Factors Affecting Wild Turkey Recruitment in Western Virginia
Annual recruitment of eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) should be closely monitored to regulate fall turkey seasons and reduce risk of over-harvest. However, previous studies have not encompassed the spatial or temporal scales needed to produce models that can consistently predict recruitment over a large region. Our objective was to assess the ability of using long-term data sets of sex-age ratios, oak (Quercus spp.) mast, and weather variables to forecast annual wild turkey recruitment in western Virginia. We conducted a thorough literature search on factors believed...
