An increasing number of offshore structures are being deployed worldwide to meet the growing demand for renewable energy. Besides energy production, these structures can also provide new artificial habitats to a diversity of fish and crustacean species. This study characterises how concrete mattresses that stabilise the submarine power cable of a tidal energy test site can increase habitat capacity for benthic megafauna. A five-year monitoring, which relied on both visual counts and video-based surveys by divers, revealed that these mattresses provide a suitable habitat for 5 taxa of large crustaceans and fish. In particular, two commercially valuable species, i.e. the edible crab Cancer pagurus and the European lobster Homarus gammarus, showed a constant occupancy of these artificial habitats throughout the course of the project. The shape and the number of shelters available below individual mattresses largely determine potential for colonisation by mobile megafauna. Local physical characteristics of the implantation site (e.g. substratum type, topography, exposition to current etc.) significantly impact amount and type of shelters provided by the concrete mattresses. Thus, to characterise habitat potential of artificial structures, it is not only essential to consider (i) the design of the structures, but also to (ii) account for their interactions with local environmental conditions when deployed on the seafloor.

为了满足对可再生能源不断增长的需求，越来越多的海上结构正在全球范围内部署。除了产生能量之外，这些结构还可以为各种鱼类和甲壳类提供新的人工栖息地。这项研究的特点是，稳定潮汐能试验场的海底电缆的混凝土床垫如何增加底栖大型动物的栖息地容量。根据潜水员的视觉计数和视频调查进行的为期五年的监测显示，这些床垫为5个大型甲壳类动物和鱼类提供了合适的栖息地。特别是两个商业价值的物种，即食用螃蟹普通黄道蟹和龙虾欧洲龙虾钩虾，在整个项目过程中显示出这些人造栖息地的持续占用。单个床垫下面可用的掩蔽处的形状和数量在很大程度上决定了大型动植物的定殖潜力。植入部位的局部物理特性（例如，地下类型，地形，暴露于电流等）会显着影响混凝土床垫所提供的掩体的数量和类型。因此，为了表征人造结构的栖息地潜力，不仅必须考虑（i）结构的设计，而且（ii）考虑其在海底部署时与当地环境条件的相互作用。