Shale gas development effects on the songbird community in a central Appalachian forest

Abstract

In the last decade, unconventional drilling for natural gas from the Marcellus-Utica shale has increased exponentially in the central Appalachians. This heavily forested region contains important breeding habitat for many neotropical migratory songbirds, including several species of conservation concern. Our goal was to examine effects of unconventional gas development on forest habitat and breeding songbirds at a predominantly forested site from 2008-2015. Construction of gas well pads and infrastructure (e.g., roads, pipelines) contributed to an overall 4.5% loss in forest cover at the site, a 12.4% loss in core forest, and a 51.7% increase in forest edge density. We evaluated the relationship between land-cover metrics and species richness within three avian guilds: forest-interior, early-successional, and synanthropic, in addition to abundances of 21 focal species. Land-cover impacts were evaluated at two spatial extents: a point-level within 100-m and 500-m buffers of each avian survey station, and a landscape-level across the study area (4,326 ha). Although we observed variability in species-specific responses, we found distinct trends in long-term response among the three avian guilds. Forest-interior guild richness declined at all points across the site and at points impacted within 100 m by shale gas but did not change at unimpacted points. Early-successional and synanthropic guild richness increased at all points and at impacted points. Our results suggest that shale gas development has the potential to fragment regional forests and alter avian communities, and that efforts to minimize new development in core forests will reduce negative impacts to forest dependent species.

Effects of development of wind energy and associated changes in land use on bird densities in upland areas

“…Similar patterns have been observed in response to development of shale gas in forested areas, where changes in land use affect mature forest birds but not birds associated with early successional or disturbed habitats (Farwell et al. ). These patterns highlight the importance of planning the precise location of turbines, roads, and other infrastructure in determining which habitats and thus species will be affected by wind‐energy development.…”

Louisiana Waterthrush and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Response to Shale Gas Development

“…The Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research (2015) estimated that 111 unconventional gas wells occurred in the central Appalachians in 2005, which increased to .12,964 by 2015. Thus the region has been subjected to expanding networks of well pads, roads, and pipelines leading to forest loss, increased fragmentation of forested systems (Drohan et al 2012), and disturbance of headwater streams (Farwell, et al 2016).…”

Demographic, Spatial, and Epigenetic Response of the Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia Motacilla) to Shale Gas Development

“…In 2008, the LWWMA was 95.3% forested and had 0.4% shale gas land cover; the first shale gas well development began in 2007 [33]. [33]. In summary, 2013 disturbances slowed and affected streams more noticeably late in the breeding season, while in 2014 shale gas activity peaked again, particularly at Slabcamp Run, but did not achieve 2011 levels of activity (Appendix Table 1).…”

“…In 2008, the LWWMA was 95.3% forested and had 0.4% shale gas land cover; the first shale gas well development began in 2007 [33]. [33].…”

“…Our study associated waterthrush response to aquatic prey community changes in relation to shale gas disturbance. All metrics are a subset of those originally reported in Frantz et al [28] excepting % shale gas land cover which is cited from Farwell et al [33]. Variable names are defined in Appendix Table 2……………..91 Table 2.…”