Natural gas development and grassland songbird abundance in Southwestern Saskatchewan: the impact of gas wells and cumulative effects

Native prairie is critical to the survival of avian grassland specialists. This internship will determine the extent to which recent natural gas development on native grasslands in Southwestern Saskatchewan influences grassland songbird abundance. Natural gas activity may negatively affect bird abundance via habitat degradation (well density, noise pollution, human disturbance, exotic species, soil compaction, gas wells etc.) and loss. The research team hopes to determine whether grassland bird abundance is influenced by proximity to well structures and whether this relationship depends on the density of wells in a given area. The biology intern will also examine the cumulative effects of other activities and structures associated with gas development (e.g. roads, pipelines, buildings, etc.). The research will determine the magnitude and shape of the relationship between the proximity and density of gas wells and grassland songbird abundance (e.g., linear, logistic, or exponential) on Saskatchewan native grasslands.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Mark Brigham

Student:

Holly Bogard

Partner:

Environment Canada

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Energy

University:

University of Regina