Patrick H. Wightman

Impacts of feral hogs (Sus scrofa) on native plant and animal communities have increased as feral hogs have expanded in geographic range. Wildlife managers use a host of tactics to manage population growth of feral hogs, including recreational hunting with dogs. However, hunting with dogs can cause disturbance and behavioral changes to non-target species. We monitored 161 eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) over 147 days during 2014-2018 in South Carolina to evaluate turkey movement behaviors and range sizes before, during, and after spring feral hog-dog hunts. The...

Management techniques to improve wildlife populations often can affect non-target species indirectly. Supplemental feeding for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) has become a popular management technique to improve bobwhite recruitment and survival, but potential impacts on non-target species such as eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) are unknown. We deployed 111 global positioning systems on wild turkeys on the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Webb Wildlife Management Area Complex during 2014-2016 to evaluate if supplemental feeding for quail impacted...