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

After much feedback from our latest episode, we sit down to review through recent episodes and lay out the available data known to us. Covering season timing and reproduction to the predator-habitat complex, there’s no tiptoeing around the controversy in this one. 
 
Isabelle, J. L., et al. (2018). Considerations for timing of spring wild turkey hunting seasons in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 5, 106-113.
Kurzejeski, Eric W., and L. D. Vangilder. "Population management." The wild turkey: biology and management. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA (1992): 165-184.
Londe, David W., et al. "Review of range‐wide vital rates quantifies eastern wild Turkey population trajectory." Ecology and Evolution 13.2 (2023): e9830.
(Preprint) Quehl, J., et al. (2024). Assessing the relationship between spring wild turkey hunting season dates and wild turkey productivity.
Vangilder, Larry D., and Eric W. Kurzejeski. "Population ecology of the eastern wild turkey in northern Missouri." Wildlife Monographs (1995): 3-50.
Watts, C. R., & Stokes, A. W. (1971). The social order of turkeys. Scientific American, 224(6), 112-119.
 
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
 
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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
 

Dr. Craig Harper and Dr. Dave Buehler from the University of Tennessee join us to discuss results from their seven-year, robust before-after control-impact study assessing the role of experimental season date delays on turkey reproduction. Spoiler alert: Season delays had no effect on any of the 8 vital rates they measured. 
 
(Preprint) Quehl, J., et al. (2024). Assessing the relationship between spring wild turkey hunting season dates and wild turkey productivity.
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Dr. Craig Harper Website, Publications
Dr. Dave Buehler Website, Publications
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
 

Adam Butler, Wild Turkey Program Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks, joins us to discuss the turkey trends seen across Mississippi and the Southeast, what may or may not be influencing these cyclical patterns of productivity, and a general rule of thumb for how many gobblers to harvest on your property.
 
Resources:
How Many Gobblers Should I Take? (Article)
Isabelle, J. L., et al. (2018). Considerations for timing of spring wild turkey hunting seasons in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, 5, 106-113.
Wild turkey population dynamics and what the manipulative study of season dates in Mississippi tells us about the role of hunting, ft. Adam Butler | #02
 
Adam Butler Contact, MDWFP
Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Academic Profile
Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Academic Profile
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. Alan Krakauer joins us to dive into his research on turkey kin selection and breakdown the many strategies gobblers use to pass on genes.
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Resources:
Krakauer, A. H. (2005). Kin selection and cooperative courtship in wild turkeys. Nature, 434(7029), 69-72.
Krakauer, A. H. (2008). Sexual selection and the genetic mating system of wild turkeys. The Condor, 110(1), 1-12.
Watts, C. R., & Stokes, A. W. (1971). The social order of turkeys. Scientific American, 224(6), 112-119.
 
Dr. Alan Krakauer Website, Academic Profile
Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Academic Profile
Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Academic Profile
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. 
 
Music by Artlist.io
Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak 
 

Dr. Dwayne Elmore, Director of the Game Bird Program at Tall Timbers Research Station, joins us to breakdown the reproductive ecology and behavior of wild turkeys, how and why they lek, and if this impacts spring hunting.
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund
 
Resources:
Honeycomb Custom Calls
Red-capped manakin bird
 
Dr. Dwayne Elmore Tall Timbers, Academic Profile
Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Academic Profile
Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Academic Profile
Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow 
UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube
 
Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you! https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VR10xcKOMTvZH0
 
Check out the NEW DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube
 
Watch these podcasts on YouTube: Wild Turkey Science 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
 

Marcus and Will sit down under one roof to review the available literature on declining insect populations. They pull from studies across the globe to discuss the implications of insect declines on terrestrial, ground-nesting birds and how we can help mitigate these effects for the wild turkey. 
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Resource:
Blösch, S., et al. (2023). A systematic review on the effectiveness of crop architecture-related in-field measures for promoting ground-breeding farmland birds. Journal for Nature Conservation, 126515.
DrDisturbance IG Post
Haaland, C., et al. (2011). Sown wildflower strips for insect conservation: a review. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 4(1), 60-80.
Powell, B. L., et al.  (2022). Vegetation structure and food availability following disturbance in recently restored early successional plant communities. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 46(5), e1372.
Schmidt, A., et al. (2022). Effects of perennial wildflower strips and landscape structure on birds in intensively farmed agricultural landscapes. Basic and Applied Ecology, 58, 15-25.
Tallamy, D. W., & Shriver, W. G. (2021). Are declines in insects and insectivorous birds related? Ornithol Appl 123: duaa059.
What is a forb? (Video) 
 
Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Academic Profile
Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Academic Profile
Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow 
UF DEER Lab @ufdeerlab, YouTube
 
Please help us by taking our (QUICK) listener survey - Thank you! https://ufl.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3VR10xcKOMTvZH0
 
Watch these podcasts on YouTube: Wild Turkey Science 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