Reptile, Amphibian, and Small Mammal Species Associated with Natural Gas Development in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia

Reptile, Amphibian, and Small Mammal Species Associated with Natural Gas Development in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia
Author :
Publisher :
Total Pages : 20
Release :
ISBN-10 : UOM:39015089330669
ISBN-13 :
Rating : 4/5 (69 Downloads)

Book Synopsis Reptile, Amphibian, and Small Mammal Species Associated with Natural Gas Development in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia by :

Download or read book Reptile, Amphibian, and Small Mammal Species Associated with Natural Gas Development in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia written by and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Burgeoning energy in the United States has led to increased natural gas exploration in the Appalachian Basin. Despite increasing natural gas development in the region, data about its impacts to wildlife are lacking. Our objective was to assess past and ongoing natural gas development impacts on reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals in the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. We sampled 40 gas well sites and compared amphibian, reptile, and small mammal captures among active producing, plugged (inactive), and storage well types. Total species richness and diversity were greater at storage gas well sites than at plugged wells. Although natural gas development adversely impacts moisture-sensitive woodland salamanders, our results suggest that maintained gas well openings may benefit other herpetofauna and small mammal species that use early successional habitat within predominately forested central Appalachian landscapes.


Reptile, Amphibian, and Small Mammal Species Associated with Natural Gas Development in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia Related Books