PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The Pennsylvania Game Commission is asking residents of the commonwealth for their help in studying possible genetic differences in ruffed grouse.
According to the Game Commission, some of these wild, undomesticated birds seem to be more "tame" than others, meaning they show little fear of or even act aggressively toward people, especially in spring and fall.
The organization is attempting to determine if the commonwealth’s grouse population shows signs of splitting up into distinct subpopulations and if “tame” behavior is linked to genetics.
If so, the Game Commission will adjust habitat management efforts to improve and maintain grouse population connectivity.
“Gaining a more complete understanding of the genetic diversity of Pennsylvania’s grouse population is critical to ensure proper management of our beloved state bird,” said Game Commission grouse biologist Reina Tyl.
The orchestrators of the study, including Pennsylvania State University, will take genetic samples from "tame" ruffed grouse to determine if they differ significantly from other undomesticated grouse who do not exhibit the same behaviors.
“You may be familiar with mail-order kits where a simple saliva sample or mouth swab can unlock all kinds of information about your own ancestry or information about the breed background of your dog,” said Tyl. “We will be sampling these ‘tame’ grouse in essentially the same way, swabbing their mouth and sending the swab off for genetic analysis.”
The grouse will be released at the same site they were captured immediately after the sample is obtained, the Game Commission said.
Researchers are asking Pennsylvanians to report sightings of the "tame" birds by sending an email to grousecomments@pa.gov with as much of the following information as possible:
- The person’s name and phone number
- Date of the sighting
- Location of the encounter
- Description of the grouse’s behavior
- GPS coordinates for the encounter site
- County and/or township
- Name of the property (like a particular state game lands)
- Property address
- Closest intersection
Game Commission staff may reach out to those who report encounters for additional information, if necessary.
Tyl says public participation is the key to success for this project, as the more birds the researchers are able to sample, the better.
