a lack of understanding of the influence of salinity on acoustic bubble behaviour, and because fish ability to detect such screens and then respond "appropriately" (from a management perspective) has been insufficiently considered and quantified. To develop appropriate repellents ("scarefish") for both marine and freshwater environments, there is a need to focus research efforts to develop generic rules of fish response to acoustic-bubbles. This is the focus of the proposed PhD project. The University of Southampton in collaboration with the EA (principal CASE partner) and CEFAS will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to quantify fish response to acoustic and bubble stimuli, using both experimental and field based studies. Under experimental settings, European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) distribution, trajectories of movements, and behaviour (e.g. avoidance and activity) relative to an acoustic-bubble field, operating over a range of frequencies and intensities, and using either pulsed or continuous tones, will be recorded using infrared tracking techniques. In the field, the migratory paths and behaviour of downstream migrating adult silver eel implanted with 3D acoustic tags in response to the presence/absence of an operating prototype infrasound deterrent will be investigated in collaboration with the EA. The results of the research will be transferred to society via public outreach activities, including use of digital and traditional vehicles of local and national media, political engagement, a stakeholder workshop, and via the more academic routes (i.e. journal articles and conference presentations).
- NERC Reference:
- NE/K007769/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Open CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £74,709
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs | Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|---|
| £6,038 | £13,978 | £5,499 | £49,194 |
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