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Males of species with promiscuous mating systems are commonly observed to use larger ranges during the mating season relative to non‐mating seasons, which is often attributed to a change in movements related to reproductive activities. However, few studies link seasonal range sizes to variation in daily space use patterns to provide insight into the behavioral mechanisms underlying mating season range expansion. We studied 20 GPS‐tagged male wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo), a large upland gamebird, during the mating and summer non‐mating seasons to test the hypothesis that larger mating season ranges resulted from male wild turkeys expanding the scale of daily movement activities to locate and court females. We delineated mating and non‐mating seasons based on intensity of gobbling, a vocalization tied to courtship behavior, recorded by autonomous recording units distributed across the study area. Mating season ranges were significantly larger than non‐mating season ranges. Daily ranges were larger in the mating season, as were distances between roost sites used on consecutive nights. Variance in daily range size was greater in the mating season, but low temporal autocorrelation suggested considerable daily variability in both seasons. We found no evidence that male wild turkeys changed how they distributed daily movements within seasonal ranges, or differences in habitat use, suggesting larger mating season ranges result from male wild turkeys increasing the scale of their daily movements, rather than a systematic shift to a nomadic movement strategy. Likely, the distribution of females is more dynamic and ephemeral compared to other resources, prompting males to traverse larger daily ranges during the mating season to locate and court females. Our work illustrates the utility of using daily movement to understand the behavioral process underlying larger space use patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estimating survival and cause‐specific mortality of male eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is important for understanding population dynamics and implementing appropriate harvest management. To better understand age‐specific estimates of annual survival and harvest rates, we captured and marked male wild turkeys with leg bands (n = 311) or bands and transmitters (n = 549) in Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina, USA, during 2014–2022. We fitted time to event models to data from radio‐marked birds to estimate cause‐specific mortality and annual survival. We used band recovery models incorporating both band recovery and telemetry data to further investigate harvest rates and survival. Annual survival from known‐fate models in hunted populations was 0.54 (95% CI = 0.49–0.59) for adults and 0.86 (95% CI = 0.81–0.92) for juveniles. Cause‐specific mortality analysis produced an annual harvest estimate of 0.29 (95% CI = 0.24–0.33) for adults and 0.02 (95% CI = 0.01–0.03) for juveniles, whereas predation was 0.15 (95% CI = 0.10–0.20) and 0.12 (95% CI = 0.08–0.17), respectively. Annual survival for adult males in a non‐hunted population was 0.83 (95% CI = 0.72–0.97). Survival rate was negatively correlated with harvest rate, indicating harvest was an additive mortality source. Annual survival from band recovery models was 0.40 (95% CI = 0.37–0.44) for adults and 0.88 (95% CI = 0.81– 0.93) for juveniles, whereas annual harvest estimates were 0.24 (95% CI = 0.23–0.25) for adults and 0.04 (95% CI = 0.03–0.05) for juveniles. Both models suggested no differences in annual survival across years or among study areas, which included privately owned and public properties. Harvest was an additive mortality source for male wild turkeys, suggesting that managers interested in increasing annual survival of adult males could consider ways of reducing harvest rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temperature and precipitation have been identified as factors that potentially influence eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) reproduction, but robust analyses testing the relationship between weather parameters and turkey nest success are lacking. Therefore, we assessed how weather influenced turkey daily nest survival using 8 years of data collected from 715 nests across the southeastern United States. We also conducted exploratory analyses investigating if weather conditions during or prior to nesting best predicted nest success. We then assessed the possible implications of climate change through 2041–2060 for future eastern wild turkey daily nest survival and nest success for variables determined significant in analyses. During incubation, positive anomalies of minimum daily temperature were associated with greater daily nest survival. Precipitation during nesting was not a good predictor of daily nest survival. Exploratory analyses unexpectedly indicated that weather conditions in January prior to incubation were more important to nest success than weather conditions during incubation. In January, negative anomalies of minimum temperature and greater average daily precipitation were associated with greater nest success. Projections of future nest success or daily nest survival based on these relationships with the predictive covariates, and informed by climate models, suggest that nest success may increase as January precipitation increases and that daily nest survival may increase as temperature during incubation increases. These positive associations could be offset by a negative association between nest success and the expected increases in January minimum average temperature. Additional research is needed to investigate causes of these relationships and assess the implications of climate change for eastern wild turkey poult survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coordination in timing of reproduction is driven by multiple ecological and sociobiological processes for a wide array of species. Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) use a male dominance polygynous mating system, where males communicate with females via elaborate courtship displays and vocalizations at display sites. Most females prefer to mate with dominant males; therefore, asynchronous breeding and nesting may occur which can disproportionately influence individual fitness within breeding groups. For female wild turkeys, there are reproductive advantages associated with earlier nesting. As such, we evaluated reproductive asynchrony within and between groups of GPS‐tagged female eastern wild turkeys based on timing of nest initiation. We examined 30 social groups with an average of seven females per group (range 2–15) during 2014–2019 in west central Louisiana. We found that the estimated number of days between first nest initiation across females within groups varied between 3 and 7 days across years, although we expected 1–2 days to occur between successive nesting attempts of females within groups based on observations of captive wild turkeys in the extant literature. The number of days between successive nest attempts across females within groups was lower for successful than failed attempts, and nests with an average of 2.8 days between initiation of another nest were more likely to hatch. Our findings suggest that asynchronous reproduction may influence reproductive success in female wild turkeys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Use of band recovery data combined with estimates of hunter harvests provides a foundation for estimation of abundance and population trajectory for a variety of wildlife species. We banded 3,141 Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) during 2015–2021 and used band‐recovery data to assess annual survival and harvest, and to generate population estimates for male Rio Grande wild turkeys in Texas, USA. Our results indicated male recovery rate was age‐specific (adult = 0.095 ± 0.010 [SE]; juvenile = 0.036 ± 0.009) and adult and juvenile male annual survival was 0.49 ± 0.04 and 0.96 ± 0.14, respectively. Annual survival for adult females (0.68 ± 0.02) was lower than for juvenile females (0.98 ± 0.01). Female recovery rates were not different between fall and spring (0.017 ± 0.004; 0.013 ± 0.003, respectively) and combined harvest rate was 0.009 ± 0.006. Male population estimates, based on hunter harvest estimates, exhibited considerable temporal variation, ranging from 328,185 ± 66,313 in 2016 to 136,700 ± 27,621 in 2020. Using harvest average over the 7‐year study period, we estimated average male abundance was 228,709 ± 46,213. Female population estimates ranged from 895,556 ± 635,146 in 2016 to 409,889 ± 290,702 in 2020. We estimated an average female population of 561,578 ± 396,507. Researchers and managers should continue banding Rio Grande wild turkeys to assess long‐term trends and conduct additional work to confirm the accuracy of harvest estimates in Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gobbling activity of Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris; hereafter, turkeys) has been widely studied, focusing on drivers of daily variation. Weather variables are widely believed to influence gobbling activity, but results across studies are contradictory and often equivocal, leading to uncertainty in the relative contribution of weather variables to daily fluctuations in gobbling activity. Previous works relied on road‐based auditory surveys to collect gobbling data, which limits data consistency, duration, and quantity due to logistical difficulties associated with human observers and restricted sampling frames. Development of new methods using autonomous recording units (ARUs) allows researchers to collect continuous data in more locations for longer periods of time, providing the opportunity to delve into factors influencing daily gobbling activity. We used ARUs from 1 March to 31 May to detail gobbling activity across multiple study sites in the southeastern United States during 2014–2018. We used state‐space modeling to investigate the effects of weather variables on daily gobbling activity. Our findings suggest rainfall, greater wind speeds, and greater temperatures negatively affected gobbling activity, whereas increasing barometric pressure positively affected gobbling activity. Therefore, when using daily gobbling activity to make inferences relative to gobbling chronology, reproductive phenology, and hunting season frameworks, stakeholders should recognize and consider the potential influences of extended periods of inclement weather. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nest success is a primary component of productivity for wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo; turkeys) and there is concern that turkey productivity is declining across the southeastern United States. We evaluated the influence of nest site and landscape characteristics on risk of nest failure for turkeys in pine (Pinus spp.)‐dominated forests across the southeastern United States. We used Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate daily hazard of nest failure associated with nest site and landscape metrics within 500‐m and 1‐km buffers centered on nests. Of 451 nests monitored (n = 320 females) between 2014 and 2018, 76% failed, with predation as the primary cause. Daily hazard of nest failure increased by 1.2% for each day that females delayed nest incubation following the mean nesting date (29 Apr; βday = 0.010 ± 0.002 [SE]; hazard ratio [HR] = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.006–1.015). Environmental covariates associated with risk of nest failure included the maximum enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and distance to the nearest ecotone. Daily hazard increased with increasing distance away from an ecotone (βecotone = 0.16 ± 0.06; HR = 1.17, CI = 1.03–1.32) and with lower EVI around the nest (βEVI = −0.30 ± 0.06; HR = 0.74, CI = 0.65–0.83). Additional nest site or landscape covariates were included in competitive models but did not influence risk of nest failure significantly. Our study highlights the importance of considering landscape context when designing and implementing land management actions intended to enhance wild turkey reproduction. Our findings suggest that landscape metrics thought to be important to turkeys in northern agro‐forested landscapes may not be relevant to turkeys in pine ecosystems of the southeastern United States. © 2021 The Wildlife Society. Relatively high rates of nest failure in wild turkeys (76%) in pine‐dominated forests of the southeastern United States were associated with variation in local ground cover conditions around nests but were not influenced by landscape characteristics at larger spatial extents. We recommend managers of pine forests focus on providing a mosaic of forest types to provide availability of areas with adequate understory vegetation for female wild turkeys during the reproductive period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there have been increasing efforts to understand effects of prescribed fire on population dynamics of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo; turkeys) in pine (Pinus spp.) forests. Although distribution of turkeys is not limited to pine forests, these forests provide nesting and brood‐rearing habitat throughout the southeastern United States. Previous studies have investigated direct (e.g., nest loss to fire) and indirect (e.g., nest‐ and brood‐site selection) effects of prescribed fire, but little is known about how turkeys are influenced by the spatial scale and shape of prescribed fire. We constructed an individual‐based model (IBM) with landscapes of 2 burn unit shapes and 17 spatial scales. We used telemetry data obtained from global positioning system‐marked female turkeys to replicate movement behaviors of turkeys within the model. We hypothesized that use of units burned during the current year (<1 yr) would decrease as scale of fires increased, and that shape of burn units would influence use by turkeys. Spatial scale most influenced turkey use; the greatest use was in burned stands of approximately 23 ha in size, whereas least use was associated with burned stands >1,269 ha. At a spatial scale of 23 ha, the daily percent use of rectangular burn units was 7% greater than square‐shaped burn units. Likewise, daily percent use of rectangular burn units was 34% greater than square‐shaped burn units at a spatial scale of 1,269 ha. When burn units were rectangular‐shaped, daily percent use decreased by 48% as the spatial extent of the fires increased from 23 ha to 203 ha. Likewise, when burn units were square‐shaped, turkey use decreased by 49% as spatial extent of fires increased from 23 ha to 203 ha. Our findings suggest the importance of managing forested landscapes with prescribed fires not exceeding approximately 200 ha if wild turkeys are a management concern. © 2020 The Wildlife Society. : Our findings suggest that predicted use by wild turkeys declined consistently as spatial scale of prescribed fires increased. We recommend that resource agencies managing upland pine forests with prescribed fire conduct burns at spatial scales ≤200 ha when possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Females must balance physiological and behavioral demands of producing offspring with associated expenditures, such as resource acquisition and predator avoidance. Nest success is an important parameter underlying avian population dynamics. Galliforms are particularly susceptible to low nest success due to exposure of ground nests to multiple predator guilds, lengthy incubation periods, and substantive reliance on crypsis for survival. Hence, it is plausible that nesting individuals prioritize productivity and survival differently, resulting in a gradient of reproductive strategies. Fine‐scale movement patterns during incubation are not well documented in ground‐nesting birds, and the influence of reproductive movements on survival is largely unknown. Using GPS data collected from female wild turkeys (n = 278) across the southeastern United States, we evaluated the influence of incubation recess behaviors on trade‐offs between nest and female survival. We quantified daily recess behaviors including recess duration, recess frequency, total distance traveled, and incubation range size for each nest attempt as well as covariates for nest concealment, nest attempt, and nest age. Of 374 nests, 91 (24%) hatched and 39 (14%) females were depredated during incubation. Average nest survival during the incubation period was 0.19, whereas average female survival was 0.78. On average, females took 1.6 daily unique recesses (SD = 1.2), spent 2.1 hr off the nest each day (SD = 1.8), and traveled 357.6 m during recesses (SD = 396.6). Average nest concealment was 92.5 cm (SD = 47). We found that females who took longer recess bouts had higher individual survival, but had increased nest loss. Females who recessed more frequently had lower individual survival. Our findings suggest behavioral decisions made during incubation represent life‐history trade‐offs between predation risk and reproductive success on an unpredictable landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Behavioral and movement ecology of broods are among the most poorly understood aspects of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) reproductive ecology. Recent declines in wild turkey productivity throughout the southeastern United States necessitate comprehensive evaluations of brood ecology across multiple spatial scales. We captured and marked 408 female wild turkeys with global positioning system (GPS)‐transmitters across 9 pine (Pinus spp.)‐dominated study sites in the southeastern United States during 2014–2019. We evaluated various aspects of the behavioral and movement ecology of 94 brood‐rearing females until brood failure or 28 days after hatch (i.e., when poults are classified as juveniles). We found that 34 (36.2%) females had broods (≥1 poult) survive to 28 days after hatch. Broods moved >500 m away from nest sites the day after hatching, and then moved progressively farther away from nest sites over time. Daily movements increased markedly the first 3 days after hatching, and broods moved >1,000 m/day on average thereafter. Females roosted broods an average of 202 m away from nest sites the first night after hatching, but distances between consecutive ground or tree roosts were variable thereafter. Daily core areas increased from 0.8 ha the day of hatch to 4.6 ha by day 28, and range sizes increased from 6.9 ha to 27.9 ha by day 28. Broods tended to consistently select open land cover types, whereas selection for other land cover types varied temporally after hatch day. Broods spent 89% of their time foraging. Predicted daily survival for broods decreased rapidly with increasing distance moved during the initial 3 days after hatching and showed less variation during the subsequent 2 weeks post‐hatch. Our findings parallel previous researchers noting that the most critical period for brood survival is the first week after hatch day. Previous researchers have attempted to identify vegetative communities used by broods under the assumption that these communities are a primary factor influencing brood success; however, our results suggest that brood survival is influenced by behavioral decisions related to movements during early brooding periods. © 2020 The Wildlife Society. We report that predicted daily survival for wild turkey broods decreased with increasing distance moved during the initial 3 days after hatching. Although our results parallel previous researchers noting that the most critical period for brood survival is the first week after hatch day, they suggest that brood survival is influenced by behavioral decisions related to movements during early brooding periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) use a polygynous‐promiscuous mating system, wherein males compete for mating opportunities and communicate with females via courtship behaviors. One courtship behavior is vocalization (gobbling), which attracts females and signals dominance to other males. However, temporal variation in gobbling activity may be influenced by external stimuli, environmental variation, and hunter activity. Gobbling activity is a key determinant of hunter satisfaction, and gobbling chronology is often used by state agencies to inform regulatory processes. To identify factors influencing gobbling activity, we evaluated daily gobbling chronology on 3 sites in South Carolina, USA (Webb Wildlife Management Area [WMA] Complex, Savannah River Site, Crackerneck WMA) with different levels of hunter activity. We used autonomous recording units (ARUs; n = 45) across 8,280 days to collect 53,937 hours of ambient sound recordings and identified 68,426 gobbles. Gobbling activity varied daily and site interacting with minutes since sunrise best predicted daily gobbling activity. We noted distinct differences in predicted numbers of gobbles between hunted sites and an unhunted site, suggesting that hunting may be an important determinant of gobbling activity. Across our study sites, we observed that ≥72% of gobbling activity occurred between 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after sunrise. We found no clear evidence of well‐defined unimodal or bimodal peaks in daily or weekly gobbling activity. Across sites, <44% of gobbling activity occurred during legal hunting seasons in South Carolina, with between 30% and 48% of gobbling activity occurring after legal hunting seasons. Because hunter satisfaction is primarily influenced by gobbling activity, wildlife managers in South Carolina may consider adjusting dates of turkey hunting seasons to correspond hunting with periods when most gobbling occurs. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. Our results indicated that eastern wild turkey gobbling activity was best predicted by time since sunrise while varying according to hunting regimes. Additionally, most gobbling occurred outside of the current public land hunting season framework in South Carolina. We suggest that accurate assessments of gobbling chronology, combined with reproductive phenology, harvest rates of males, and measurements of hunter satisfaction be considered by agencies when establishing season frameworks and bag limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) forests relies on frequent prescribed fire to maintain desirable plant communities. Prescribed fire is often applied while female wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are reproductively active and may immediately affect habitat availability and demographic outcomes. We identified covariates affecting selection of areas used by nesting and brooding females and determined if these covariates influenced nest and brood survival in a longleaf pine ecosystem. We captured 63 female wild turkeys and measured vegetation and landscape characteristics surrounding nests, brood roosts, and daytime use sites. We used conditional logistic regression to determine which vegetation and landscape‐scale characteristics influenced nest, brood roost, or daytime use sites. We generated Cox proportional hazard models at multiple spatial scales to determine if selection influenced nest and brood survival. Females selected nest sites with greater visual obstruction and increased ground cover, and also nested closer to roads. We observed relevant differences in vegetation and landscape variables associated with where females chose to roost broods compared to sites chosen for foraging or loafing. Females roosted broods at sites with increased ground cover and decreased visual obstruction, and daytime use by broods was most related to increases in ground cover. Time‐since‐fire was an informative covariate for brood site selection but not for nest site selection. Females selected brood roost sites in stands not recently burned (3–6 yr post‐fire), and selected daytime use sites in stands burned the current year (0 yr post‐fire) and 2 years post‐fire. We failed to observe links between selection of vegetation and landscape covariates and probability of nest or brood survival. Notably, our results suggest short (i.e., 1–2 yr) fire return intervals do not provide vegetation communities selected by females to roost broods. Conversely, stands burned within the current year were important for daytime use by broods. Collectively, our findings demonstrate the importance of maintaining diverse fire return intervals to ensure availability of vegetation conditions necessary for nesting and brooding. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. Our findings generally support other recent works suggesting that a 3‐year fire return interval provides vegetation communities important throughout the reproductive phases of wild turkeys. We found, however, that the intensive fire regimes used on our study site are not uniformly ideal for producing conditions needed by brooding females; these short (i.e., 1–2 yr) fire return intervals were not selected by females to roost broods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris ) forests rely on prescribed fire to limit encroachment of hardwoods and maintain early successional understory communities. However, prescribed fire may alter habitat availability while female eastern wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo silvestris ) are reproductively active. In addition, the vigor of vegetation regrowth post-fire is impacted by both midstory and overstory stand-conditions which can be a function of stand age. Therefore, the degree to which prescribed fire affects habitat availability and selection of wild turkeys may be a function of both time-since-fire and the age of the stand fire was applied to. We assessed habitat selection of female wild turkeys during their reproductive cycle in a longleaf pine forest managed with frequent prescribed fire. We captured 63 female wild turkeys during 2015 and 2016 on a longleaf pine-dominated landscape in southwestern Georgia, USA, that was managed with 1–3 year fire-return intervals applied to relatively small burn blocks (mean size of burn = 26.02 ha in 2015; 19.84 ha in 2016) on pine stands of varying age-classes. We attached Global Positioning Systems units to individuals and collected hourly locations from 1 March to 15 August. We then used distance-based analyses to estimate daily selection or avoidance of vegetation communities relative to the known reproductive phenology of individual females. Females selected hardwood stands during pre-nesting and post-nesting phases, but avoided them during the incubation phase. Females used open vegetation communities during all phases of reproduction following pre-nesting. Turkeys selected areas burned ≤2 years prior but used different seral stages of pine during different reproductive phases. Specifically, females selected for recently burned mature pine stands during incubation but then selected for recently burned young pine stands, mature pine stands burned 2 years earlier, and open vegetation communities during brooding. Our findings demonstrate that time-since-fire and stand seral age interact to affect how turkeys use pyric landscapes. In general, pine stands providing ample understory vegetation are favored while females are reproductively active. Our data suggests practitioners should try to manage a landscape containing both young and mature pine stands and use prescribed fire to create understory conditions selected by turkeys across all reproductive phases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Prescribed fire is widely used in southeastern pine ( Pinus spp.) forests to maintain desirable forest conditions and provide early successional vegetation. However, it is unclear how fires applied just prior to and during the reproductive cycle of ground nesting Galliformes influence resource selection. We examined the short-term influence of prescribed fire on habitat selection of female eastern wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) throughout their reproductive cycle (Feb−Aug) at Kisatchie National Forest in west-central Louisiana, USA during 2014 and 2015. Kisatchie was dominated (>60%) by pine stands managed with prescribed fire at a frequent (i.e., 1-3 yr) return interval. We captured 46 females and equipped them with backpack-style global positioning system (GPS) transmitters programmed to collect relocation data hourly from 0600 to 2000 each day. We used distance-based analysis to estimate selection or avoidance of vegetation communities relative to reproductive phenology of individual females. Hardwood and mixed-pine hardwood vegetation communities were selected for before and after reproductive efforts; hardwood stands were avoided during brooding. While laying their first clutch of the reproductive period, females selected mature pines burned 0-5 months prior. Females avoided mature pine stands 2 growing seasons post-burn prior to initiating their first nests. Females avoided mature pine stands 3 growing seasons post-burn when brooding. Turkeys did not select for pine stands that had experienced ≥3 growing seasons post-burn during any reproductive period, and may avoid these stands during pre-nesting and brooding. Frequent fire return intervals maintain vegetation communities that females select at some point during the reproductive season in pine-dominated landscapes. © 2017 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prescribed fire is used in southeastern pine forests to maintain desirable forest conditions and provides herbaceous understory plant communities for wildlife. However, it is unclear how time-since-fire affects the short-term response of wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo ) to prescribed fire. We examined use of recently burned pine stands by female eastern wild turkeys ( M. g. silvestris ) immediately following prescribed fire in a pine-dominated landscape managed with frequent fire. We developed several models to best predict the influence of time-since-fire and month of fire application on turkey use of burned areas. We also assessed the spatial behavior of turkeys when using recent burns to determine if distance to escape cover affected turkey use of recently burned areas. Female turkeys used burned areas immediately after fire and probability of use increased until 141 days post-fire and then declined until 250 days post-fire when data collection stopped. Response of turkeys to recent burns depended on the month of prescribed fire application; probability of use was greater for areas burned in February and during the growing season (April and May). Turkey use of space within burned areas declined as distance to surrounding unburned areas increased, suggesting that turkeys favor the edge of burned and unburned areas which could serve as escape cover. However, the effect of distance to the perimeter of burned stand decreased as time-since-fire increased. Our findings suggest that turkeys are less likely to use areas burned in early winter (e.g., December) than late winter (e.g., February), and are more likely to use space near edges of burned areas than the interior. We recommend managers in southeastern pine-dominated ecosystems apply dormant season fires in late winter and apply early spring growing season fires as needed to meet forest management objectives. Turkeys used burned areas immediately following prescribed fire, but traded-off exploitation of foraging opportunities by using space near escape cover. Applying prescribed fire on smaller patches in checkerboard fashion may enhance turkey use of the entirety of a burn unit, and future research should seek to delineate other variables influencing how turkeys use recently burned areas. We recommend applying prescribed fire to patches smaller than those burned on our study sites at frequent (2–3) year fire-return intervals to increase usable space for female turkeys throughout the reproductive period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Pine ( Pinus spp.)-dominated forests are commonly managed with prescribed fire in the southeastern United States to reduce fuel loads, maintain diverse plant communities, and increase habitat quality for wildlife. Prescribed fire alters understory vegetation, which is a key component of nesting habitat for ground-nesting birds. We assessed the influences of vegetation, prescribed fire, and landscape features (e.g., roads, edge) on nest site selection and nest survival of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) in a pine-dominated ecosystem in west-central Louisiana. We radio-marked 55 female wild turkeys and evaluated vegetation and landscape characteristics associated with 69 nests during the 2014 and 2015 reproductive periods. We used conditional logistic regressions with matched-pairs case-control sampling and information-theoretic approaches to determine if vegetation characteristics within 15 m of a nest site, distances to surrounding vegetation communities and edges, and prescribed fire history of patches where a nest was located influenced nest site selection. We calculated hazard ratios for covariates in our top-performing models to determine if any of these characteristics affected nest site survival. Turkeys in our study had a longer reproductive season and higher nesting and renesting rates relative to other populations in the southeastern United States. At the local scale, turkeys nested in areas with higher percent ground cover vegetation. At the landscape scale, turkeys nested closer to roads and farther from edges of 2 plant communities. Turkeys selected to nest in forest stands burned 2 years prior. Nest survival was not affected by percent ground cover, distance to roads, or distance to edge but was negatively associated with time-since-fire; turkey nests in stands burned ≥3 years prior had lower survival than nests in stands burned the current year. We suggest that burning on a 3-year fire return interval is compatible with management for wild turkeys in southeastern pine-dominated forests. © 2017 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring harvest is a primary mortality factor for male eastern wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo silvestris), but the relationship between spring harvest regimes and annual survival is not well understood. We banded 462 male wild turkeys from 1989 to 2007 in southeastern Louisiana to estimate annual survival and band recovery rates relative to spring harvest. We evaluated these parameters under a liberal harvest season (3-bird limit; 1989-1997) and a reduced conservative harvest season (2-bird limit; 2000-2007). Estimated recovery rates during the liberal season were 0.75 (SE = 0.05) for adults and 0.63 (SE = 0.04) for juveniles, and recovery rates during the conservative season were 0.61 (SE = 0.04) and 0.48 (SE = 0.05) for adults and juveniles, respectively. Annual survival averaged 0.16 (SE = 0.05) and 0.43 (SE = 0.05) for adults and juveniles, respectively, during the liberal season. Conversely, during the conservative season, annual survival averaged 0.31 (SE = 0.05) and 0.56 (SE = 0.05) for adults and juveniles, respectively. Our findings suggest that bag limit reductions combined with a reduction in season length contributed to a 2-fold increase in annual survival for male wild turkeys. We contend that male wild turkeys were likely over harvested on our study area during the liberal harvest season, which contributed to exceptionally low annual survival rates. Managers should attempt to assess survival rates of male wild turkeys in harvested populations to properly manage spring harvest and develop appropriate harvest limits. © 2012 The Wildlife Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pine-grassland ecosystems once prevalent in the Southeastern United States were dependent on frequent fire events to maintain plant communities and avoid succession to hardwood and shrub-dominant communities. The use of prescribed fire has replaced naturally occurring fires produced from lightning strikes to maintain remaining pine-grassland systems, and to expand and promote restoration into reclaimed areas. Currently, prescribed fire is a widely accepted management tool promoted by both state and federal wildlife and land-management agencies, and is assumed to be beneficial for both game and non-game species. However, a comprehensive set of guidelines related to use of prescribed fire for promotion of wildlife is lacking for most species, including species whose dependence on fire is presumed to be critical. We reviewed available literature on prescribed fire and its influence on wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Southeastern distribution of its range. We reviewed extant literature relative to historical use of prescribed fire for upland gamebird management, and focused on documented effects of fire on life-history characteristics of wild turkeys, including habitat selection, demography, and movement. The literature supported preferential use of areas burned in the previous 3 years, with avoidance of areas lacking a recent fire history. Fire return intervals between 2 and 3 years were generally supported in the literature as optimal to reduce woody shrub encroachment and maintain an herbaceous understory. However, areas infrequently burned, such as mature hardwood forests, provide important habitat during fall and winter, and provide important roosting sites. Contrary to misperceptions among the public, growing-season fire appears to pose little direct risk to wild turkey nests and poults, but research on this topic is limited and only recently initiated. We lack a collective knowledge of the most appropriate spatial scale and extent of prescribed fires for wild turkeys, and a single set of values for these metrics that can be applied throughout the Southeastern U.S. is likely to be unrealistic given variations in local plant communities and landscape composition. Non-target species should be carefully considered before implementing prescribed fire regimes targeted specifically towards wild turkeys, as such fire regimes may not be optimal for other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]