title: Risks to biodiversity from hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus and Utica shales.
abstract: High-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing (HVHHF) for mining natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shales is widespread in Pennsylvania and potentially throughout approximately 280,000 km(2) of the Appalachian Basin. Physical and chemical impacts of HVHHF include pollution by toxic synthetic chemicals, salt, and radionuclides, landscape fragmentation by wellpads, pipelines, and roads, alteration of stream and wetland hydrology, and increased truck traffic. Despite concerns about human health, there has been little study of the impacts on habitats and biota. Taxa and guilds potentially sensitive to HVHHF impacts include freshwater organisms (e.g., brook trout, freshwater mussels), fragmentation-sensitive biota (e.g., forest-interior breeding birds, forest orchids), and species with restricted geographic ranges (e.g., Wehrle's salamander, tongue-tied minnow). Impacts are potentially serious due to the rapid development of HVHHF over a large region.
authors.affiliation: Hudsonia, Annandale, NY 12504, USA. kiviat@bard.edu
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kiviat
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001061:Appalachian Region; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D016468:Forestry; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D006801:Humans; D008906:Mining; D059206:Natural Gas; D061329:Oil and Gas Fields; D059392:Petroleum Pollution; D045483:Rivers; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical
chemical_list: D006256:Hazardous Waste; D059206:Natural Gas