Washington, Sep 9 (IANS) Developing oil rigs in the Arctic is helping predators prey on nesting birds by providing them with subsidised housing.
They nest and den around drilling infrastructure and supplement their diets with garbage and nesting birds, says a new study by Wildlife Conservation Society, US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Oil development has attracted populations of opportunistic predators including Arctic fox, ravens, and gulls, which feed on nesting birds.

The predators use oil infrastructure, which ranges from drilling platforms to road culverts, to build their nests or dens.

“This is the first study specifically designed to evaluate the so-called oil ‘footprint’ effect in the Arctic on nesting birds,” said the study’s lead author, Joe Liebezeit of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

“The study was also unique in that it was a collaborative effort among conservation groups, industry, and federal scientists,” he added.

The study authors monitored nearly 2,000 nests of 17 passerine and shorebird species over a four-year period. Birds from five continents migrate to the Arctic each year to nest.

Researchers found one bird species, the Lapland longspur, lost significantly more nests in areas closer to oil development than farther away. Nests beyond five km from oil development remained unaffected by predators, said a WCS release.

Other birds, including red and red-necked phalaropes, may also be feeling the impact though data was less strong than with longspurs.

The study appears in the September issue of the Ecological Applications.