Reintroduction and GPS tracking of the black grouse in the National Park De Hoge Veluwe

Abstract

In 2007, the National Park De Hoge Veluwe started reintroducing the black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) into their park. Until now, the reintroduction was not very successful. The survival rates are low and there is no prove of reproducing black grouses in the park. To monitor the movements and habitat use of the released grouses, some of the grouses will receive a GPS transmitter before they are released. However, the effects of transmitters on ground dwelling bird species, including the black grouse, are not clear yet. This study investigated the effects of GPS senders attached by a harness on captive male and female black grouses. To investigate whether the transmitter has an influence on the behavior of the black grouses, the grouses were observed before and after the attachment of the transmitter. Some changes in behavior occurred after the birds received their transmitter, for example the increase in pacing, the decrease in courtship behavior and the birds were not able to fly the first few days. Also the effect on health and feather condition was examined and it seemed that the harness and sender did not have any negative influence on the health, weight or feather condition of the grouses. However, the sample size in this study was very small and the observations took place in different times of the year. Therefore, further research with a cross-over design and a bigger sample size is necessary to determine the true effect of a transmitter on black grouses.