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 selection of adult raccoons (Procyon lotor) in a Louisiana bottomland hardwood forest." The American midland naturalist 166.2 (2011): 426-434.

• Dreibelbis, Justin Z., et al. "Predation of Rio Grande wild turkey nests on the Edwards Plateau, Texas." The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120.4 (2008): 906-910.

• Fyffe, Nathan, et al. "Nesting perseverance by a female Gould's Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo mexicana) under multiple direct predation threats." The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130.4 (2018): 1041-1047.

• Healy, W. M., and S. M. Powell. Wild turkey harvest management: biology, strategies, and techniques. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Technical Publication. BTP-R5001-1999, Washington DC, USA, 1999.

• Keever, Allison C., et al. "Early nest initiation and vegetation density enhance nest survival in Wild Turkeys: La iniciación temprana del nido y la densidad de la vegetación mejoran la supervivencia del nido en Meleagris gallopavo silvestris." Ornithology 140.1 (2023): ukac050.

• Schwertner, T. Wayne, Markus J. Peterson, and Nova J. Silvy. "Raccoon abundance and Rio Grande wild turkey production in central Texas." Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. Vol. 58. 2004.

Dr. Bret Collier (drshortspur) (Academic Profile)

Dr. Marcus Lashley (DrDisturbance) (Academic Profile)

Dr. Will Gulsby (dr_will_gulsby) (Academic Profile)

Turkeys for Tomorrow (turkeysfortomorrow) 

UF DEER Lab (ufdeerlab)

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This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org. 

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Produced by Charlotte Nowak