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Increased benthic biodiversity and food web recovery after decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.

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Title: Increased benthic biodiversity and food web recovery after decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.
Authors: Chen, Zelin1 (AUTHOR) zelin.chen@essex.ac.uk, Cameron, Tom C.1 (AUTHOR) tcameron@essex.ac.uk, Couce, Elena2 (AUTHOR) elena.couce@cefas.gov.uk, Garcia, Clement2 (AUTHOR) clement.garcia@cefas.gov.uk, Hicks, Natalie1 (AUTHOR) natalie.hicks@essex.ac.uk, Thomas, Gareth E.1,3 (AUTHOR) gareth.thomas@nhm.ac.uk, Thompson, Murray S. A.2 (AUTHOR) murray.thompson@cefas.gov.uk, Whitby, Corinne1 (AUTHOR) cwhitby@essex.ac.uk, O'Gorman, Eoin J.1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Limnology & Oceanography. Jan2026, Vol. 71 Issue 1, p1-16. 16p.
Subjects: Benthic ecology, Species diversity, Environmental impact analysis, Restoration ecology, Energy infrastructure, Environmental monitoring
Abstract: There is a global increase in the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas (O&G) infrastructure at the end of its operating lifetime. However, there is strikingly limited empirical evidence for the environmental and ecological impacts of decommissioning. Here, we employed a meta‐analytical approach on an industry benthic monitoring database to investigate the benthic biodiversity and food web properties of structures sampled in the short term (< 1 yr; scenario 1), medium term (1–5 yr; scenario 2), and long term (> 5 yr; scenario 3) after decommissioning. We found reduced species richness and simplified food webs in scenario 1, followed by the first signs of recovery in scenario 2, with a slightly higher proportion of intermediate species and density of food web connections. Food webs recovered further in scenario 3, with a much greater density of interactions, but also more links and longer food chains, while a reduction in generalism and connectance indicated an increased prevalence of specialist species. Our findings demonstrate disturbance risks associated with the decommissioning process in the short term, but a positive recovery trajectory over longer timescales. We highlight the importance of industry collecting more extensive and long‐term data at multiple time points and covering different decommissioning types, establishing a standardized data workflow for integrating with available monitoring efforts, and improving stakeholder participation and data accessibility to support an environmentally sound decommissioning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Limnology & Oceanography is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
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  Data: Increased benthic biodiversity and food web recovery after decommissioning of oil and gas infrastructure.
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  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Chen%2C+Zelin%22&quot;&gt;Chen, Zelin&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; zelin.chen@essex.ac.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Cameron%2C+Tom+C%2E%22&quot;&gt;Cameron, Tom C.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; tcameron@essex.ac.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Couce%2C+Elena%22&quot;&gt;Couce, Elena&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; elena.couce@cefas.gov.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Garcia%2C+Clement%22&quot;&gt;Garcia, Clement&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; clement.garcia@cefas.gov.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Hicks%2C+Natalie%22&quot;&gt;Hicks, Natalie&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; natalie.hicks@essex.ac.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Thomas%2C+Gareth+E%2E%22&quot;&gt;Thomas, Gareth E.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1,3&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; gareth.thomas@nhm.ac.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Thompson%2C+Murray+S%2E+A%2E%22&quot;&gt;Thompson, Murray S. A.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;2&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; murray.thompson@cefas.gov.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22Whitby%2C+Corinne%22&quot;&gt;Whitby, Corinne&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)&lt;i&gt; cwhitby@essex.ac.uk&lt;/i&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;AR&quot; term=&quot;%22O&#39;Gorman%2C+Eoin+J%2E%22&quot;&gt;O&#39;Gorman, Eoin J.&lt;/searchLink&gt;&lt;relatesTo&gt;1&lt;/relatesTo&gt; (AUTHOR)
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  Data: &lt;searchLink fieldCode=&quot;JN&quot; term=&quot;%22Limnology+%26+Oceanography%22&quot;&gt;Limnology &amp; Oceanography&lt;/searchLink&gt;. Jan2026, Vol. 71 Issue 1, p1-16. 16p.
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  Data: There is a global increase in the decommissioning of offshore oil and gas (O&amp;G) infrastructure at the end of its operating lifetime. However, there is strikingly limited empirical evidence for the environmental and ecological impacts of decommissioning. Here, we employed a meta‐analytical approach on an industry benthic monitoring database to investigate the benthic biodiversity and food web properties of structures sampled in the short term (&lt; 1 yr; scenario 1), medium term (1–5 yr; scenario 2), and long term (&gt; 5 yr; scenario 3) after decommissioning. We found reduced species richness and simplified food webs in scenario 1, followed by the first signs of recovery in scenario 2, with a slightly higher proportion of intermediate species and density of food web connections. Food webs recovered further in scenario 3, with a much greater density of interactions, but also more links and longer food chains, while a reduction in generalism and connectance indicated an increased prevalence of specialist species. Our findings demonstrate disturbance risks associated with the decommissioning process in the short term, but a positive recovery trajectory over longer timescales. We highlight the importance of industry collecting more extensive and long‐term data at multiple time points and covering different decommissioning types, establishing a standardized data workflow for integrating with available monitoring efforts, and improving stakeholder participation and data accessibility to support an environmentally sound decommissioning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: &lt;i&gt;Copyright of Limnology &amp; Oceanography is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder&#39;s express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.&lt;/i&gt; (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1002/lno.70295
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      – SubjectFull: Benthic ecology
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              Text: Jan2026
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