Wild Turkey Science

In this episode, we discuss the various ways in which landowners can estimate poults per hen, monitor trends in reproductive success, and improve turkey habitat on their property. From standardized data collection using trail cameras to back-dating incubation for specific management practices, this episode will give you a sneak peek into our everyday thought experiments on the wild turkey.

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Resources:

• Burning during nesting | #19

• NC research update: Largest private land turkey study | #10

• Wild Turkey Quiz (Survey Monkey)

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

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Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

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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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Heather Keane Thomas joins us to shed light on her non-traditional upbringing with her father and renowned turkey researcher Dr. Lovett Williams. From childhood experiences imprinting poults on their family farm to attending national turkey conventions for family vacations, this is a story time you won't want to miss.

Resources:

• Lovett Williams (Website)

• Real Turkey Calls

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

We sit down for a second time to answer questions from our listeners and followers - ranging from topics on upcoming turkey research, mid-summer land management recommendations, how to increase gobbling on your property by 10-fold, and more!

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Resources:

• Brooding and nesting cover (Part 1/2) | #29

• Brooding and nesting cover (Part 2/2) | #30

• How does fire affect nest predation? (Video)

• Year 1 Results: How does fire affect nest predation? (Video)

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

In this episode, we recap our recent trip to the annual Wild Turkey Working Group and share major findings from research projects across Southern states.

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Resources:

• Byrne, Michael E., et al. (2022). "Nest site fidelity and nesting success of female wild turkeys." Wildlife Society Bulletin 46.2: e1279.

• Density-dependence in upland game birds | #14

• Kurzejeski, Eric W., and L. D. Vangilder. "Population management." The wild turkey: biology and management. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA (1992): 165-184.

• Legends of turkey research | #50

• Quehl, J. O., et al. (2024). Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e11390.

• Vangilder, Larry D., and Eric W. Kurzejeski. "Population ecology of the eastern wild turkey in northern Missouri." Wildlife Monographs (1995): 3-50.

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

In this episode, we take a step away from the scientific literature to ask a regen ag practitioner about their experiences and glean some interesting observations for future study. Jason Snavely, wildlife biologist and founder of Drop-Tine Wildlife Consulting, joins us to dive deep into the microbiology of soil health, trade-offs between conventional and regenerative practices, and how biomimicking nature could help us reach our objectives.

Resources:

• O'donoghue, T., et al. (2022). Regenerative agriculture and its potential to improve farmscape function. Sustainability, 14(10), 5815.

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Jason Snavely Drop-Tine Wildlife (Website), @DropTineWildlife (FB), DropTine Podcast

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Does water on a hen make it more susceptible to predation? In this episode, we comb through the literature on olfactory camouflage, dissecting studies assessing correlations between nest survival, weather, and environmental conditions, and divulging into the complicated web of ecology dynamics. Strap on your science boots for this one, it's gonna be dense…

Research papers referenced:

• Bakner, N. W., et al. (2019). Incubation recess behaviors influence nest survival of Wild Turkeys. Ecology and Evolution, 9(24), 14053-14065.

• Boone, W. W., et al. (2024). Robust assessment of associations between weather and eastern wild turkey nest success. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 88(2), e22524.

• Braun, M. S., et al. (2018). Birds, feather-degrading bacteria and preen glands: the antimicrobial activity of preen gland secretions from turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) is amplified by keratinase. FEMS microbiology ecology, 94(9), fiy117.

• Conover, M. R. (2007). Predator-prey dynamics: the role of olfaction. CRC Press.

• Fluen, T. (2008). A comparative analysis of evolutionary changes in island birds. MSc Thesis, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.

• Grieves, L. A., et al. (2020). Food stress, but not experimental exposure to mercury, affects songbird preen oil composition. Ecotoxicology, 29, 275-285.

• Grieves, L. A., et al. (2022). Olfactory camouflage and communication in birds. Biological Reviews, 97(3), 1193-1209.

• Lehman, C. P., et al. (2010). Ground roost resource selection for Merriam's wild turkeys. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 74(2), 295-299.

• Lowrey, D. K., et al. (2001). Influences of selected weather variables on predation of wild turkey females and nest success. In Proceedings of the National Wild Turkey Symposium (Vol. 8, pp. 173-178).

• Potier, S., et al. (2018). Preen oil chemical composition encodes individuality, seasonal variation and kinship in black kites Milvus migrans. Journal of Avian Biology, 49(7), e01728.

• Reneerkens, J., et al. (2002). Sandpipers (Scolopacidae) switch from monoester to diester preen waxes during courtship and incubation, but why?. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences, 269(1505), 2135-2139.

• Reneerkens, J., et al. (2005). Switch to diester preen waxes may reduce avian nest predation by mammalian predators using olfactory cues. Journal of Experimental Biology, 208(22), 4199-4202.

• Reneerkens, J., et al. (2006). Discerning adaptive value of seasonal variation in preen waxes: comparative and experimental approaches. Acta Zoologica Sinica, 52, 272-275.

• Reneerkens, J., et al. (2007a). Parental role division predicts avian preen wax cycles. Ibis, 149(4), 721-729.

• Tuttle, E. M.,et al. (2014). Variation in preen oil composition pertaining to season,sex, and genotype in the polymorphic white-throated sparrow.Journal of ChemicalEcology40, 1025–1038.

• Whelan, R. J., et al. (2010). Short-chain carboxylic acids from gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) uropygial secretions vary with testosterone levels and photoperiod. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 156(3), 183-188.

• Webb, S. L., et al. (2012). Landscape features and weather influence nest survival of a ground-nesting bird of conservation concern, the greater sage-grouse, in human-altered environments. Ecological Processes, 1, 1-15.

Episodes referenced:

• Effectiveness of trapping across game bird species | #08

• Which vital rates are most important to turkey populations? | #13

• Brooding and nesting cover (Part 1/2) | #29

• Brooding and nesting cover (Part 2/2) | #30

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Brent Rogers, wild turkey historian and collector extraordinaire, joins us to break down wild turkey history through the eyes of early naturalists and literature.. Learn how the culture and conservation concerns surrounding the wild turkey developed over time since the 17th century, what impacted transitions in knowledge and observation of wild turkey management, how restocking efforts have shifted throughout the decades, historical hunting practices, and more!

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Resources:

• Brent on MossyOak Gamekeepers Ep 88: History of the Wild Turkey

• Illumination in the Flatwoods, by Joe Hutto

• Illumination in the Flatwoods: Bottomland Book Club, by Brent Rogers

• Proceedings of the 1st National Wild Turkey Symposium (1959)

• The Colonel and the Fox

• Turkey Hunting History and Literature, by Brent Rogers

• Yelp & Gobble, Inc. by Brent Rogers

Brent Rogers @gobblegitr, Contact

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Today we are joined by Dr. Chad Lehman, senior biologist for the South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks, and Dr. Chris Rota, associate professor of wildlife and fisheries resources at West Virginia University. We discuss their previous and ongoing research investigating harvest declines across South Dakota, major variables impacting hen survival and nest incubation, best management practices for SD private landowners, and more.

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Resources:

• Lehman, C. P., et al. (2022). Factors influencing rate of decline in a Merriam's wild turkey population. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 86(6), e22240.

• Quehl, J. O., et al. (2024). Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e11390.

• Tyl, R. M., et al. (2020). Factors influencing productivity of eastern wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota. Ecology and Evolution, 10(16), 8838-8854.

• Tyl, R. M., et al. (2023). Factors influencing survival of female eastern wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 47(2), e1429.

Dr. Chris Rota Contact, Publications

Dr. Chad Lehman Contact, ResearchGate

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Ted DeVos, co-founder of Bach and DeVos Forestry and Wildlife Services, walks us from ground zero through the various ways in which to manage pine plantations for turkeys. Whether your goal is to increase turkey or timber productivity, this episode is jam-packed with information you don't want to miss.

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Bach and DeVos Forestry and Wildlife Services Website, Facebook

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

Dr. Bronson Strickland, co-director of the MSU Deer Lab and founder of the Deer University podcast, joins us to explain regenerative agriculture and break down their new experiment testing the differences in nutrient density and deer use between conventional and regenerative food plots.

• Deer University Podcast

• Food plot experiment (Jacob Dykes)

• Ryegrass is not good

Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund

Dr. Bronson Strickland Website, Publications, @MSUDeerLab, @MSUDeerLabTV

Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube

Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you!

Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube

Watch these podcasts on YouTube

Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!

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.

Help us help turkeys by rating this podcast and sharing it with your friends and family.

Music by Artlist.io

Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak