Wild Turkey Science

Marcus and Will recap Dr. Harper's dense episodes by discussing indicator plants to evaluate success in brood field management.  Resources: iNaturalist Seek Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses Wildlife Food Plots and Early Successional Plants GeFellers, James Wade, et al. "Seeding is not always necessary to restore native early successional plant communities." Restoration Ecolog...

Turkeys for Tomorrow Legal Council and board member Carter Weeks joins us to discuss how TFT got started, the vision of the organization, and how you can get involved to make a difference. To learn more about TFT, check out turkeysfortomorrow.org .  Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Will Gulsby ( dr_will_gulsby ) ( Academic Profile ) Turkeys for Tomorrow ( turkeysfortom...

Dr. Craig Harper joins to disclose step-by-step instructions on how to implement better brooding and nesting cover on your property. This is an episode you won't want to miss.  Dr. Craig Harper ( Website )  Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Will Gulsby ( dr_will_gulsby ) ( Academic Profile ) Turkeys for Tomorrow ( turkeysfortomorrow )  UF DEER Lab ( ufdeerlab ) Donate t...

Dr. Craig Harper joins to disclose step-by-step instructions on how to implement better brooding and nesting cover on your property. This is an episode you won't want to miss.  Dr. Craig Harper ( Website )  Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Will Gulsby ( dr_will_gulsby ) ( Academic Profile ) Turkeys for Tomorrow ( turkeysfortomorrow )  UF DEER Lab ( ufdeerlab ) Donate t...

FWC Wild Turkey Management Program Coordinator Buddy Welch discloses details on the previous and on-going research conducted on wild turkeys. Then, discussion of Florida landowner resources, cost-share programs, and habitat characteristics unique to the state that are vital for turkey population. This is Part 2 of this episode. Resources from the episode: FWC Wild Turkey Summer Survey (opens June...

FWC Wild Turkey Management Program Coordinator Buddy Welch joins us to disclose details on the state's season frameworks, restocking history, and harvest trends. Then, a look into the previous and on-going research studies conducted on wild turkeys across Florida. This is Part 1 of this episode. Resources from the episode: FWC Wild Turkey Summer Survey (opens June 1) Florida Wildlife Corridor Flor...

PA Game Commission wild turkey biologist Mary Jo Caselena joins us to disclose details on their state's mark recapture study, population trends, and private landowner incentive programs. Then, a look into the largest conducted, multi-state mid-Atlantic hen population study. This is Part 2 for this episode. Resources from the episode: PA Landowner Programs Casalena, M. J., et al. "Understanding the...

PA Game Commission wild turkey biologist Mary Jo Caselena joins us to disclose details on their state's mark recapture study, population trends, and private landowner incentive programs. Then, a look into the largest conducted, multi-state mid-Atlantic hen population study. This is Part 1 of 2 for this episode. Resources from the episode: PA Landowner Programs Casalena, M. J., et al. "Understandin...

Wildlife Biologist John Gruchy gives us his fastball pitch on adjusting old fields, even food plots, into poult-rearing cover. This is Part 2 of Monday's episode. Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Will Gulsby ( dr_will_gulsby ) ( Academic Profile ) Turkeys for Tomorrow ( turkeysfortomorrow )  UF DEER Lab ( ufdeerlab ) Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation F...

Wildlife Biologist John Gruchy joins the show to discuss the timeline of landscape changes across Mississippi, consequences of earlier management decisions, and what we've got to eradicate moving forward. Check back Thursday for Part 2 of this episode.  Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Will Gulsby ( dr_will_gulsby ) ( Academic Profile ) Turkeys for Tomorrow ( turkeysfo...

Marcus and WIll jump back on to correct literature data on exotic grasses from Monday's episode, clarify a few points on CRP and burning during nesting, and swap turkey hunting stories.  Referenced paper: Barnes, Thomas G., Stephen J. DeMaso, and Matt A. Bahm. "The impact of 3 exotic, invasive grasses in the southeastern United States on wildlife." Wildlife Society Bulletin 37.3 (2013): 497-502. G...

In this episode, we discuss the large-scale habitat changes that may have contributed to wild turkey decline, key management strategies that shifted the landscapes, what changes contributed to habitat loss, and what we can do to save the poults moving forward.  Papers: Barnes, Thomas G., Stephen J. DeMaso, and Matt A. Bahm. "The impact of 3 exotic, invasive grasses in the southeastern United State...

Dr. Colter Chitwood re-joins the podcast to give us an update of the on-going turkey research in the state of Oklahoma. Learn details of the hunter-led work estimating vital rates to increase poult per hen ratios, and learn how state-wide genetics can help us understand turkey movement across the landscape. Dr. Colter Chitwood ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Pr...

Dr. Chris Moorman rejoins the podcast to discuss the use of prescribed fire during nesting season. Also, gain inside details on the studies Dr. Moorman has led concerning burn timing as it relates to ground nesting birds.  Papers: Kilburg, Eric L., et al. "Wild turkey nest survival and nest‐site selection in the presence of growing‐season prescribed fire." The Journal of Wildlife Management 78.6 (...

Dr. Colter Chitwood re-joins the podcast to give us an update of the on-going turkey research in the state of Oklahoma. Learn details of the hunter-led work estimating vital rates to increase poult per hen ratios, and learn how state-wide genetics can help us understand turkey movement across the landscape. Dr. Colter Chitwood ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Pr...

In this episode, we review our episodes on the density-dependence hypothesis, what we learned from conversations with experts, and implications this may have on management of the wild turkey moving forward.  Papers: Bond, Bobby T., et al. "Thirty-year case study showing a negative relationship between population and reproductive indices of eastern wild turkeys in Georgia." Georgia Journal of Scien...

In this episode, we give you an update on the ongoing projects in Alabama including preliminary results on which gobblers can breed, the most common predators of nests, effects of hunting on gobbling, and more.  Paper: Proportion of tom's had testes large enough that they could breed Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance ) ( Academic Profile ) Dr. Will Gulsby ( dr_will_gulsby ) ( Academic Profile ) T...

Is density dependence operating on wild turkeys? Dr. Bret Collier walks us through his point of view on density dependence and whether it is responsible for observed changes in turkey populations. We cover a lot of ground and discuss various aspects of wild turkey biology from many studies and regions.  Papers  Byrne, M. E., Chamberlain, M. J., & Collier, B. A. (2015). Potential density dependence...

What is density-dependence and could it be driving the patterns we're seeing in declining populations? Dr. Mark McConnell joins Marcus and Will to pull knowledge from research on density-dependence in upland game bird species and how these factors may affect wild turkey populations. Papers: Byrne, Michael E., et al. "Nest site fidelity and nesting success of female wild turkeys." Wildlife Society...

What does the available wild turkey research tell us and what gaps need to be filled moving forward? Dr. Chitwood walks us through 50+ years of published literature on eastern wild turkey vital rates. They literally incorporated all of the vital rates published on easterns into a model, to determine the status of population trajectories, and identify which factor was most important in driving thos...

It's obvious that we need to do something about poult-rearing cover. What are the opportunities for you to help on land you don't own? Join Marcus and Will as they discuss what desirable brooding cover looks like, how to achieve it, and how and where our listeners have improved turkey habitat on the places they hunt. This is a bonus episode for the tremendous feedback and questions received relate...

While at the Southeast Deer Study Group, Marcus and Will sit down to reflect on the recent predation episodes. They discuss key takeaways, lessons learned, and where mindsets began to shift. Paper: Palmer, William E., et al. "Effect of field borders and nest‐predator reduction on abundance of northern bobwhites." Wildlife Society Bulletin 33.4 (2005): 1398-1405. Dr. Marcus Lashley ( DrDisturbance...

200 private landowners, 25,000+ acres of private land, years of data… on hundreds of birds!?! If you live or hunt in North Carolina this episode is a must-listen! Dr. Chris Moorman joins Marcus and Will to reveal details on a unique, multi-regional wild turkey research project taking place in the state of North Carolina. Stay tuned for a later NC research update for details on how the project is p...

Dr. Bret Collier joins Marcus and Will to challenge the status quo of how we view wild turkey nest predation. Bringing a new perspective to how we define predators, Dr. Collier breaks down our conventional approach, while proposing a few new methods, to controlling wild turkey predation. Resources from the episode: Byrne, Michael E., and Michael J. Chamberlain. "Seasonal space use and habitat sele...

With limited research on wild turkey predator trapping, Marcus and Will turn to Dr. Dwayne Elmore for his professional and personal experience with predator trapping across various game bird species. Join as they pull and apply concepts from the available body of literature to help us further understand predator control for wild turkeys.  Resources from the episode: Ellis‐Felege, Susan N., et al....