The noise caused by building wind farms could be killing fish by making them more vulnerable to predators, a study suggests.

Recordings of pile-driving, used in the construction of marine infrastructure such as wind farms and piers, disrupted the abilities of individual sea bass to co-ordinate their movements with one another, researchers from the University of Bristol found.

Without the ability to 'school', fish are unable to exchange information and confuse predators, making it more likely they will be eaten, say researchers.

The study involved using computer tracking software to analyse the movement of 450 individual seabass and shoals in the university's aquarium.

They found the fish became "less cohesive and co-ordinated" during the playbacks, compared with when they were played normal ambient sea sounds.