Image
Ecology and Vulnerability
Ruffed Grouse
Photo credit: Bill Byrne, MassWildlife
Scientific name
Bonasa umbellus
Profile: Ruffed Grouse ▾▸
Background
The ruffed grouse is a non-migratory bird species that lives in northern forest across Canada and the US1. Ruffed grouse prefer habitat that includes a variety of forest cover types, but...
Background
The ruffed grouse is a non-migratory bird species that lives in northern forest across Canada and the US1. Ruffed grouse prefer habitat that includes a variety of forest cover types, but early successional habitat (young forest with densely growing young trees) is particularly important1,2,3. Populations of ruffed grouse have been declining in much of their eastern range, including Massachusetts and southern New England, as early successional habitats have given way to mid-aged and mature forest over the past several decades4,5,6.
Climate Impacts
The distribution of ruffed grouse is closely associated with the distribution of quaking aspen7 trees, and population densities are typically high in this forest type8. Declines in this tree species have been related to climate change, as well as to the reduction in forest disturbance (such as fire and logging) and natural forest successional changes. The distribution of aspen is projected to continue to decline in the future, potentially impacting grouse populations9. In the Northeast, quaking aspen is a relatively minor component of forest tree species composition4,10, but decreases of other young forest species and types will also reduce grouse numbers. Adequate snow cover can also be important for overwinter survival in grouse, as they burrow into deep soft snow during cold winter periods11. Warming temperatures will likely change the quantity and characteristics (e.g., crusting conditions) of snow12, making snow roosting more difficult. However, warming temperatures may also offset the need for snow roosting in some cases.
Climate change could potentially result in loss of ruffed grouse from states at the southern edge of their range, such as Massachusetts13. Modeling studies conducted by the Wildlife Management Institute predict a 20% decline in population size for New England. These studies were based on predicted changes to forest composition as a response to climate change over the next century14. Modeling conducted by the University of Massachusetts also predicts that climate change will greatly reduce the proportion of the Northeast landscape that is capable of supporting ruffed grouse by 208015.
References
1. Rusch, D.H., S. DeStefano, M.C. Reynolds, and D. Lauten. 2000. Ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). The Birds of North America, Number 515.
2. Bump, G., R.W. Darrow, F.C. Edminster, and W.F. Crissey. 1947. The ruffed grouse: life history, propagation, and management. Telegraph Press, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.
3. Dessecker, D.R., and D.G. McAuley. 2001. Importance of early successional habitat to ruffed grouse and American woodcock. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:456-465.
4. Endrulat, E.G., S.R. McWilliams, and B.C. Tefft. 2005. Habitat selection and home range size of ruffed grouse in Rhode Island. Northeastern Naturalist 12:411-424.
5. Blomberg, E.J., B.C. Tefft, E.G. Endrulat, and S.R. McWilliams. 2009. Predicting landscape-scale habitat distribution for ruffed grouse Bonasa umbellus using presence-only data. Wildlife Biology 15:380-394.
6. Porter, W.F., and M.A. Jarzyna. 2013. Effects of landscape-scale forest change on the range contraction of ruffed grouse in New York State, USA. Wildlife Society Bulletin 37:198-208.
7. Kubisiak, J.F. 1985. Ruffed grouse habitat relationships in aspen and oak forests of central Wisconsin. Department of Natural Resources Technical Bulletin 151, Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
8. Dessecker, D.R., G.W. Norman, and S.J. Williamson. 2007. Ruffed grouse conservation plan. Ruffed Grouse Society, Coraopolis, PA.
9. Worrall, J.J., G.E. Rehfeldt, A. Hamann, E.H. Hogg, S.B. Marchetti, M. Michaelian, and L.K. Gray. 2013. Recent declines of Populus tremuloides in North America linked to climate. Forest Ecology and Management 299:35-51.
10. Giroux, W., P. Blanchette, J.C. Bourgeois, and G. Cabana. 2005. Ruffed grouse brood habitat use in mixed softwood– hardwood nordic–temperate forests, Quebec, Canada. The Journal of Wildlife Management 71:87-95.
11. Whitaker, D.M., and D.F. Stauffer. 2003. Night roost selection during winter by ruffed grouse in the central Appalachians. Southeastern Naturalist 2:377-392.
12. Hayhoe, K., C.P. Wake, T.G. Huntington, L. Luo, M.D. Schwartz, J. Sheffield, E. Wood, B. Anderson, J. Bradbury, A. DeGaetano, T.J. Troy, and D. Wolfe. 2007. Past and future changes in climate and hydrological indicators in the US Northeast. Climate Dynamics 28:381-407.
13. Hoving, C.L., Y.M. Lee, P.J. Badra, and B.J. Klatt. 2013. Changing climate, changing wildlife: a vulnerability assessment of 400 species of greatest conservation need and game species in Michigan. Wildlife Division Report No. 3564. Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
14. Wildlife Management Institute. 2007. Adapting to climate change: agency science needs to adapt game management to changing global climate. A report to the National Commission on Energy Policy and the Hewlett Foundation. Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, DC.
15. DeLuca, W., and K. McGarigal. 2014. DSL Project Component: Species. Available at < http://www.umass.edu/landeco/research/dsl/documents/dsl_documents.html> (Accessed 29 April 2015).
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Ruffed Grouse (Northeastern US)
Ranking
Not Specified
Confidence
Not Specified
Climate scenario
Not Specified
Location
Northeastern US
Time period
Not Specified
Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment: Ruffed Grouse (Michigan)
Ranking
Presumed Stable
Confidence
Very High
Climate scenario
SRES A1B (Mid-range emissions scenario)
Location
Michigan
Time period
2050