The Galliformes have captured our imagination and influenced myth, art, and dance for centuries and more than any other bird we have depended on them as a protein source, entertainment, status symbol, and pet. Wild populations of this order play an important role as bioindicators and domesticated species like the chicken have circumvented the globe with us. These domesticated species are an important part of our economy and the chicken has become one of the most numerous birds in the world.

Establishing an exact methodology for the conservation of all species in this order is just not possible because of the varied needs of the birds and the cultures they inhabit. This chapter will instead focus on a social science‐based approach to conservation which provides an inclusive and holistic framework. Through this lens, we will evaluate the conservation programs for two subspecies (one extinct and one extant) and one species representing two of the most imperiled birds in this order. This chapter will conclude with an overview of areas where further research and work are needed to advance the success of Galliformes conservation programs.

20.1 Conservation Status

As children, we are all taught that elephants and tigers are endangered, but endangered is just one of eight terms used to define the conservation status of a species. These terms describe how urgent conservation action is required to prevent extinction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was formed in 1948 as a branch of the United Nations and its mission is to “Influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable” [1]. The Red List of Endangered Species was founded in 1964 and is a part of the IUCN.

The Red List ranks all animals at the species level and places them into eight conservation status designations, defining a population status from stable to extinction (data deficient, least concern, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild, and extinct). The Red List further defines the status of a population through four population trends from unknown to decreasing (unknown, increasing, stable, and decreasing). A species is placed in these classifications by the IUCN Taxonomic Specialist Groups. [1] These groups comprise expert volunteers on the taxon who evaluate all the species under their purview in conjunction with experts in the country of origin. This system is the accepted international conservation status authority at the species level and can be accessed by the public through the Red List website (Tables 20.1 and 20.2). Of the 295 species in this order, 74 are threatened with extinction and 213 have a decreasing population trend.

Within the 295 species, there are 664 described subspecies of Galliformes and none of these subspecies are currently evaluated on the Red List. The conservation status of a subspecies is important because it represents a portion of a species’ range. For example, the ring‐necked pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List but it has 34 described subspecies, some of which are regionally considered endangered and protected. As genetic analysis is applied more to taxonomy, some of these subspecies may in fact be elevated to full species status.

The risk of extinction to a subspecies is determined by the regional authority of the country (or countries) within its range. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is the accepted resource for the conservation status of a US subspecies. A species can be listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List but can be protected as endangered under the ESA. This Act provides resources for the protection of a species, protects critical habitat and defines the recovery process through a published recovery plan. Foreign species can be listed under the ESA and this protects against imports and exports to or from the United States of America [2].

20.2 Social Science Approach

The Holocene, our current geological epoch, is defined by anthropogenic extinctions. To understand anthropogenic extinctions, we must understand more than just the biology of a species, but how our actions cause(d) endangerment. The social sciences (anthropology, sociology, and history) provide a holistic framework within which to define our cultural interactions with a species.

A recent movement in conservation known as ethnoornithology emphasizes cultural knowledge of a species at the forefront of its recovery [3]. This method places the species into its cultural context and defines cultural use, cultural beliefs, and the role a species plays within a culture. Through this process, the factors that have contributed to the endangerment of a species (e.g., trade, hunting, habitat augmentation, etc.) are quantified. Investigating our own cultural beliefs of a species can lend a greater understanding to this concept. The crow of a rooster is associated with waking up the farmer, but it also symbolizes the rising of the sun itself. But what if the rooster goes extinct? Does the sun still rise? How long does this knowledge stay within our culture?

20.3 Conservation Population Management

The paradigm shift of zoos from menageries to conservation organizations in the 1970s ushered in the management of populations as conservation safeguards. In 1980, conservation was the highest priority of the 158 member institutions of the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums (AAZPA), the precursor to the present‐day Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The AZA acts as the professional association and accrediting body for zoos and aquariums in the United States. In 1981, the Species Survival Plan (SSP) was formed, establishing cooperative management of select species across all AAZPA institutions [4].

Taxonomic Advisory Groups (TAG) were created in 1990 to oversee and create the species survival plans (SSPs). The TAG role is to publish a regional collection plan every five years that provides species recommendations to AZA institutions. An important aspect of the collection plan is ensuring that an SSP can meet its long‐term genetic and demographic goals. One of the most important factors for a successful captive breeding program is space to grow the population within AZA to ensure sustainability [5].

In 2000, to aid in the management of SSPs, the Population Management Center was founded at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. This center employs population biologists who evaluate the genetics of a SSP and recommend transfers to increase genetic diversity and demography. SSPs are managed with the goal of maintaining 90% of a population’s genetic diversity for 100 years [6]. This is a lofty goal and one that many populations, especially those that were rescued from the wild, do not meet due to a limited or unknown founder base. This genetic criterion serves as a goal to work toward and a benchmark to compare SSPs across taxa.

20.4 History of the Conservation of the Heath Hen and Attwater’s Prairie Chicken

The greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido), Near Threatened on the Red List, had three subspecies, one of which, the heath hen (Tympanuchus cupido cupido), is now extinct and another, the Attwater’s prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri), which is Endangered. These birds have a form of mating display called lekking which is dependent on many males displaying together to attract mates. The male display occurs in spring and consists of inflating brightly colored air sacs on either side of the head, producing a low boom vocalization, accompanied with the rapid drumming/stamping of the feet, and a loud “cackle” vocalization (Figure 20.1a). Copulation occurs at the lekking site and the hen is solely responsible for the incubation and rearing of the chicks. These grouse have a breeding season restricted to the spring months, making them vulnerable to changes in weather patterns (e.g., late winters, hurricanes, floods). The breeding display of the greater prairie chicken is the inspiration for the “Chicken Dance” or “Prairie Chicken Dance” which is performed by the First Nation cultures of the Cree and the Blackfoot [7].

The heath hen was described to science in 1758 by Linnaeus and ranged along the coastal regions of the Eastern Seaboard from Maine possibly as far south as the Carolinas [8]. The New England region was the site of the first American colonies which experienced rapid human population growth, intense habitat conversion through new agriculture practices, and harvesting of natural resources for both the colonies and export to Europe. Other negative pressures by colonists came in the form of large‐scale hunting, farming of Old World domestic fowl (which brought new diseases), introduced predators in the form of pests (rats and mice), and domestic companion animals (dogs and cats). These combined threats all had a negative impact on this bird, quickly limiting its habitat and population [9].

As early as 1791, laws were proposed in Long Island, NY, to prevent the overharvesting of this bird and were one of the first US Galliformes conservation measures. By the 1830s, heath hens had become extremely rare and in 1831, Massachusetts passed legislation that established a hunting season, but enforcement was lax [8]. In 1869, the mainland population of the heath hen had collapsed and gone extinct, with one remaining holdout on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts [10]. Martha’s Vineyard is approximately 96 square miles (or 61,400 acres) though not all was suitable habitat for the heath hen. A census of the bird in 1890 found that the entire global population totaled only 100–200 birds [10].

A census in 1907 found 77 birds remaining and in that same year, the state of Massachusetts renewed its effort to conserve this bird. It established a 1600‐acre refuge on Martha’s Vineyard, initiated a yearly census, a captive breeding effort, supplemental feeding of the wild birds, limiting predators, and increased protections against poaching. The captive breeding effort started with a clutch of nine heath hen eggs that were fostered under a domestic chicken broody hen. Only one egg hatched, and the resulting chick was killed by the broody hen [8]. Between the years of 1908 and 1912, the population vacillated before finally rebounding to 300 birds in 1912. This increase was followed by another population milestone in 1914 with an estimated 1000 birds present. In 1916, the population of the heath hen reached its highest at an estimated 2000 individual birds on the island [8]

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