/

.

Grids of 100 SM2+ and SM3 Song Meters

(Wildlife Acoustics Inc., Maynard, MA)

600m spacing between units

They are located on SAGD sites across

North eastern Alberta.

Paired grids using SM3 ARUs with time-

synchronized GPS units

Recovering seismic lines in upland

deciduous or mixed wood forest.

A station will either have an ARU with

one microphone directly attached or a

single microphone connected via cable to

the remaining port on the ARU located at

a nearby station.

Figure 1. Design for triangulation array

with SM3 and external mic adjacent.

.

Songbird response to recovering seismic lines and the influence of scaleJocelyn Gregoire, Dr. Erin Bayne, University of Alberta

References:

1. Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Developmet and Alberta Conservation Association. 2014. Status of the Canada Warbler (Cardellina

Canadensis) in Alberta. Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. Alberta Wildlife Status Report No. 70. Edmonton, Alberta. 41pp.

2. Ball, J. R., E. Bayne, and C. S. Machtans. 2009. Energy Sector Edge Effects on Songbird Nest Fate and Nest Productivity in the Boreal Forest of Western

Canada: a Preliminary Analysis. Pages 161–170 in T. D. Rich, C.Arizmendi, D.W. Demarest and C. Thompson (eds.), Tundra to Tropics: Connecting

Birds, Habitats and People. Proceedings of the Fourth International Partners in Flight Conference. McAllen, TX. Partners in Flight.

3. Lee, P., and S. Boutin. 2006. Persistence and developmental transition of wide seismic lines in the western Boreal Plains of Canada. Journal of

Environmental Management 78:240–250.

4. Nielsen, S.E.. July 2015. Personal Communication. Vegetation survey methods. University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB.

5. Nielsen, S. E., E. M. Bayne, J. Schieck, J. Herbers, and S. Boutin. 2007. A new method to estimate species and biodiversity intactness using empirically

derived reference conditions. Biological Conservation 137: 403–414.

6. Nitschke, C. R. 2008. The cumulative effects of resource development on biodiversity and ecological integrity in the Peace-Moberly region of Northeast

British Columbia, Canada. Biodiversity and Conservation 17: 1715–1740.

7. Tigner, D. J. 2012. Measuring wildlife response to seismic lines to inform land use planning decisions in northwest Canada. University of Alberta.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

8. Wilson, D. R., M. Battiston, J. Brzustowski, and D. J. Mennill. 2014. Sound Finder: a new software approach for localizing animals recorded with a

microphone array. Bioacoustics 23: 99–112.

Funding and support for this project is provided by: Acknowledgements:Bioacoustics Unit for logistical

support

Scott Wilson for technical support

Dr. Dean MacKenzie for his insight

and assistance in finding relevant

sources

Cut Blocks from Google Earth 2016

Seismic/Well pads from Google Earth 2016

IntroductionEnergy sector growth in Northern Alberta has

raised concerns about the anthropogenic effects

on the biodiversity of boreal forest

ecosystems6,7. Steam Assisted Gravity

Drainage (SAGD) disturbances makes up a

large component of this industry and are a

significant challenge to environmental

managers2,6. This study focuses on the

influence of seismic lines on boreal songbirds.

To best mitigate the long term effects of

seismic lines, their ecological impacts must be

understood at both a local and landscape

scales. Understanding the influence of scale on

species-impact relationships, will help to

improve model accuracy and define the limits

of predictive power.

MethodsTriangulation Grids:

Big Grids:

Data Analysis:Triangulation: a minimum of four

stations are used to localize a song

according to the time offset,

latitude/longitude and altitude of each

station used and the temperature at the

time of recording8.

Exploring new methods to decrease

processing time.

Preliminary results indicate a change in

the relationship between species

abundance and linear density with scale.

Higher resolution GIS data will better

account for the effect of vegetation type

and recovery.

SignificanceIdentifying how the species most

affected by a disturbance use the

affected and edge habitat allows

environmental managers to assess

recovery at a whole ecosystem level.

Given appropriate consideration to

spatial scaling, these relationships can

then can help to predict regional

consequences for species.

This can ultimately lead to the

development of spatially relevant

thresholds designed to reflect the

patterns and processes that promote

successful recovery.

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Collaborative Research and Development Grant (CRDPJ 469943-14) in conjunction with Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries, Cenovus Energy, and ConocoPhillips Canada.

For more informationContact jgregoir@ualberta.ca

Visit our lab blog at:

- http://wild49.biology.ualberta.ca/

Objectives

Objective 1: Determine how regenerating

seismic lines influence singing location and

movement the selected upland songbird

species at a local scale.

Objective 2: Identify how spatial scale of

analysis affects our interpretation of song bird

response to linear features. Figure 2. An example of a Big Grid

array deployed in the summer of 2015

Figure 3.

Ovenbird

detections

with linear

density at

different

scales

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