Wild Turkey Science

Discussion on the ongoing research conducted on wild turkeys in Florida, including daily updates, trapping and tagging progress, and harvest data analysis. The unique habitat characteristics in Florida and their influence on turkey populations. The significance of private land and the cost share program in turkey habitat conservation. The primary challenge for turkeys in Florida is habitat preservation.

Buddy Welch, FWC Wild Turkey Management Program Coordinator, discusses state's turkey season frameworks, restocking history, and harvest trends. Also explores previous and ongoing research studies on wild turkeys in Florida. Topics include hunting experiences, turkey management, nesting timing, population trends, and the importance of collecting data for turkey surveys.

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 new normal: wild turkeys in a changing northeastern landscape." Proceedings of the National Wild Turkey Symposium. Vol. 11. 2015. 5 Environmental Factors that Affect Turkey Populations Board of Game Commissioners Meeting January 27, 2023 Pennsylvania NRCS PSU cooperative extension’s county offices Corrections: CREP enrollment is currently 91,739 acres and has not reached maximum acreage in over 10 years. Predation rates are influenced by habitat quality (on local and landscape scales), weather, and disease.  Mary Jo Caselena 1-833-742-4868 ra-comments@pa.gov  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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund  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.  Produced and edited by Charlotte Nowak  

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. "Understanding the new normal: wild turkeys in a changing northeastern landscape." Proceedings of the National Wild Turkey Symposium. Vol. 11. 2015. 5 Environmental Factors that Affect Turkey Populations Board of Game Commissioners Meeting January 27, 2023 Pennsylvania NRCS PSU cooperative extension’s county offices Corrections: CREP enrollment is currently 91,739 acres and has not reached maximum acreage in over 10 years. Predation rates are influenced by habitat quality (on local and landscape scales), weather, and disease. Mary Jo Caselena 1-833-742-4868 ra-comments@pa.gov 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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund  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.  Produced and edited by Charlotte Nowak  

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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund  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.  Produced by Charlotte Nowak  

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 (turkeysfortomorrow)  UF DEER Lab (ufdeerlab) Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund  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.  Produced by Charlotte Nowak  

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. Get your call: https://honeycombcustomcalls.com/collections/our-partners/products/chasing-tales 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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund  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.  Produced by Charlotte Nowak  

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 States on wildlife." Wildlife Society Bulletin 37.3 (2013): 497-502. Carmichael Jr, D. Breck. "The Conservation Reserve Program and wildlife habitat in the southeastern United States." Wildlife Society Bulletin (1997): 773-775. Martinuzzi, Sebastián, et al. "Scenarios of future land use change around United States’ protected areas." Biological Conservation 184 (2015): 446-455. Napton, Darrell E., et al. "Land changes and their driving forces in the Southeastern United States." Regional Environmental Change 10 (2010): 37-53. Nowacki, Gregory J., and Marc D. Abrams. "The demise of fire and “mesophication” of forests in the eastern United States." BioScience 58.2 (2008): 123-138. Griffith, Jerry A., Stephen V. Stehman, and Thomas R. Loveland. "Landscape trends in mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States ecoregions." Environmental Management 32 (2003): 572-588. Videos: Leaf Traits Affect Fire Behavior in Upland Hardwoods How Varying Fire Return Intervals Affect Plant Communities Over Decades 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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund  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.  Produced by Charlotte Nowak  

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 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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 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. Produced by Charlotte Nowak  

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 (2014): 1033-1039. Kilburg, Eric L., et al. "Wild turkey prenesting-resource selection in a landscape managed with frequent prescribed fire." Southeastern Naturalist 14.1 (2015): 137-146. Kroeger, Anthony J., et al. "Northern bobwhite non‐breeding habitat selection in a longleaf pine woodland." The Journal of Wildlife Management 84.7 (2020): 1348-1360. Winiarski, Jason M., et al. "Nest-site selection and nest survival of Bachman's Sparrows in two longleaf pine communities." The Condor: Ornithological Applications 119.3 (2017): 361-374. Dr. Chris Moorman (habitatdoc) (Academic Profile) 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 Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 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. Produced by Charlotte Nowak