Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Wildlife agencies collect data on productivity (e.g., proportion of hens with poults and number of poults per hen) of wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) to monitor population status and trends. However, sampling protocols to collect productivity data rely on opportunistic observations reported by wildlife agency personnel and the public and have changed over time and differed among agencies. A protocol to standardize data collection was adopted by most state wildlife agencies in 2019, but long‐term historical datasets exist that cannot be analyzed readily to make inferences about spatial and temporal patterns in wild turkey productivity. We developed statistical models to allow comparisons and model trends in productivity among and within states even though data collection protocols changed over time and differed among states. We found greater spatial variation in the proportion of hens with poults than the number of poults per brood, which may reflect how environmental factors influence wild turkey productivity. Our models can also provide inferences about productivity when data are limited or temporally discontinuous for some spatial units. Additionally, we found that temporal and spatial variation in data collection, even under the new protocol, can affect inferences about trends in productivity. The statistical models we developed address the uncontrolled nature of when and where data are collected and offer the ability to investigate long‐term patterns of productivity in relation to factors such as changing climate or habitat conditions.
Source: Wildlife Society Bulletin
DOI: 10.1002/wsb.1623
Authors: Duane R. Diefenbach, Frances E. Buderman, Mary Jo Casalena, Michael Dye, Robert Gates, Laura C. Gigliotti, C. Robert Long, Katherine Martin, Michael Muthersbaugh, Michael L. Peters, James Sloan, Joshua Stiller, Mark Wiley
Institutions: United States Geological Survey, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania Game Commission, The Ohio State University, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Language: English
Topic: Avian ecology and behavior
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,200
OpenAlex ID: W4416841007