Population Biology Commons^™

Land Cover Composition, But Not Weather, Affects Female Wild Turkey Roost Site Selection, Kaj Overturf

Honors College

Populations at a species’ northern range extent are often presented with more challenges than those in more southern regions, given that winters are generally harsher, and the reproductive season is shorter in these northern regions. Wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are near their northern range limit in Maine, and there have been no studies that have researched turkey roosting here. Wild turkeys roost in trees at night, and we predicted that roost selection would be affected by changing weather conditions, particularly during winter when temperatures are expected to be coldest. We also predicted that land cover composition would affect …