Effects of shallow natural gas well structures and associated roads on grassland songbird reproductive success in Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Grassland songbird populations across North America have experienced dramatic population declines due to habitat loss and degradation. In Canada, energy development continues to fragment and disturb prairie habitat, but effects of oil and gas development on reproductive success of songbirds in North American mixed-grass prairies remains largely unknown. From 2010–2012, in southeastern Alberta, Canada, we monitored 257 nests of two ground-nesting grassland songbird species, Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis) and chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus). Nest locations varied with proximity to and density of conventional shallow gas well structures and associated roads in forty-two 258-ha mixed-grass prairie sites. We estimated the probabilities of nest success and clutch size relative to gas well structures and roads. There was little effect of distance to or density of gas well structure on nest success; however, Savannah sparrow experienced lower nest success near roads. Clutch sizes were lower near gas well structures and cattle water sources. Minimizing habitat disturbance surrounding gas well structures, and reducing abundance of roads and trails, would help minimize impacts on reproductive success for some grassland songbirds.

The Sustainability of Fossil Energy Development in Indonesia: Heading to Awry and Backfires Policy?

“…But in providing the desired investment climate, the top priority that must be considered are government regulations. Some other instances of transdisciplinary researches: the treats of oil and gas project to the wilderness, biodiversity, and indigenous peoples in a certain area [14]; long-term gas extraction which induced earthquakes [15]; microbial communities associated with barley growing oil sands reclamation area [16]; negative impact of particulate matter emissions from the expanded oil sands development on the regional air quality and climate change [17]; the consequences of oil and gas development for the distribution of vegetation cover and for species persistence [18]; the impacts of oil and gas operation to the air near the projects that conduct horizontal drilling, hydraulic fracturing, and other drilling and well stimulation technologies which are now used widely in some countries [19]; and the effect of shallow natural gas well structures and associated roads on grassland song bird population declines due to habitat loss and degradation [20]. The aim of those researches are to identify legal instruments or structures realizing an ecosystem approach [21] in responsible experts and policymakers avoiding conflicting approaches to policy-making.…”

The effects of management practices on grassland birds — An introduction to North American grasslands and the practices used to manage grasslands and grassland birds

“…Roads also allow vehicular access to remote grasslands, thus increasing habitat fragmentation (Saunders and others, 2002). The response of grassland birds to trails and roads can take the form of reduced density, territoriality, nesting, and nest success (Miller and others, 1998;Sutter and others, 2000;Pitman and others, 2005;Koper and Schmiegelow, 2006;Linnen, 2008;Dale and others, 2009;Sliwinski and Koper, 2012;Wellicome and others, 2014;Ludlow and others, 2015;Yoo and Koper, 2017;Nenninger and Koper, 2018).…”

Estimating offsets for avian displacement effects of anthropogenic impacts

“…, McNew et al. , Mahoney and Chalfoun , Yoo and Koper ). For individuals that do not settle near energy infrastructure, potential extended searches for suitable breeding habitat are energetically demanding and reduce the available energy that birds can allocate to reproductive activities (Pianka ).…”

“…Impacts to grassland birds from reduced patch size and increased edge inherent to grassland fragmentation result in lower avian abundance and reproductive success, such as complete abandonment of nests or increased predation of eggs, nestlings, or adults, as well as increased brood parasitism (Bakker et al 2002, Herkert et al 2003, Davis et al 2006, Sliwinski and Koper 2012. Independent of habitat loss, energy development may also cause lowered avian reproductive success (Mahoney andChalfoun 2016, Yoo andKoper 2017) and alteration of hydrology that can impact waterfowl abundance (Lange et al 2018).…”

“…Behavioral displacement is typically measured as a decrease in avian density measured over distance from energy infrastructure (sensu Shaffer and Buhl 2016). Not all individuals of a species avoid energy infrastructure (Loesch et al 2013, Shaffer andBuhl 2016), and few researchers have tackled the question of whether the reproductive success of individuals that remain is lowered due to stressors such as increased noise and human activity or change in predator composition (Hatchett et al 2013, Mahoney and Chalfoun 2016, Yoo and Koper 2017. For individuals that do not settle near energy infrastructure, potential extended searches for suitable breeding habitat are energetically demanding and reduce the available energy that birds can allocate to reproductive activities (Pianka 1976).…”