Effects of oil wells and associated infrastructure on grassland songbirds, including species at risk

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Prairie bird populations have declined more than birds of any other ecosystem in North America. One of the most important reasons for the declines of these species is loss of native prairie habitat, and thus the conservation of remaining prairies is critical. Energy infrastructure, such as oil wells, is abundant across Canada's mixed-grass prairies. The extent to which it impacts grassland songbirds is unknown. Some types of industrial infrastructure might have fewer effects than others. Further, it is possible that negative effects of energy extraction might be mitigated by the use of quieter infrastructure. It is difficult to separate the effects of the noise of the infrastructure from other effects of the infrastructure, because industrial infrastructure and noise usually occur in the same place. However, it is important to understand the role of noise, because if effects of infrastructure are not explained by noise, then mitigation measures to reduce noise will not contribute to species conservation. Therefore, it is important to evaluate effects of different types of infrastructure on grassland birds, so that we can ensure that oil extraction activities in grasslands are both economically and ecologically sustainable. We will evaluate effects of oil wells and associated infrastructure, such as roads, on abundance, productivity, and behaviour of grassland songbirds. We will compare these parameters in sites with different infrastructure, including batteries, pumpjacks with pipelines, compressor stations, electric submersible pumps, and screwjacks, to evaluate whether some methods of extracting oil have fewer effects on grassland songbirds than other methods. To determine whether effects of oil infrastructure result from the noise of the infrastructure, we will conduct surveys at control sites with no infrastructure, sites with active oil wells, sites with idle (silent) oil wells, and we will play recordings of infrastructure noise at sites without infrastructure. This study will help us to develop best management practices and conservation recommendations for oil extraction in prairies.