Richard W. Gerhold

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2407 River Dr., Knoxville, TN 37996

Nest-site Selection and Survival of Wild Turkeys in Tennessee

SEAFWA Journal Volume 9, March 2022

Spring harvest of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) has declined in many eastern states since 2010. In Tennessee, spring harvest de-clines of 30%–50% in south-central counties from 2005–2015 caused concern among hunters and managers. To determine how turkey productivity might be related to the perceived population decline, we radio-tagged and tracked 152 females with VHF transmitters throughout the 2017–2018 nest- ing seasons. We documented nest-site selection, nesting rate, clutch size, hatching rate, renesting rate, and daily nest survival. We used conditional lo-...