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Threshold responses of songbirds to forest loss and fragmentation across the Marcellus-Utica shale gas region of central Appalachia, USA

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Abstract

Context

Since 2005, unconventional gas development has rapidly altered forests across the Marcellus-Utica shale basin in the central Appalachian region of the eastern United States, an area of high conservation value for biodiversity. Much is still unknown about ecological impacts of associated land cover change.

Objectives

Our goal was to identify threshold responses among bird species and habitat guilds to (1) overall forest loss and fragmentation in affected landscapes, and (2) distance from anthropogenic disturbance, both related and unrelated to shale gas.

Methods

We conducted 2589 bird surveys at 190 sites across this region, and quantified community-level and species-specific thresholds relating to forest cover and distance to anthropogenic disturbance, using Threshold Indicator Taxa Analysis (TITAN).

Results

Forest interior species decreased abruptly in abundance and frequency of occurrence above a threshold of 17.0% overall forest loss, while early successional and synanthropic species increased abruptly above 30.5–36.5% forest loss, respectively. Broad quantile intervals around responses to distance from anthropogenic disturbance suggest these were not sharp threshold responses, but more gradual or linear responses. Among forest interior species evaluated, 48.1% increased in abundance farther from shale gas development, while 55.6% of early successional and synanthropic species decreased.

Conclusions

We found evidence of avian threshold responses to overall forest loss and fragmentation in affected landscapes across the Marcellus-Utica shale region. Our results suggest that efforts to avoid shale gas development in regional core forests—particularly those still retaining ≥ 83% forest cover—can reduce negative effects on area-sensitive, forest interior dependent species.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in collaboration with the Appalachian Mountains Joint Venture, and by a dissertation fellowship from the Southern Regional Education Board. The WV Division of Natural Resources, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and PA Game Commission provided support in the field and access to field housing. We are grateful to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, WV Host Farms Program, the many landowners who granted access to private property, and especially to the technicians who collected field data and assisted with land cover digitization. T Fearer, JT Anderson, DJ Brown, BE McNeil, and GT Merovich provided guidance during project design. Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments that greatly improved this manuscript. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Farwell, L.S., Wood, P.B., Dettmers, R. et al. Threshold responses of songbirds to forest loss and fragmentation across the Marcellus-Utica shale gas region of central Appalachia, USA. Landscape Ecol 35, 1353–1370 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01019-3

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