Effects of conventional energy infrastructure on leporid and sciurid density in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem
| Authors: | Lucretia E. E. Olson, John R. Squires, Mike Lockhart, Robert J. Oakleaf, Chad Olson, Lauren E. Throop, Zachary P. Wallace |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | Rocky Mountain Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2026.e04332 |
| Source: | Global Ecology and Conservation |
Abstract
Shrub and grassland ecosystems are globally threatened, and loss and degradation continue to increase due to a variety of human activities. Many species of conservation concern live in these ecosystems and rely on small mammals, such as rabbits (Leporidae) and squirrels (Sciuridae) for prey. In North America, Wyoming contains one of the largest remaining intact shrubland ecosystems but is also the location of extensive energy development. We determined the response of small mammal abundance to surface disturbance (oil or gas well pads and roads), and to vegetation and topographic indices. We surveyed leporids and sciurids from 2012 to 2016 across Wyoming near occupied nests of ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis), a raptor of conservation concern. We then predicted leporid and sciurid abundance given the existing amount of surface disturbance and for a scenario with no disturbance to quantify the landscape-scale effects of energy development on prey density. Finally, as a potential mechanism for differences in prey abundance, we tested for differences in remotely-sensed measures of vegetation between disturbed and undisturbed areas. We found that above-ground density of both leporids and sciurids was highest at undisturbed areas and lowest at roads. Current levels of disturbance result in 18% fewer leporids and 29% fewer sciurids compared to undisturbed sample sites. Vegetation cover differed significantly between undisturbed areas and disturbed, but not between disturbance types (roads and well pads). We conclude that energy infrastructure has an influence on fine-scale prey abundance but may be mediated by the maintenance of undisturbed areas in energy fields and revegetation of surface disturbance.