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Note: Session titles beginning with an asterisk (*) have student presenters.
AUTHORS: Stephen J. Zenas, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University; James B. Grand, U.S. Geological Survey
ABSTRACT: Researchers often assume that survival of radio-marked eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is not adversely affected by capture and marking beyond 14-days post-capture. However, there is little published information to support this assumption. We captured and marked turkeys (n = 226) 2015-2016 and examined their daily survival rates for 45 days post-capture. We compared models using Akaike’s Information Criterion (AIC) to determine the factors with the greatest influence on post-capture survival. We found that the best approximating model supported the hypothesis that survival increased linearly post-capture and that ambient temperature at the time of capture had an adverse effect on survival and that daily survival rates did not differ by age or sex. Post-hoc processing suggested that capture and marking may have adversely affected survival for approximately 33 days, 19 days longer than the traditionally used 14-day period. The 33-day post-capture survival rate was 0.71 (0.62, 0.77, 95% CI). Additionally, turkeys were 1.06 times more likely to survive (1.03, 1.08, 95% CI) each day post-capture. Lastly, for each 5-degree Celsius increase in temperature at capture, wild turkeys were 0.83 times as likely to survive (0.70, 0.99, 95% CI). The duration of post-capture censorship periods has the potential to bias estimates of survival rates over all time frames. Addressing these potential biases using empirical data and biologically defensible hypotheses is critical to improving estimates of wild turkey demographics.
Tuesday October 31, 2017 8:40am - 9:00am EDT
Carroll Ford