Succession and seasonal dynamics of the epifauna community on offshore wind farm foundations and their role as stepping stones for non-indigenous species

In recent years, offshore wind energy in the shelf seas of the southern North Sea is experiencing a strong growth. Foundations are introduced in mainly sandy sediments, and the resulting artificial reef effect is considered one of the main impacts on the marine environment. We investigated the macrobenthic fouling community that developed on the concrete foundations of the first wind turbines built in Belgian marine waters. We observed a clear...