Habitat vs. predator control | #63

Wild Turkey Science

Will and Marcus discuss why they and other biologists are more likely to endorse habitat management, versus predator control, to increase turkey populations. They also cover a study showing trapping can effectively reduce raccoon populations by up to 90% and discuss why that may or may not translate into more turkeys on the landscape.

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Resources:

• How effective is trapping to reduce raccoon abundance? (IG Post)

• What does wild turkey nesting cover look like? (Video)

• Chance et al. (2020). Vegetation characteristics influence fine-scale intensity of habitat use by wild turkey and white-tailed deer in a loblolly pine plantation. Basic and applied ecology, 43, 42-51.

• Cohen et al. (2022). Movement, spatial ecology, and habitat selection of translocated Gould's wild turkeys. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 46(2), e1270.

• Lazure, L., & Weladji, R. B. (2024). Methods to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts involving common mesopredators: a meta‐analysis. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 88(2), e22526.

• Nelson et al. (2023). Age‐based shifts in habitat selection of wild turkey broods. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 87(8), e22494

• Rosatte et al. (2001). Emergency response to raccoon rabies introduction into Ontario. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 37(2), 265-279.

• Rosatte et al. (2007). Raccoon density and movements after population reduction to control rabies. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 71(7), 2373-2378.

• Palmer, William E., et al. "Effect of field borders and nest‐predator reduction on abundance of northern bobwhites." Wildlife Society Bulletin 33.4 (2005): 1398-1405.

• Rader et al. (2011). Simulating northern bobwhite population responses to nest predation, nesting habitat, and weather in South Texas. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 75(1), 61-70.

• Turner et al. (2024). Canopy reduction and fire seasonality effects on deer and turkey habitat in upland hardwoods. Forest Ecology and Management, 553, 121657.

• Wightman et al. (2023). Landscape characteristics and predation risk influence spatial variation in auditory courtship of an upland game bird. Landscape Ecology, 38(5), 1221-1236.

Dr. Marcus Lashley (@DrDisturbance) (Academic Profile)

Dr. Will Gulsby (@dr_will_gulsby) (Academic Profile)

Turkeys for Tomorrow (@turkeysfortomorrow)

UF DEER Lab (@ufdeerlab) (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.

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Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak