Annual survival and resource selection of juvenile male wild turkeys in central Tennessee

Abstract

Documenting juvenile male wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) resource selection, survival, and harvest is important to better manage this life stage, which is the direct source for harvestable adult male wild turkeys. To better understand the relationship between resource selection and survival and how harvest impacts survival rates, we trapped and attached backpack very high frequency (VHF) radio transmitters to juvenile males (n = 136) in 5 counties of south-central Tennessee, 2017–2021. We modeled resource selection using case-controlled conditional logistic regression and fit known-fate survival models to estimate annual survival. We calculated landscape metrics and land cover proportions associated with each turkey's home range using the National Land Cover Database to determine if landscape characteristics were related to resource selection and annual survival. We also analyzed state-reported hunter harvest data using a generalized linear model to determine if changing harvest regulations affected harvest of juvenile males during the spring hunting season. Juvenile male wild turkeys selected smaller row crop fields, less mature forest interior (≥120 m from patch edge), and lower proportions of developed land and young forest. Mean annual survival was 0.73 (95% CI = 0.65–0.81) with a harvest rate of 0.03 (95% CI = 0.01–0.09). Survival increased as hay and pasture interior increased in the home range, but this positive effect was reduced as the interspersion of young forest increased. Survival decreased as the interspersion of developed land increased in the home range, but this negative effect was reduced as the percentage of deciduous forest increased. The proportion of juvenile males in the spring harvest decreased from 14.1% to 13.7% to 8.9% as the male bag limit decreased from 4 to 3 to 2. Our results suggest that young forest, which represents dense woody cover, may reduce survival as a result of increased cover and ambush opportunities for wild turkey predators, whereas increased proportions of cover types that provide enhanced visibility and food resources benefit juvenile male wild turkey survival. Given a relatively robust survival rate, regulatory restrictions on the harvest of juvenile male turkeys could increase the adult male population and likely increase turkey hunter satisfaction.