Wild Turkey Science by Dr. Marcus Lashley & Dr. Will Gulsby

January 05, 2026 Does rain impact nest predation risk? | #165

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

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Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications

Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications

Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow

UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube

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Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak

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