W. E. Palmer

Bobwhite Nesting Ecology and Modern Agriculture: A Management Experiment

Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) populations have declined on a continental scale. One factor implicated in the decline is habitat loss through agricultural modernization. To better understand the relationship between northern bobwhite and modern farming, and to examine farm habitat improvement methods, we monitored bobwhite (N = 218) from April to September 1993 and 1994 on two study areas, western (WSA) and eastern (ESA), each divided into one filter strip (FS) (treatment) and one non-filter strip (NFS) (reference) section on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge's farming...

Relationship of Wild Turkey Gobbler Movements and Harvest Rates to Management Area Boundaries

We monitored 122 radio-equipped wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) gobblers on Tallahala Wildlife Management Area (TWMA), Mississippi, during all seasons, 1986-89. Gobblers that had ≥50% of telemetry locations off the area were considered off TWMA. Percent off of the area was greater (P <0.1) in spring than summer 1986. An average of 34% of gobblers was off TWMA during the spring hunting period, 1986-89. We detected no difference in harvest rates between gobblers on and off TWMA. Managers should consider harvest on adjacent private lands when planning for public hunting areas.