The impact of boat activities associated with an acoustic fish telemetry study on waterbird populations in a Special Protection Area

Abstract It is widely recognized that the research techniques used to monitor and study wildlife have the potential to disturb and alter the behavior of the study species. However, other impacts on sensitive, non‐target, species are rarely investigated. Here, we assessed the disturbance of waterbirds in relation to the boating activities associated with an acoustic telemetry study on European eel ( Anguilla anguilla ) in a UK water storage reservoir designated a Special Protection Area (SPA) for waterbirds. Counts of 11 species of waterbirds were surveyed pre‐, during‐, and post‐activity. Boating activities had no impact on waterbird counts, but counts were correlated with cloud cover, air temperature, and wind speed; results may also reflect seasonal differences in bird numbers at this site. Our results indicate that the deployment of acoustic telemetry receivers and netting for studying fish, when applied with appropriate well‐informed mitigation measures, can be undertaken without causing significant disturbance to waterbird species, including those that are threatened or sensitive to disturbance.