Offshore wind developments - collision and displacement in petrels and shearwaters: literature review

9 Glossary of terms and acronyms

AOS - Apparently occupied site. Unit used for counts of seabird breeding pairs or nest sites.

ARS - Area restricted search. A movement pattern in which an animal travels more slowly and with greater tortuosity while foraging or searching for prey, thereby remaining for longer in areas with higher food availability.

brooding - Breeding stage during which a small chick cannot thermoregulate and must be attended by an adult at all times.

dual foraging - Foraging strategy in which chick-rearing seabirds undertake a combination of short foraging trips for chick-provisioning and long foraging trips for self-provisioning.

ESAS - European Seabirds at Sea. A partnership project, managed by JNCC, that uses a standardised vessel-based survey technique to gather data on seabird abundance and distribution.

GLS - Global location sensor or light-level geolocator. A lightweight, archival tracking device that records ambient light levels and time, which can be used to determine latitude and longitude. Often used to track bird migration. Provides two locations per 24-hour period and is only accurate to within tens of kilometres.

GPS - Global positioning system. Tracking devices that use satellite technology, giving highly precise locations which are accurate to within a few metres.

incubation - Breeding stage between the laying and hatching of an egg, when the egg is generally attended by an adult at all times to maintain its temperature.

littoral - Relating to nearshore or coastal environments.

magnetoreceptor - A device or organ that detects the earth's magnetic field. Some form of magnetic sense is found in a wide range of animals, but the nature of the magnetoreceptor organs is often poorly understood.

morphology - The structure and form of organisms, especially their external form.

neritic - Relating to the shallow part of the sea near a coast and overlying the continental shelf, approximately 200 m deep.

NMP - National Marine Plan. Legislation adopted by the Scottish government in 2015 which provides a framework for managing all developments, activities and interests in or affecting Scotland's marine area (territorial and offshore waters), setting out high-level objectives, general policies and sectoral policies.

Oceanitid - Any member of the family Oceanitidae of Southern or Austral Storm-petrels.

OWSMRF - Offshore Wind Strategic Monitoring and Research Forum. An industry-led collaborative forum that aims to better understand the impact of large-scale offshore wind development on marine birds.

pelagic - Relating to the open ocean.

phototaxis - Directional movement in response to a light source.

post-brooding - Breeding stage following brooding, when a chick can thermoregulate independently and can be left unattended while adults are foraging.

Procellariiformes - An order of seabirds, commonly known as tubenoses after their specialised nostrils that allow them to excrete salt. The order contains four families: the albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters, and two storm-petrel families.

RAS - Retrapping Adults for Survival. A programme run as part of the British Trust for Ornithology's Ringing Scheme, in which ringers aim to ring and then catch or re-sight adult birds of a single species in a well-defined study area, enabling estimates of adult survival.

SMP - Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind. The strategy through which the Scottish government aims to identify the most sustainable Plan Options for the future development of commercial-scale offshore wind energy.

SMR - Scottish Marine Regions. 11 regions identified by Scottish Ministers under the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 based on physical characteristics.

suprabenthic - Organisms that live on the sea floor but migrate above it seasonally or daily.

surface seizing - A method of foraging in which a seabird on the sea surface grasps food items just below the surface with its bill.

thermoregulation - Regulation of body temperature, whether physiological or behavioural.