Impacts of Solar Energy Development On Breeding Birds in Desert Grasslands In South Central New Mexico

Abstract

Solar energy is growing at unprecedented rates, with the most development projected to occur in areas with high concentrations of threatened and endangered species, yet its effects on wildlife remain largely unexplored. In 2014 and 2015 we examined the influence of a solar facility on avian community occupancy in the Nutt grasslands of south-central New Mexico. We examined the effect of distance to solar facility as well as other habitat covariates, including vegetation structure and orthopteran abundance, on community occupancy and occupancy trends for individual species. We did not find a significant effect of distance to solar facility on occupancy probability for the songbird community. Instead, orthopteran abundance had a significant positive effect on occupancy probability for the community. Two synanthropic species, Eurasian-collared dove (Streptopelia decaocto), and house finch (Haemorhous mexicanus), were found almost exclusively within the solar facility and both species increased between years, suggesting that developments in natural habitats may facilitate populations of synanthropic species. These results demonstrate the variability in responses of different species to a solar facility and the interacting influence of habitat characteristics and disturbance associated with development.