{"id":13478,"date":"2014-09-17T13:45:06","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T13:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/independentweekender.com\/?p=13478"},"modified":"2014-09-17T13:45:06","modified_gmt":"2014-09-17T13:45:06","slug":"gas-development-might-impact-forest-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/17\/gas-development-might-impact-forest-birds\/","title":{"rendered":"Gas development might impact forest birds"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY BRENDAN GIBBONS<\/strong>
\n Times-Shamrock Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

The natural gas industry is encroaching into the state\u2019s deep forests and early research shows an avian entourage is along for the ride.<\/p>\n

Penn State researchers have observed human-associated species that love forest edges \u2014 American robins, blue jays, brown-headed cowbirds and mourning doves, to name a few \u2014 in higher concentrations near natural gas sites than in interior forests nearby, Penn State bird ecologist Margaret Brittingham, Ph.D., said.<\/p>\n

Conversely, interior forest birds are less commonly seen near well pads, pipeline rights of way and access roads, she said.<\/p>\n

At Keystone College Thursday, Dr. Brittingham presented research efforts by her and four of her graduate students. They\u2019re some of the leading researchers tracking how wildlife responds to the gas boom. Her students have examined gas infrastructure using satellite imagery, tracked birds from the ground and placed wildlife cameras on pipeline rights of way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe winners are those that do well around people, and the losers are the specialists,\u201d she said, referring to species that can only survive in a narrow range of conditions. Many forest interior birds are habitat specialists.<\/p>\n

Core forest happens to be the defining habitat type for much of the area underlain by the Marcellus.
\nAbout 59 percent of Pennsylvania is covered in forest, according to Penn State forestry professor James Finley, Ph.D., citing U.S. Forest Service data from 2009.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s interior forests are important regionally in supporting migratory songbirds, Dr. Brittingham said. For example, 19 percent of the world\u2019s population of scarlet tanager live in Pennsylvania, as do 9 percent of the world\u2019s wood thrushes, even though both species\u2019 ranges extend as far west as Kansas.<\/p>\n

To compare how interior birds responded to gas sites, one of Dr. Brittingham\u2019s students surveyed at 51 sites in 2011, 2012 and 2013, including well pads, roads and nearby interior forest. He divided the bird groups into three \u201cguilds\u201d \u2014 forest edge, young forest and interior forest.<\/p>\n

He found that edge species, such as robins, chipping sparrows and cowbirds, were more abundant near well pads. Interior birds were rarely found near well pads. There was no pattern for birds that like young forests.<\/p>\n

Another student surveyed birds from the road and compared what he found to what was recorded in the second Pennsylvania Breeding Bird Atlas, a set of professional bird surveys that ran from 2004 to 2009. He found no discernible trends, she said.<\/p>\n

Road surveys are less sensitive to habitat changes than those done on foot because the road has already caused some fragmentation, she said. This puts forth some evidence that local effects on birds haven\u2019t added up to a habitat threat at the landscape level, she said.<\/p>\n

At least not yet. The industry has only developed a fraction of the land it likely will claim in the coming years, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is like the wake-up call,\u201d Dr. Brittingham said. \u201cWe know it can have a change where it already is, so now\u2019s the time to start planning for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY BRENDAN GIBBONS Times-Shamrock Writer The natural gas industry is encroaching into the state\u2019s deep forests and early research shows an avian entourage is along…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nGas development might impact forest birds - PS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/17\/gas-development-might-impact-forest-birds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gas development might impact forest birds - PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY BRENDAN GIBBONS Times-Shamrock Writer The natural gas industry is encroaching into the state\u2019s deep forests and early research shows an avian entourage is along...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/17\/gas-development-might-impact-forest-birds\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-09-17T13:45:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tpennysaver\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/17\/gas-development-might-impact-forest-birds\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.greenstreetdata.com\/PS\/2014\/09\/17\/gas-development-might-impact-forest-birds\/\",\"name\":\"Gas development might impact forest birds - 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