Welcome to the interactive web schedule for the 2017 SEAFWA Conference! For tips on how to navigate this site, visit the "Helpful Info" section. To return to the SEAFWA website, go to: www.seafwa.org/conference/overview
Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Cassandra G. Skaggs, Kevin M. Ringelman – Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University AgCenter; Kaylan Carrlson, Ducks Unlimited; Chuck Loesch, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service- Habitat and Population Evaluation Team; Frank Rohwer, Delta Waterfowl; Michael L. Szymanski, North Dakota Game and Fish Department
ABSTRACT: The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is responsible for producing more than half of the dabbling ducks in North America. The PPR in northwestern North Dakota coincides with the Bakken shale formation, where rapidly accelerating oil and gas development has the potential to impact more than one million duck pairs. Our goal is to assess the effect of energy development in the Bakken on waterfowl nest density and success. We selected sites that were stratified by the intensity of energy development as measured by the number of well pads present (Control: 0, Low: 1, Medium: 2-3, High: >3). We used a chain drag to search for waterfowl nests on at least two 32-ha grassland replicates on 28 plots (7 in each category) during spring 2015–2017. Over three years, we searched a total of 8,657 hectares and found over 4,500 nests. Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors), Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), and Gadwall (Anas strepera) comprised 75% of nests that were located. We evaluated nest success in relation to various metrics of oil and gas activity and landscape-level fragmentation. Preliminary results suggest nest survival weakly increased with the intensity of petroleum development in 2015, however this was not supported in 2016. In 2017, habitat conditions and oil and gas activity were similar to 2015, therefore, we expect to see similar nest success results. While areas of high extraction activity may lead to an increase in nest success, an irreversible decrease in nest density could lower the waterfowl production capacity of the region.
Monday October 30, 2017 2:20pm - 2:40pm EDT
Carroll Ford