Conventional oil and gas development in northern
Pennsylvania altered bird communities, and the current massive build-out of
shale-gas infrastructure may accelerate these changes, according to researchers
in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.
The commonwealth's Northern Tier -- one of the largest
blocks of Eastern deciduous forest in the entire Appalachian region -- is an
important breeding area for neotropical migrant songbirds. These diminutive,
insect-eating creatures, which breed in Pennsylvania and winter in Central and
South America, contribute greatly to the health of forests.