Galliformes of the World

Presented by Ron Johnson. Game birds have played an interesting role in history. We have domesticated them, relish them as a food source, hunt them for sport, and transport them from one country to another. Some species are invasive in introduced countries, but threatened in their homeland. Ron is collaborating with two colleagues on writing a new monograph on pheasants. The JVAS program will first give an overview of the families in the order Galliformes — Megapodiidae (brush turkeys), Cracidae (guans, curassows), Numididae (guineafowl), Odontophoridae (new world quails), and pheasianidae (pheasants, partridges, turkeys and grouse).  Many of the game birds around the world are Threatened or Endangered because of habitat loss, or exploitation. Ron will then explore the pheasant family: their importance, current status, and ongoing conservation projects. He will discuss species and subspecies as it relates to threatened or endangered rank and how this affects conservation strategies. Do we save only full species or are subspecies important to preserving genetic diversity? What role do ex situ projects play in preserving species?