Impacts of oil well drilling and operating noise on abundance and productivity of grassland songbirds

Anthropogenic noise from natural resource extraction may negatively impact
many species, particularly those reliant on acoustic communication. To
compare impacts of several types of noise resulting from oil extraction
operations on habitat use and productivity of grassland songbirds, we
designed and implemented a novel large-scale, spatially and temporally
replicated experiment. We recreated soundscapes produced by
drilling and operating oil well noise, and compared impacts of
noise-producing and quiet playback infrastructure, in twenty-nine 64.7-ha
native prairie sites in Alberta, Canada, from 2013–2015. Drilling noise
recordings played 24 hours/day for 10 days, twice during each breeding
season, while oil well operating noise played continuously, 24 hours/day,
throughout each ~90-day breeding season. Despite the much shorter
duration of drilling noise playbacks, drilling noise negatively impacted
three of our four focal species, and had a much greater impact on habitat
use and productivity than did well operating noise. Infrastructure also
impacted Vesper Sparrows and Sprague’s Pipits, even in the absence of
noise. Synthesis and applications: Acute oil drilling noise had a
greater negative impact on breeding migratory birds when compared to
chronic oil well noise, perhaps because drilling noise is unpredictable.
While this study demonstrates that noise alone can negatively impact
habitat use, nesting success, and nestling quality, it is also clear that
effective mitigation strategies require both noise and above-ground
infrastructure management to reduce impacts on wildlife.