William T. Brademan

Distribution, Fidelity, and Abundance of Rio Grande Wild Turkey Roosts in the Texas Coastal Sand Plains

Sustainable management of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) requires information on distribution and abundance across the range. Techniques for surveying wild turkey populations in Texas are constrained by land access issues, requiring integration of landowners and managers into monitoring activities. We evaluated the use of 1) aerial surveys for estimating the distribution of Rio Grande wild turkeys (M. g. intermedia) relative to roosting habitat, and 2) multiple-observer roost counts for estimating local turkey abundance and roost-site fidelity within the Texas coastal sand plain....