Female wild turkey habitat selection in mixed forest‐agricultural landscapes

ABSTRACTGradual changes in agricultural and landscape management practices have led to growing uncertainty regarding eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) habitat management in contemporary landscapes in the midwestern United States. Nesting and brood‐rearing success during spring often influence turkey population trajectories, and a better understanding of habitat selection during this period would identify potential habitat characteristics that have the greatest influence on turkey population management objectives. We evaluated spring (8 Apr–24 Jul) habitat selection of 89 radio‐marked female wild turkeys across 4 study areas (2 forest‐dominated, and 2 agricultural) in southwest and west‐central Wisconsin, USA, 2010–2011. We investigated habitat selection at 3 hierarchical spatial scales: study areas, within spring areas of use (SAUs), and within 200 m of nest sites. We obtained 3,605 radio‐telemetry relocations ( = 30.8 ± 0.51 [SE] locations/turkey) and monitored 79 nesting attempts. In both landscapes, female turkeys selected edges, and in forested landscapes females selected for deciduous forests with numerous and dispersed forest openings. Female turkeys generally established SAUs where an even mixture of forest and open‐herbaceous cover was available. Telemetry locations within SAUs indicated female turkeys selected land cover types in proportion to availability (Ŝi = 1), but selection of specific cover types was variable within and among study areas. At the nest site scale, amount of forest‐field edge was greater within 200 m of nest sites ( = 62.2 m/ha) compared to random locations ( = 48.3 m/ha). Coarse measures of forest and open‐agricultural cover were useful in identifying habitat selection trends by female turkeys across hierarchical scales. Our results suggest that proportion and configuration of forest and open‐agricultural cover are essential components of female turkey habitat, and forest‐field edge further plays an important role in nest site selection. We suggest conservation efforts focus on ensuring available usable space through maintaining upland deciduous woodlands or providing herbaceous fields in varying degrees of succession when managing for wild turkey populations in mixed forest‐agricultural landscapes. Adaptability of wild turkeys indicates the importance of multi‐scale habitat evaluation prior to implementing habitat management strategies. © 2016 The Wildlife Society.