Are we losing the hardwoods that turkeys depend on? | #197

We're bringing back the episode where we dig into decades-old crop-content studies to quantify exactly how much of a turkey's diet is acorns, and what the trends in declining oak forests mean for the future of wild turkeys.   Resources: Alexander et al. (2021). Mesophication of oak landscapes: Evidence, knowledge gaps, and future research. BioScience, 71(5), 531-542. Burk et al. (1990). Wild turkey use of streamside management zones in loblolly pine plantations. In Proceedings of the National Wild Turkey Symposium (Vol. 6, pp. 84-89). Byrne, M. E. (2013). Nesting ecology of wild turkeys in a bottomland hardwood forest. The American Midland Naturalist, 170(1), 95-110. Davis et al. (2018). Landscape-abundance relationships of male Eastern Wild Turkeys Meleagris gallopavo silvestris in Mississippi, USA. Acta ornithologica, 52(2), 127-139. Marable et al. (2023). Seasonal Resource Selection and Use of Hardwood Regeneration by Translocated Wild Turkeys in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Diversity, 15(9), 1007. McShea et al. (2007). Forestry matters: decline of oaks will impact wildlife in hardwood forests. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 71(5), 1717-1728. Nelson et al. (2022). Fine‐scale resource selection and behavioral tradeoffs of eastern wild turkey broods. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 86(5), e22222. Nelson et al. (2023). Age‐based shifts in habitat selection of wild turkey broods. The Journal of Wildlife Management, e22494. Norman & Steffen (2003). Effects of recruitment, oak mast, and fall-season format on wild turkey harvest rates in Virginia. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 553-559. Norman et al. (2022). Hunting and environmental influences on survival of male wild turkeys in Virginia and West Virginia. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 46(2), e1284. Schemnitz, S. D. (1956). Wild turkey food habits in Florida. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 20(2), 132-137. Thogmartin, W. E. (2001). Home-range size and habitat selection of female wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Arkansas. The American Midland Naturalist, 145(2), 247-260.   Get your tickets to our 2nd Annual UF Game Lab Banquet here: https://tinyurl.com/UFGameLabBanquet   Can't attend the banquet but still want to bid on our live auction items? Email c.nowak@ufl.edu or send a DM to our UF Game Lab Instagram or Facebook.    Can't attend the banquet but still want to support us? Please donate here: http://UFgi