Welcome to the American Ornithological Society 2018 Annual Conference. We are pleased to have you join us at the lovely Hilton El Conquistador Resort in Tucson, AZ.
Solar energy is growing at unprecedented rates, yet its effects on wildlife remain largely unexplored. We examined the influence of a solar facility on avian communities by comparing abundances within the facility and at different distances up to 1600 m from the facility edge in the Nutt grasslands of south-central New Mexico. We conducted point count surveys on circular plots (n = 100) in 2014 and 2015, and evaluated relationships between avian abundance and distance to solar facility, distance to other edges, vegetation parameters, and insect abundance using negative binomial regression. Year had the strongest influence, with grassland-associated bird abundance significantly increasing in 2015 (year with above-average precipitation) compared to 2014 (drought year). Grassland-associated bird abundance relative to the facility shifted patterns between years, producing a significant interaction between year and distance to facility. Conversely, columbids responded only to vegetation. Eurasian collared-doves and house finches were almost exclusively on the solar facility and increased significantly between years, suggesting that even developments in natural habitats can facilitate synanthropic populations. These results demonstrate the variability in interspecific responses to a solar facility, highlighting the need for further research. We did not find strong overall impacts of the facility on grassland birds or specific species for pooled years. We detected different responses to the facility among guilds and species and between years, suggesting that: 1. climate conditions may interact with facility presence, 2. there is potential for a time lag effect, and 3. species vary in their responses to this type of disturbance.
