Winter Survival of Wild Turkey Females in Central Minnesota

Kane, Dale F.; Kimmel, Richard O.; Faber, William E.

doi:10.2193/2006-008

Cited by 22 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(35 reference statements)

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“…We often found wintering flocks of turkeys congregating near active dairy farms, fields of standing corn or soybeans, and around corn cribs. This wintering behavior is fairly common for populations at northern latitudes and others have reported that active dairy farms where manure is regularly spread and fields of standing crops are important sources of food, especially when snow depths are >30 cm , Vander Haegen et al 1989, Kane et al 2007.…”

Section: Survival and Probable Causes Of Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 96%

Survival and productivity of eastern wild turkey females in contrasting landscapes in Wisconsin

2014

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Eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) have colonized the entire state of Wisconsin, USA since being successfully reintroduced in the 1970s. Recently, conservation groups have expressed concerns regarding habitat quantity and quality in association with population plateaus and declines in local abundance in some portions of the state. Estimates of survival and productivity are needed to identify the current population status and for drafting effective management plans. We evaluated female eastern wild turkey demographic parameters and the relationship of these parameters to landscape composition between townships that were forest-dominated and those that were primarily open (e.g., cropland, pasture) in southwest and west-central Wisconsin. We radiomarked 129 female eastern wild turkeys during a 2-year field study (2010)(2011)(2012). Seasonal variation and landscape effects on survival were important components in our top models, which accounted for >98% of the relative support. Seasonal survival (AESE) was lowest during spring ( Management of eastern wild turkeys that enhances female and poult survival during the nesting and brood-rearing periods can greatly influence population growth, particularly in forest-dominant landscapes.

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Section: Survival and Probable Causes Of Mortalitymentioning

confidence: 96%

Survival and productivity of eastern wild turkey females in contrasting landscapes in Wisconsin

2014

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“…For example, survival of wild turkeys in Wisconsin, Massachusetts and New York did not decrease under persistent deep snow (>25 cm; Vander Haegen et al 1988;Roberts et al 1995;Pollentier et al 2014). However, under similar snow depth (>25 cm), wild turkey survival decreased in Minnesota, Ontario, and Wisconsin (Porter et al 1983;Wright et al 1996;Nguyen et al 2003;Kane et al 2007). As winters in our study area were more severe than previous studies, it was also possible to quantify the efect of harsh winter conditions on wild turkey survival.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 51%

“…Wild turkeys are negatively impacted by snow depth that limits access to food (Porter et al 1980;Kane et al 2007) and precipitation during nesting that could increase predation (Roberts et al 1995). The nature of the relationship between environmental variables and wild turkey population dynamics remains poorly documented at the northern edge of their distribution (above 45° north of latitude), where climatic factors are more severe.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter and summer weather modulate the demography of wild turkeys at the northern edge of the species distribution

Lavoie

Blanchette

Larivière³

et al. 2017

Population Ecology

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Temperate species occupying habitats at the northern limit of their geographical distribution are limited by weather and climatic conditions. Such conditions often directly affect population dynamics, and thus, influence shifts in distribution via changes in demographic parameters. We examined this question by following three distinct populations of wild turkeys inhabiting areas exposed to a gradient of meteorological conditions at the northern limit of the species distribution. Four years of radio‐telemetry on 181 birds and monitoring of 95 nests revealed that population demographics of wild turkeys were influenced by snow depth, winter temperature and summer rainfall. During winter, survival of turkeys decreased drastically when snow depth remained >30 cm for >10 days and also decreased as temperatures got colder. In the spring, snow persistence delayed nest initiation, whereas nest survival was negatively affected by rainfall. Our findings show that the effects of critical meteorological factors such as snow and temperature can be compounded when both reach the limit of a species tolerance simultaneously.

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“…Survival of eastern wild turkeys is influenced by a variety of factors. The effect of hen age and time of year (i.e., season) on survival probability has been studied extensively in the past (Vander Haegen et al, 1988;Roberts et al, 1995;Vangilder and Kurzejeski, 1995;Wright et al, 1996;Hubbard et al, 1999a;Lehman et al, 2001;Shields and Flake, 2006;Kane et al, 2007;Pollentier et al, 2014b). Additionally, climate, in the form of severe winter weather-extended periods of time with cold temperatures-and excessive rainfall during the spring and summer, impact hen survival (Austin and DeGraff, 1975;Wunz and Hayden, 1975;Porter, 1977Porter, , 1978Porter et al, 1980;Healy, 1992;Haroldson et al, 1998;Lehman et al, 2001;Shields and Flake, 2006;Kane et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For populations of wild turkeys in the Midwest, it is not uncommon for adult and yearling age-classes of eastern wild turkeys to exhibit similar survival probabilities (Roberts et al, 1995;Vangilder and Kurzejeski, 1995;Wright et al, 1996;Hubbard et al, 1999a;Shields and Flake, 2006;Kane et al, 2007;Delahunt, 2011;Pollentier et al, 2014b). However, for a population in Massachusetts, Vander Haegen et al (1988) reported higher rates of annual survival for adult hens than for yearling hens.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Survival, Productivity, and Population Growth of Eastern Wild Turkeys in Northeastern South Dakota

Tyl¹

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The population of eastern wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota appeared to be expanding soon after reintroduction in the 1990s, however, recent harvest trends suggest declining abundance in the region. Spring turkey hunting expenditures are projected to be around $6.5 million in South Dakota, with about $3 million of those expenditures occurring within the northeastern prairie region. However, the number of birds harvested during the spring prairie firearm season has been declining since 2010. Due to concerns about a declining population, the autumn hunting season was closed in 2014. The cause of the apparent decline is unclear. Updated demographic information is needed to assess the status of the population of wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota and to determine the most effective management strategies for increasing abundance across the region. I captured and radio-marked 80 eastern wild turkey hens (43 adult and 37 yearling) in Grant County, South Dakota during the winter of 2017, and I radio-marked an additional 41 yearling hens during the winter of 2018. I monitored radio-marked hens for survival and productivity from February 2017 to April 2019. I used Bayesian methods to model hen survival, nesting rate, nest survival, re-nesting rate, clutch size, hatchability, and poult survival as a function of covariates. I used estimates of productivity to calculate the fecundity rate for both age-classes of wild turkeys. I incorporated estimates of hen survival and fecundity into a matrix projection model, and I performed perturbation analyses and conducted a life-stage simulation analysis (LSA) to assess the impact of each demographic parameter on population growth. Annual survival for both age-classes of wild turkey hens was about 62.5%. The probability a hen would initiate a nest was 77.1% and the probability a nest would survive the 28-day incubation period was 49.3%. The probability a hen would initiate a second nest after a failed first nest attempt was 59.6% for adult hens and 25.1% for yearling hens. The mean clutch size for all nests was 10 eggs and the probability an egg would hatch was 87.1%. The probability a poult survived the 28-day post-hatch interval was 35.5% for poults reared by adult hens and 19.7% for poults reared by yearling hens. The population of eastern wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota is currently stable-to-growing (λ = 1.107), and population growth is most greatly affected by changes in hen survival. Management activities should focus on improving hen survival by reducing the top two sources of mortality-mammalian predation and haying by agricultural equipment. Enhancing the quality of herbaceous and early successional habitats could reduce hen risk of mortality while conducting nesting and brood-rearing activities. Additionally, increased availability of suitable nesting habitat on the landscape could mean fewer hens will resort to nesting in alfalfa hayfields, where nest failure is certain and hens are at risk of mortality due to haying. Improving eastern wild turkey h...

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Winter Survival of Wild Turkey Females in Central Minnesota

Cited by 22 publications

References 13 publications

Survival and productivity of eastern wild turkey females in contrasting landscapes in Wisconsin

Survival and productivity of eastern wild turkey females in contrasting landscapes in Wisconsin

Winter and summer weather modulate the demography of wild turkeys at the northern edge of the species distribution

Factors Influencing Survival, Productivity, and Population Growth of Eastern Wild Turkeys in Northeastern South Dakota

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