ScienceLine interviews Blomberg about spruce grouse decline

ScienceLine interviewed Erik Blomberg about the decline of spruce grouse. The University of Maine associate professor said the grouse population on Mount Desert Island could be an indication of broader species decline in Maine. Some of his current unpublished research indicates that spruce grouse in northern Maine are having a difficult time surviving. “There’s some reason to think that spruce grouse could be a pretty good ‘canary in the coal mine,’” he said. Because spruce grouse depend entirely on the forest and live there year-round, he said the health of the species is closely tied to the health of the forest.