WCS-Led Study Says Some Arctic Nesting Bird Species Declining Near Oil Development
Infrastructure
from oil drilling, coupled with edible garbage, creates “subsidized
housing” for opportunistic
predators like foxes and gulls
NEW YORK (September 8, 2009)
– A new study by the Wildlife
Conservation Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other groups reveals
how oil development in the Artic is impacting some bird populations by providing
“subsidized housing” to predators, which nest and den around
drilling infrastructure and supplement their diets with garbage – and
nesting birds.
Oil
development has attracted populations of opportunistic predators including Arctic
fox, ravens, and gulls, which feed on nesting birds. The predators use oil
infrastructure, which ranges from drilling platforms to road culverts, to build
their nests or dens. In this study researchers found one bird species,
the Lapland longspur, lost significantly more nests in areas closer to oil development
than farther away. Nests beyond 5 kilometers (3.11 miles) from oil
development remained unaffected by predators.
Other
birds, including red and red-necked phalaropes, may also be feeling impacts
from predators, though data was less strong than with longspurs. At the
same time, other species tested did not show an effect. Authors believe this
may be due to high natural variation in nesting success across years and
between sites.
The
study appears in the September issue of the journal Ecological
Applications. Authors include: Joe Liebezeit and Steve Zack of the
Wildlife Conservation Society; S.J. Kendall, P. Martin and D.C. Payer of the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; S. Brown of Manomet Center for Conservation
Sciences; C.B. Johnson and A.M. Wildman of ABR, Inc; T.L. McDonald of West,
Inc.; C.L. Rea of ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.; and B. Streever of BP
Exploration (Alaska), Inc.
The
authors monitored nearly 2,000 nests of 17 passerine and shorebird species over
a four-year period. Birds from five continents migrate to the Arctic each year to nest.
“This
is the first study specifically designed to evaluate the so-called oil
‘footprint’ effect in the Arctic
on nesting birds,” said the study’s lead author, Joe Liebezeit of
the Wildlife Conservation Society. “The study was also unique in
that it was a collaborative effort among conservation groups, industry, and
federal scientists.”
The
impetus for this study stemmed from previous evidence suggesting predators have
increased in the oil fields near Prudhoe Bay.
“The
findings of this study shed new light on growing concerns about oil development
impacts to wildlife in the Alaskan Arctic, an immense region that, outside of
Prudhoe Bay, is still largely undisturbed by humans and home to vast herds of
caribou, the threatened polar bear, and millions of breeding birds,” said
Jodi Hilty, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s North America
Programs.
WCS
is engaged in separate studies in remote areas of the western Arctic,
evaluating where wildlife protection would be most effective in advance of
development.
“Our
interest is in ensuring a balance of both wildlife protection in key areas and
helping industry minimize potential impacts to wildlife as they begin to pursue
development in western Arctic Alaska,” said Steve Zack, coauthor and
Coordinator of the Arctic Program for WCS. “This study helps inform
industry on some consequences of development.”
Contact:
Stephen Sautner, 1-718-220-3682, ssautner@wcs.org
John Delaney, 1-718-220-3275, jdelaney@wcs.org
The
Wildlife
Conservation Society
saves wildlife and wild places worldwide. We do so through science,
global conservation, education and the management of the world's largest system
of urban wildlife parks, led by the flagship Bronx Zoo. Together these
activities change attitudes towards nature and help people imagine wildlife and
humans living in harmony. WCS is committed to this mission because it is
essential to the integrity of life on Earth. Visit: www.wcs.org
Special Note to the Media: If you would like to guide
your readers or viewers to a web link where they can make donations in support
of helping save wildlife and wild places, please direct them to: www.wcs.org/donation