COMPARATIVE SURVIVAL AND REPRODUCTION OF SYMPATRIC EASTERN AND RIO GRANDE WILD TURKEY FEMALES IN NORTHEASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA
Abstract: Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) were introduced into northeastern South Dakota in the early 1970s, flourished until the mid 1980s, and then declined to <200 remnant birds by 1996. Once indigenous to southeastern South Dakota, the eastern subspecies (M. g. silves...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2000-01-01
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| Series: | Wildlife Society Bulletin |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2328-5540.2000.tb00262.x |
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| Summary: | Abstract: Rio Grande wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) were introduced into northeastern South Dakota in the early 1970s, flourished until the mid 1980s, and then declined to <200 remnant birds by 1996. Once indigenous to southeastern South Dakota, the eastern subspecies (M. g. silvestris) may be a suitable alternative in northeastern South Dakota. We compared reproduction and survival between Rio Grande (n = 32) and transplanted eastern wild turkeys (n = 41) in northeastern South Dakota. We monitored radiomarked females over a 3‐year period along the Coteau des Prairie region of northeastern South Dakota. Eastern and Rio Grande females did not differ in rates of nesting (P = 0.73), nest success (P = 0.31), female success (P = 0.53), and clutch size (P = 0.96). Poults reared by eastern wild turkey females had slightly higher (P = 0.07) poult survival to 4 weeks posthatch, while the proportion of successful renests contributing to female success was higher (P = 0.01) for Rio Grandes compared to eastern females. Annual survival (Rio Grande, 0.77 ± 0.005; eastern, 0.72 ± 0.004) and seasonal survival (Rio Grande, ≥0.83; eastern, ≥0.89) of females did not differ (P ≥ 0.29) among subspecies. Mammalian predators, primarily coyotes (Canis latrans) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes), accounted for the largest proportion (45%) of mortality of females. Seasonal cause‐specific mortality sources (mammalian, avian, and weather) did not affect (P ≥ 0.65) 1 subspecies more than the other. The cause of the severe Rio Grande population decline over the past decade remains unknown. Survival and reproduction rates of eastern and Rio Grande females exceed those necessary for population maintenance despite occurrences of severe winter weather that are characteristic of the northern interior plains. |
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| ISSN: | 2328-5540 |