Wind farms in proximity to marine protected areas put conservation targets at risk

• Published in: Journal for nature conservation 2025-03, Vol.84, Article 126805
• Main Authors: Garthe, Stefan, Schwemmer, Henriette, Mercker, Moritz, Dierschke, Volker, Markones, Nele, Peschko, Verena, Schwemmer, Philipp, Krause, Jochen C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Conservation; Distribution; Disturbance; Marine protected area; Offshore wind; Seabird
• ISSN: 1617-1381
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126805

•Major change in the distribution of loons (Gavia spec.) after wind farm constructions.•Spatial flexibility of loons restricted after offshore wind farms became operational.•Offshore wind farms disturbed loons in ca. 50% of the Marine Protected Area.•The functioning of this Marine Protected Area is impaired by offshore wind farms. Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are an important EU legislative tool to protect species biodiversity. Red-throated loons Gavia stellata and black-throated loons G. arctica are the key species in the designation of the SPA ’Eastern German Bight’, located in the German Exclusive Economic Zone of the North Sea; however, one offshore windfarm (OWF) has been constructed within and four OWFs just outside this SPA within the last few years. The current study integrated previous findings on the strong avoidance of OWFs by loons to assess the effects of these developments on the SPA. OWFs affected on average half of the SPA. We observed a major change in the overall distribution of loons in the study area; the area with the highest densities had shifted southwest and the spatial extent of the high-density area had decreased. The northern third of the SPA, which previously often included the highest concentrations, had been almost abandoned by loons. Variability in loon distribution was significantly restricted after the OWFs became operational. These findings have important implications for the functioning of this Marine Protected Area. The construction of OWFs within the loons’ foraging habitats has increasingly restricted their spatial flexibility and thus their foraging behaviour. We conclude that the establishment of OWFs inside and even adjacent to a protected area counteracts its conservation targets. Ignoring such effects may lead to a loss of such retreats for threatened species and habitats.