West-Nile
Virus: The Ruffed Grouse Killer
What
is West-Nile Virus?
West-Nile Virus is an infectious disease primarily
carried by infected mosquitoes. West-Nile Virus first made an appearance in the
United States of America in the year 1999. Victims of this disease typically
show little to no symptoms, but, for those who do, fever, headache, skin rashes
and swollen lymph glands are all prominent signs of the disease (Medline 2017).
West-Nile Virus enters through the brain. Even though
the symptoms may be mild, this disease is known to be deadly, not only to
humans, but to a number of wildlife species. Once the disease enters the brain,
it begins to infect the tissue of the brain, causing inflammation around the
brain and spinal cord. This inflammation can cause trigger different diseases
such as encephalitis and meningitis (Medline 2017).
There is really no way of curing West-Nile Virus, but
there are several ways of preventing the spread of the disease. One way is by
simply using insect repellant. Another way is by destroying the areas around
your home that mosquitoes may use as breeding sites; areas such as old tires,
buckets and barrels are all know areas mosquitoes may use as breeding sites.
Ruffed
Grouse
Ruffed grouse are a rather small, plump game bird
primarily found in Northeastern United States, with a small distribution in the
Pacific Northwest. Ruffed grouse typically stand about a foot in height and
typically weigh in at a whopping 26.5 ounces. Their camouflage pattern of a
mottled red, brown and grey with a mixture of dark barring, give them the
appearance of a dead leaf forest floor, which is beneficial because of their
numerous predators. During the breeding season, male ruffed grouse can be
easily heard throughout Pennsylvania forests because of their distinctive
drumming beat caused by the pumping of their wings against their bodies
(Cornell 2017).
Ruffed grouse typically live in mixed aspen, spruce
and birch stands which is essential habitat for all of the life phases of the
ruffed grouse. Ruffed grouse also spend a majority of their time around waterways
such as streams and swamps in search of an easy meal such as insects and other
invertebrates.
Ruffed
Grouse and West-Nile Virus
Ruffed grouse and West-Nile Virus do not have a very
good relationship. Because of the ruffed grouse habitat preference, they spend
a lot of time around prime mosquito breeding grounds. With this close
relationship, ruffed grouse make an easy meal for the local mosquitos, some of
which may be carriers of the West-Nile Virus disease (RGS 2016).
The Pennsylvania Game Commission noticed a huge drop
in both ruffed grouse population numbers and hunter success rate between the
years 2002 and 2005. This raised a huge red flag and biologists knew this was
an issue that required further research. Pennsylvania Game Commission ruffed
grouse biologist, Lisa Williams, began to read into the situation and did
extensive research on different diseases of game birds in Pennsylvania, and
West-Nile Virus was the disease that really stood out. To find an answer to
this problem a laboratory study was set up to determine if the exposure of
West-Nile Virus had a deadly effect on ruffed grouse (PGC 2017).
During the study Lisa was able to collect hundreds of
eggs from wild ruffed grouse nests throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Upon
collection of these eggs, they were safely packaged in individual foam pouches
and shipped to a farm in Idaho who would safely incubate and eventually hatch
the eggs into ruffed grouse chicks. Once the chicks reached an age of four to
six weeks the live young were packaged and shipped to a laboratory in Colorado,
where they would be exposed to the virus. After the first week of exposure to
West-Nile Virus, approximately 40% of the ruffed grouse chicks had died as a
direct result of the disease. Chicks that survived at least two weeks after the
exposure were then opened up and their vital organs were examined. These chicks
showed severe organ damage such as infected brain tissue and infected heart
tissue, which showed these chicks would have not been able to survive in the
wild (PGC 2017).
This study shows that West-Nile Virus is the main
cause in the decline of ruffed grouse populations throughout the state of
Pennsylvania. There is not much we can do to stop this disease but there is
extensive research going into ways we can prevent this disease from spreading
and possibly killing the ruffed grouse species in Pennsylvania (PGC 2017).
Cornell
Lab of Ornithology. 2017. Ruffed grouse.
<https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruffed_Grouse/lifehistory>. Accessed
25 April 2017.
MedlinePlus.
2017. West Nile virus. <https://www.medlineplus.gov/westnilevirus.html>.
Accessed 25 April 2017.
Pennsylvania
Game Commission [PGC]. 2017. Ruffed grouse- short version.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE_KnTAt7AY>. Accessed 25 April 2017.
Ruffed
Grouse Society [RGS]. 2016. West Nile virus and ruffed grouse.
<https://www.ruffedgrousesociety.org/WNV-and-grouse>. Accessed 25 April
2017.
Hi Nick, You bring up some great points. West Nile Virus is nothing to joke about. I find it very interesting and cool that Pennsylvania Game Commission are the ones that are conducting all of this research. Ruffed Grouse are Pennsylvania’s state bird. Ruffed Grouse are very unique and important to the great Pennsylvania woods. Research is critical towards finding a way to fight this epidemic. West Nile Virus does not only affect Ruffed Grouse, but it affects a number of songbird species that are native to Pennsylvania. If scientist, find a cure, or a way to prevent the spread, the big million-dollar question arrives, how do we spread the solution to the wild?
ReplyDeleteHi Nick, I did not know myself how much West Nile Virus affected Ruffed Grouse. While there is no way to cure the disease, hopefully through research we can find a way to treat it. The Ruffed Grouse is a important species for Pennsylvania and we need to find someway to keep their populations from declining.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick, Very interesting article. I did not know that the Pennsylvania Game Commission attribute the decline of the ruffed grouse to the west nile disease. Has there been any discussion of spreading any kinds of insecticides to help control mosquito populations in high risk areas? I know I enjoy hunting ruffed grouse and think that measures to reduce mosquitos would be greatly beneficial especially since the decline of the cave dwelling bats across the nation. If there is an insecticide that can be distibuted without harming other wildlife species it may even help control the tick problem.
ReplyDeletehi Nick, this article caught my attention because I am a very enthusiastic grouse hunter. I am very pleased and interested in the fact that the Pennsylvania Game Commission is conducting research and the results that they found. I was very surprised that the researchers collected hundreds of eggs for this study since the population is declining the way it is; however, i understand the need for research in order to find a way to stop the spread of this nasty virus.
ReplyDeleteHeythere Nick, Great read here. West Nile is a terrible thing isnt it. I can not believe that it has such an impact on our Ruffed Grouse population. I irds have recently started hunting for grouse this passed year and it is so much fun and tastes pretty good as well! I hope we find a way to cure this terrible virus in these birds and overall try to get rid of it. The Ruffed Grouse means so much to this state and i would hate to see anything happen to it as do so many other people.
ReplyDeleteNick, I have listened to a few of Lisa's lectures and was just amazed how much West Nile has affect the state's ruffed grouse population. I am interested to see if grouse build up an immunity to West Nile Virus, or if the population still declines in the future. I realize this is a huge controversy in management because grouse hunters are concerned about the decline in grouse numbers, but there is really nothing that biologist can do other than research and monitor grouse populations to try and figure out more about this disease.
ReplyDeleteHey nick, i thought that this was a great article i can't believe that West Nile Virus has that big of an impact on Ruffed Grouse. Hunting grouse is such a fun time it would be a shame to lose this bird. hopefully something can be done
ReplyDelete