Habitat Fragmentation and Breeding Bird Populations in Western North Dakota after the Introduction of Hydraulic Fracturing

Abstract

This study quantifies the amount of habitat fragmentation experienced since the introduction of hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken region of North Dakota, using the Little Missouri National Grassland as a study area. All development in and immediately surrounding the Grassland was digitized for successive years between 2003 and 2016, and populations of grassland bird species were used as a proxy for measuring the effects of development within the Grassland during these same years. Results show that hydraulic fracturing has had a measurable but small impact on the Grassland overall; large portions of the Grassland have not yet seen large-scale oil development, whereas the northernmost portion of the Grassland has seen a substantial increase in fragmentation. Of thirteen bird species investigated, the Sprague’s pipit (Anthus spragueii) showed a significant decrease in population as habitat fragmentation increased, whereas the other twelve species did not have a significant relationship to fragmentation. We suggest that further development in the region could result in increased stresses placed on the local ecosystems. Key Words: Bakken, breeding birds, habitat fragmentation, hydraulic fracturing, North Dakota.