Annual bird mortality in the bitumen tailings ponds in Northeastern Alberta, Canada

Wilson Journal of Ornithology

Volumn 122, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 569-576

  Timoney, Kevin P ^a   Ronconi, Robert A ^b  

^a Treeline Ecological Research   (Canada)

^b DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ANNUAL VARIATION; BIRD; BITUMEN; COHORT ANALYSIS; EXTRACTION; MASS MORTALITY; MIGRATORY POPULATION; OPEN PIT MINE; RESIDENT POPULATION; SPECIES CONSERVATION;

ALBERTA; CANADA;

AVES;

EID: 77956093335     PISSN: 15594491     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1676/09-181.1     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. ALBERTA ENERGY. 2009. Oil sands. Alberta Energy, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
2. BLOKPOEL, H. 1973. Bird migration forecasts for military air operations. Occasional Paper 16. Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
3. BLOKPOEL, H. AND J. BURTON. 1973. Weather and height of nocturnal migration in east-central Alberta: a radar study. Bird Banding 46:311-328.
4. BOAG, D. A. AND V. LEWIN. 1980. Effectiveness of three waterfowl deterrents on natural and polluted ponds. Journal of Wildlife Management 44:145-154.
5. BOMFORD, M. AND P. H. O'BRIEN. 1990. Sonic deterrents in animal damage control: a review of device tests and effectiveness. Wildlife Society Bulletin 18:411-422.
6. BROUGH T. AND C. J. BRIDGMAN. 1980. An evaluation of long grass as a bird deterrent on British airfields. Journal of Applied Ecology 17:243-253.
7. BUTTERWORTH, E., A. LEACH, M. GENDRON, B. POLLARD, AND G. R. STEWART. 2002. Peace-Athabasca Delta Waterbird Inventory Program: 1998-2001. Ducks Unlimited Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
8. CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (CBC). 2008. Few survivors after 500 ducks take dip in Alberta oil sands waste. CBC News, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2008/04/30/ducksfollo. html?ref5rss
9. CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION (CBC). 2010. Syncrude ducks death trial. CBC News, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/ story/2010/03/24/f-edmonton-indepth-syncrude-duckstrial. html
10. CLARK, R. B. 1984. Impact of oil pollution on seabirds. Environmental Pollution (Series A) 33:1-22.
11. CONOVER, M. 2001. Resolving human-wildlife conflicts: the science of wildlife damage management. CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
12. DONATO, D. B., O. NICHOLS, H. POSSINGHAM, M. MOORE, P. F. RICCI, AND B. N. NOLLER. 2007. A critical review of the effects of gold cyanide-bearing tailings solutions on wildlife. Environment International 33:974-984.
13. DYKE, G. R., D. A. BIRDSALL, AND P. L. SHARP. 1976. Test of a bird deterrent device at a tailings pond, Athabasca Oil Sands, 1974. Professional Paper 1976-1. Syncrude Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
14. GENTES, M.-L. 2006. Health assessment of Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) nesting on Athabasca oil sands, Alberta. Thesis. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
15. GOLDER ASSOCIATES LTD. 2000. Report on oil sands tailings pond bird deterrent systems-a review of research and current practices. Suncor Energy Inc. (Oil Sands), Syncrude Canada Ltd., and Albian Sands Energy Inc., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
16. GULLEY, J. 1980. Factors influencing the efficacy of human effigies in deterring waterfowl from polluted ponds. Thesis. University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
17. HARTUNG, R. 1967. Energy metabolism in oil-covered ducks. Journal of Wildlife Management 31:798-804.
18. KING, J. AND L. I. BENDELL-YOUNG. 2000. The toxicological significance of grit ingestion to juvenile Mallard ducklings. Journal of Wildlife Management 192:181-193.
19. MCCOMB, B., B. ZUCKERBERG, D. VESELY, AND C. JORDAN. 2010. Monitoring animal populations and their habitats: a practitioner's guide. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
20. MCEWAN, E. H. AND A. F. C. KOELINK. 1973. The heat production of oiled Mallards and scaup. Canadian Journal of Zoology 51:27-31.
21. MCLAREN, M. A. AND P. L. MCLAREN. 1985. Bird migration watches on Crown Lease 17, Alberta, Fall 1984. Environmental Research Monograph 1985-2. Syncrude Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
22. MEAD, C. 1997. Poor prospects for oiled birds. Nature 390:449-450.
23. NEWTON, I. 2007. The migration ecology of birds. Elsevier Ltd., New York, USA.
24. READ, J. L. 1999. A strategy for minimizing waterfowl deaths on toxic ponds. Journal of Applied Ecology 36:345-350.
25. RICHARDSON, W. J. 1971. Spring migration and weather in eastern Canada: a radar study. American Birds 25:684-690.
26. RONCONI, R. A. 2006. Predicting bird oiling events at oil sands tailings ponds and assessing the importance of alternate waterbodies for waterfowl: a preliminary assessment. Canadian Field-Naturalist 120:1-9.
27. RONCONI, R. A. AND C. C. ST. CLAIR. 2006. Efficacy of a radar-activated on-demand system for deterring waterfowl from oil sands tailings ponds. Journal of Applied Ecology 43:111-119.
28. SCHICK, C. D. AND K. R. AMBROCK. 1974. Waterfowl investigations in the Athabasca Tar Sands Area. Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
29. SHARP, P. L., D. A. BIRDSALL, AND W. J. RICHARDSON. 1975. Inventory studies of birds on and near Crown Lease Number 17, Athabasca Tar Sands, 1974. Environmental Research Monograph 1975-4. Syncrude Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
30. STEVENS, R. G. AND L. CLARK. 1998. Bird repellents: development of avian-specific tear gases for resolution of human-wildlife conflicts. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 42:153-160.
31. STICKLEY, A. R., D. F. MOTT, AND J. O. KING. 1995. Shortterm effects of an inflatable effigy on cormorants at catfish farms. Wildlife Society Bulletin 23:73-77.
32. SYNCRUDE. 2006. Annual report of oil sands development in 2005 and projected for 2006, Mildred Lake Oil Sands Mine. Alberta Environment, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
33. SYNCRUDE. 2008. 2007 Annual reclamation progress tracking report, Mildred Lake and Aurora North oil sands mines. Alberta Environment, Edmonton, Canada.
34. THOMAS, R. 2002. An updated, provisional bird inventory for the Peace-Athabasca Delta, northeastern Alberta. BC Hydro, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
35. TIMONEY, K. P. AND P. LEE. 2009. Does the Alberta tar sands industry pollute? The scientific evidence. The Open Conservation Biology Journal 3:65-81.
36. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR (USDI). 2009a. Migratory bird mortality in oilfield wastewater disposal facilities. USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service, Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA. http://www.fws.gov/mountain-prairie/ contaminants/contaminants1b.html
37. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR (USDI). 2009b. Waterfowl breeding population and habitat survey strata estimates, Strata 13-18, 20, and 77. USDI, Fish and Wildlife Service, Patuxent, Maryland, USA. http:// mbdcapps.fws.gov/
38. VAN MEER, T. AND B. ARNER. 1985. Bird surveillance and protection programme, summary of 1984 and 1985 activities. Syncrude Canada Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
39. WAYLAND, M. AND J. SMITS. 2004. The ecological viability of constructed wetlands at Suncor: population and health-related considerations in birds. Task 5. Pages 48-61 in Northern Rivers Ecosystem Initiative: collective findings. Assessment of natural and anthropogenic impacts of oil sands contaminants within the Northern River Basins (F. M. CONLY, Compiler). Environment Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
40. WELLS, J., S. CASEY-LEFKOWITZ, G. CHAVARRIA, AND S. DYER. 2008. Impact on birds of tar sands oil development in Canada's boreal forest. Natural Resources Defense Council, New York, USA.