Abstract To inform sustainable energy development, it is important to understand the ecological effects of historical and current production practices and the persistence of those effects. The Williston Basin is one of North America's largest oil production areas and overlaps the Prairie Pothole Region, an area densely populated with wetlands that provide important wildlife habitat. Although historical disposal practices that released chloride-rich waters (brines) produced during oil extraction into the environment are no longer used, brine spills still occur frequently. We sampled 33 wetlands for three amphibian species in Montana and North Dakota during 2015–2017, primarily on National Wildlife Refuges, and used N-mixture models to determine how abundance varied with evidence of brine contamination. To provide insight into effects of historical versus contemporary contamination, we also estimated the association of well density and age with water quality and amphibian abundance. Abundance of boreal chorus frog (Pseudacris maculata) larvae declined most rapidly in response to increased chloride (range: 0.04–17,500 mg/L), followed by the northern leopard frog (Lithobates [Rana] pipiens) and barred tiger salamander (Ambystoma mavortium). Water quality and population- and community-level abundance of amphibians were more strongly related to nearby wells (≤800 m) installed before 1982 than to wells installed since 1982. These results suggest historical brine management practices were the primary driver of contamination and reduced amphibian abundance in wetlands we sampled, reflecting multi-decadal ecological effects. These persistent effects also underscore the critical need for tools to restore landscapes affected by brine contamination.

中文翻译：

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持续的能源相关盐水污染对国家野生动物保护区湿地两栖动物丰度的影响

摘要 要为可持续能源发展提供信息，了解历史和当前生产实践的生态影响以及这些影响的持续性非常重要。威利斯顿盆地是北美最大的石油生产区之一，与草原坑洼地区重叠，该地区人口稠密，湿地提供重要的野生动物栖息地。尽管历史上将石油开采过程中产生的富含氯化物的水（盐水）释放到环境中的处置方法已不再使用，但盐水泄漏仍然经常发生。2015 年至 2017 年期间，我们主要在国家野生动物保护区为蒙大拿州和北达科他州的 33 个两栖动物物种采样了 33 个湿地，并使用 N 混合物模型来确定丰度如何随盐水污染的证据而变化。为了深入了解历史与当代污染的影响，我们还估计了井密度和年龄与水质和两栖动物丰度的关联。对氯化物增加（范围：0.04–17,500 mg/L），北面蛙（Pseudacris maculata）幼虫的数量下降最快，其次是北豹蛙（Lithobates [Rana] pipiens）和虎蝾螈（Ambystoma mavortium） . 与 1982 年以来安装的水井相比，水质和两栖动物种群数量和社区水平的丰度与 1982 年之前安装的附近水井（≤800 米）的相关性更强。这些结果表明历史盐水管理实践是污染和两栖动物减少的主要驱动因素我们采样的湿地丰度，反映了数十年的生态效应。