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

Today we are joined by Dr. Chad Lehman, senior biologist for the South Dakota Department of Game Fish and Parks, and Dr. Chris Rota, associate professor of wildlife and fisheries resources at West Virginia University. We discuss their previous and ongoing research investigating harvest declines across South Dakota, major variables impacting hen survival and nest incubation, best management practices for SD private landowners, and more. 
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Resources:
Lehman, C. P., et al. (2022). Factors influencing rate of decline in a Merriam's wild turkey population. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 86(6), e22240.
Quehl, J. O., et al. (2024). Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e11390. Tyl, R. M., et al. (2020). Factors influencing productivity of eastern wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota. Ecology and Evolution, 10(16), 8838-8854.
Tyl, R. M., et al. (2023). Factors influencing survival of female eastern wild turkeys in northeastern South Dakota. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 47(2), e1429.
 
Dr. Chris Rota Contact, Publications
Dr. Chad Lehman Contact, ResearchGate
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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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
 

Ted DeVos, co-founder of Bach and DeVos Forestry and Wildlife Services, walks us from ground zero through the various ways in which to manage pine plantations for turkeys. Whether your goal is to increase turkey or timber productivity, this episode is jam-packed with information you don’t want to miss. 
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Bach and DeVos Forestry and Wildlife Services Website, Facebook
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
 

Dr. Bronson Strickland, co-director of the MSU Deer Lab and founder of the Deer University podcast, joins us to explain regenerative agriculture and break down their new experiment testing the differences in nutrient density and deer use between conventional and regenerative food plots. 
 
Deer University Podcast
Food plot experiment (Jacob Dykes)
Ryegrass is not good
 
Donate to wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund 
 
Dr. Bronson Strickland Website, Publications, @MSUDeerLab, @MSUDeerLabTV
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 
 

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.
Quehl, J. O., et al. (2024). Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e11390. 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
 
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. 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. 
Quehl, J. O., et al. (2024). Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e11390.
 
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