Credit: Lilian Lieber, Queen s University Belfast
The foraging behaviour of seabirds is dramatically affected by turbulence caused by natural coastal features and manmade ocean structures, new research has shown.
In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists from the UK and Germany used drones to provide a synchronised bird s eye view of what seabirds see and how their behaviour changes depending on the movement of tidal flows beneath them.
The research focused on the wake of a tidal turbine structure set in a tidal channel - Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland - that has previously been identified as a foraging hotspot for terns.
Apr 28, 2021 01:20 AM EDT
(Photo : Wikimedia Commons)
Scientists from the United Kingdom and Germany used drones in a first-of-its-kind analysis to have a coordinated bird s eye view of what seabirds see and how their behavior changes when tidal flows under them pass.
The study was based on the wake of a tidal turbine structure installed in a tidal channel-Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland-that had previously been known as a tern foraging hotspot.
Seabirds React to Tidal Flows
(Photo : Pexels)
It was discovered that terns were more likely to deliberately forage over vortices using a combination of drone monitoring and sophisticated statistical modeling (swirling patches of water).