Oil Infrastructure has Greater Impact than Noise on Stress and Habitat Selection in Three Grassland Songbirds

Abstract

Oil extraction may impact wildlife by altering habitat suitability and affecting stress levels and behavior of individuals, but it can be challenging to disentangle the impacts of infrastructure itself on wildlife from associated noise and human activity at well sites. We evaluated whether the demographic distribution and corticosterone levels of three grassland passerine species (Chestnut-collared Longspur, Calcarius ornatus; Baird’s Sparrow, Centronyx bairdii; and Savannah Sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis) were impacted by oil development in southern Alberta, Canada. We used a landscape-scale oil well noise-playback experiment to evaluate whether impacts of wells were caused by noise. Surprisingly, higher-quality female Chestnut-collared Longspurs tended to nest closer to oil wells, while higher-quality Savannah Sparrows generally avoided nesting sites impacted by oil wells. Corticosterone levels in all species varied with the presence of oil development (oil wells, noise, or roads), but the magnitude and direction of the response was species and stimulus specific. While we detected numerous impacts of physical infrastructure on stress physiology and spatial demographic patterns, few of these resulted from noise. However, all three species in this study responded to at least one disturbance associated with oil development, so to conserve the grassland songbird community, both the presence of physical infrastructure and anthropogenic noise should be mitigated.

Detecting ecological traps in human‐altered landscapes: A case study of the thick‐billed longspur nesting in croplands

“…Evaluating stress hormone levels sensu Des Brisay ( 2018 ) of fledglings, juveniles, and adult longspurs in crop sites could provide additional insight into habitat quality. Body condition at the start of migration often influences survival of adults and juveniles during migration and winter (Angelier et al, 2011 ; Labocha & Hayes, 2012 ; Merilä & Svensson, 1997 ).…”

Review of Conservation Challenges and Possible Solutions for Grassland Birds of the North American Great Plains

“…This may occur because species find certain features associated with structures attractive, such as perches or additional bare ground. These species may be at risk for ecological traps (Bernath-Plaisted and Koper 2016; Ludlow and Davis 2018; Des Brisay et al 2022). Other species may display no abundance or habitat use response to energy development (e.g., Ludlow et al 2015; Daniel and Koper 2019), but these species may nonetheless suffer demographic consequences.…”

“…Energy infrastructure can reduce the reproductive success of grassland birds by altering predator communities and/or disrupting the behavior of nesting birds. For example, studies on the effects of oil and gas infrastructure on nesting birds have found decreased nesting success, increased parasitism, elevated stress levels, and reduced parental care ( Bernath-Plaisted and Koper 2016 ;Bernath-Plaisted et al 2017 ;Ng et al 2019 ;Des Brisay et al 2022 ), though others have found few strong effects ( Ludlow et al 2015 ;Yoo and Koper 2017 ). Similarly, documented effects of turbines on nesting success have been mixed with some studies reporting negative responses and others finding no effect ( Hatchett et al 2013 ;McNew et al 2014 ;Mahoney and Chalfoun 2016 ).…”

“…In addition to their physical impact on the landscape, anthropogenic structures and activities may also negatively impact grassland birds through noise that extends beyond areas of physical disturbance ( Barber et al 2011 ;Klingbeil et al 2020 ;Senzaki et al 2020 ). Traffic noise, construction activities, and machinery noise from oil and wind energy structures have all been shown to negatively impact grassland birds ( McClure et al 2013 ;Sutter et al 2016 ;Whalen et al 2018 ;Des Brisay et al 2022 ;Rosa and Koper 2022 ). One important mechanism by which anthropogenic noise affects grassland birds is through acoustic masking (the overlap of background noise with an acoustic signal), as loud environments may disrupt communication, interfere with vigilance and interpretation of audial cues, and heighten the energetic costs of vocalization ( Antze and Koper 2018 ;Whalen et al 2018 ).…”

Trending against the grain: Bird population responses to expanding energy portfolios in the US Northern Great Plains

“…The road networks and associated infrastructure around well pads are likely to result in greater displacement of grassland birds (Londe et al, 2019; Thompson et al, 2015). Furthermore, the physical infrastructure, increased human activity, and associated noise can negatively affect grassland bird demography by reducing parental care and increasing both physiological stress in adult birds and rates of nest parasitism by brown‐headed cowbirds ( Molothrus ater ; Bernath‐Plaisted & Koper, 2016; Des Brisay et al, 2023; Ng et al, 2019) Since much of the growth in both non‐renewable and renewable fuels is projected to take place in the temperate grassland region of the United States (McDonald et al, 2009), it is important to understand how different sectors of energy development impact grassland ecosystems and wildlife.…”