UTILITY OF POULT-HEN COUNTS TO INDEX PRODUCTIVITY OF RIO GRANDE WILD TURKEYS

UTILITY OF POULT-HEN COUNTS TO INDEX PRODUCTIVITY OF RIO GRANDE WILD TURKEYS Mtthew J. Butler 1 Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Mrk C. Wllce Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Richrd S. Phillips Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Ross T. Huffm Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Jmes C. Bullock Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Roger D. Applegte Kss Deprtmet of Wildlife d Prks, Empori, KS 66801, USA Glo I. Hll Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Wrre B. Bllrd Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Joh H. Brujes IV Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Rchel L. Houchi Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, TX 79409, USA Stephe J. DeMso Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet, Austi, TX 78744, USA Michel C. Frisie Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet, S Mrcos, TX 78666, USA Astrct: My sttes use poult-he couts to idex wild turkey (Melegris gllopvo) popultio prmeters such s reproductio, recruitmet, d desity. Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet (TPWD) persoel hve coducted poult-he couts of Rio Grde wild turkeys (M. g. itermedi) sice 1978. I, we eg estimtig recruitmet d reproductive prmeters t 3 study sites i the Texs Phdle d 1 site i southwester Kss. Durig, we estimted reproductive prmeters y itesively moitorig 374 rdio-tgged wild turkey hes. From ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts durig 2005, we used the percet of ll cptured wild turkeys tht were juveiles (percet juveiles cptured) to idex recruitmet for 1999. We used the TPWD poult-he cout dt from 1999 to estimte poults/he for couties tht cotied our study sites. I, we eg coductig our ow poult-he couts t the study sites i order to estimte poults/he t loclized scle. Nestig success rte, me umer of eggs lid per he, me umer of eggs htched per he, percet of juveile femles cptured, d percet of juveiles cptured were correlted (r 2 0.349, 9 10, P 0.05) to our poults/he estimtes. However, oe of the reproductive or recruitmet prmeters were correlted to TPWD poults/he estimtes (r 2 0.143, 13 16, P 0.10). Our lyses suggested poulthe couts could idex reproductio d recruitmet t loclized scles. However, o ecoregio scle, TPWD poults/he estimtes were ule to idex reproductio or recruitmet (r 2 0.299, 5 6, P 0.15). The 159

160 Popultio Dymics iility of the TPWD poults/he estimtes to idex reproductio or recruitmet t locl or ecoregio scles my hve resulted from smll smple sizes used to clculte TPWD estimtes d ueve d idequte coverge of smples cross the ecoregio. If TPWD poults/he estimtes re to e vlule idices t locl or ecoregio scles, lrger d evely distriuted smples from stdrdized d rdomized surveys must e otied. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 9:159 168 Key words: desity, Kss, Melegris glopovo itermedi, poult-he cout, poults/he idex, recruitmet, reproductio, Rio Grde wild turkey, Texs. Poult-he couts hve ee used to idex popultio desities, reproductio, d recruitmet of upld gme irds such s ester wild turkey (M. g. silvestris; Brtush et l. 1985), Rio Grde wild turkey (DeArmet 1959, Schwerter et l. ), Merrim s wild turkey (M. g. merrimi; Hoffm 1962, Shw 1973), rig-ecked phest (Phsius colchicus; Riley d Riley 1999), d gry prtridge (Prdix prdix; Suchy et l. 1991). Wild turkey poulthe couts hve ee used y my stte turl resource gecies (Kurzejeski d Vgilder 1992) d my reserchers hve exmied spects of poult-he couts. For exmple, the effects of evirometl coditios d time of dy o poult-he couts were exmied for phests (McClure 1945, Kozicky 1952, Klogl 1955) d wild turkeys (Shw 1973, Brtush et l. 1985). The power to detect treds i poult-he couts ws exmied for phests (Rice ) d wild turkeys (Schultz d McDowell 1957, Schwerter et l. ). I dditio, the reltioship etwee hrvest d poult-he couts ws exmied for wild turkeys (Kemer et l. 1975, Wuz d Shope 1980, Wuz d Ross 1990) d phests (Rice ). My of these studies reported positive reltioship etwee poults/he estimtes d wild turkey hrvest i the fll (e.g., Mezel 1975, Wuz d Shope 1980). These reltioships were used to ifer tht poults/he is vlid idex of recruitmet d desity eve though there is limited iformtio regrdig such reltioship. I Texs, TPWD persoel hve ee coductig poult-he couts s idex of recruitmet i Rio Grde wild turkey popultios sice 1978 (TPWD, upulished dt). However, the vlidity of poults/ he estimtes s idex of popultio prmeters ws questioed y Cughley (1974). The ssumptio ws tht poult-he couts were surrogte for popultio udce or desity (e.g., Brtush et l. 1985, Roerts d Porter 1996, Hely d Powell 1999). However, o studies exmied the vlidity of usig poult-he cout dt to idex recruitmet, reproductio, or desity though some coducted power lyses for tred detectio (e.g., Schultz d Mc- Dowell 1957, Schwerter et l. ). Thus, our ojective ws to evlute poult-he couts s idex of reproductio d recruitmet. Specificlly, we were iterested i determiig if positive lier reltioship etwee poults/he estimtes d mesures 1 E-mil: mtthew.j.utler@ttu.edu of reproductio d recruitmet existed t locl d ecoregio scles. STUDY AREA The ecoregio-scle study re ws 29-couty re locted i the Texs Phdle (herefter, referred to s the Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio) (Figure 1). The locl-scle reserch ws coducted t 3 study sites i the Texs Phdle d 1 site i southwester Kss (Figure 1). The Texs Phdle study sites were cetered o (1) the Mtdor Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), locted i orthwester Cottle Couty log the cofluece of the Middle d South Pese rivers; (2) the Gee Howe WMA, locted i orther Hemphill Couty log the Cdi River; d (3) privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, locted i wester Collisworth d ester Doley couties. The southwester Kss study site ws cetered o the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds i southwester Steves d souther Mor- Fig. 1. Loctios of the Rio Grde wild turkey study sites used i locl-scle correltio lyses (from orth to south: Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds, Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are [WMA], privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA) d the oudry of the 29- couty, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio used i the rod-scle ecoregio lyses.

Utility of Poult-He Couts Butler et l. 161 Tle 1. Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet (TPWD) poults/he estimtes for Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Texs Phdle, 1999. Study site 1999 Gee Howe WMA c 3.3 4 5.7 14 2.5 8 2.6 7 Slt Fork c 7.3 3 3.0 2 1.3 2 6.5 2 5.3 3 1.4 6 Mtdor WMA c 4.6 3 3.2 1 5.2 8 5.0 5 1.8 38 4.3 3 Ecoregio d 3.3 22 3.1 8 4.7 31 3.4 27 2.3 62 3.0 35 The TPWD poults/he estimtes were derived from opportuistic oservtios mde y TPWD persoel (see Schwerter et l. ). Reserch ws coducted t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River d Mtdor WMA. c The TPWD poults/he estimtes for the study sites were derived from poult-he couts coducted y TPWD persoel i couties tht cotied our study sites. d Pooled TPWD dt from the 29-couty, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio were used i the rod-scle ecoregio lyses. to couties, Kss, d southester Bc Couty, Colordo, log the Cimrro River. Little iformtio ws ville cocerig wild turkey popultio desities t the study sites or cross the ecoregio though it ws suspected tht wild turkey popultios were stle or icresig (Brujes 2005). Also, we selected the study sites ecuse they represeted the rge of evirometl d thropogeic iflueces i the ecoregio. Wild turkey popultios t our study sites were primrily tied to roostig hitt ssocited with ripri commuities. Study sites were primrily domited y griculture (2 21%), rushld (6 40%), grssld (35 89%), d ripri d upld trees (2 4%) (Brujes 2005). Detiled descriptios of the vegettive commuities of the study sites re ville i Spers et l. (), Butler et l. (2005), Hll (2005), Butler et l. (2006), d Huffm et l. (2006). Primry ld uses t the study sites were cttle rchig iterspersed with ceter-pivot griculture d oil d gs developmet. METHODS Though logistic costrits d other prolems ofte limited smplig, smplig protocols were desiged to set umericl gols for oservers. The TPWD poult-he survey protocol ws opportuistic Tle 2. Texs Tech Uiversity (TTU) poults/he estimtes for Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss,. Study site Cimrro NG 1.4 56 0.3 65 Gee Howe WMA 0.9 53 0.7 56 Slt Fork 2.7 35 1.7 57 1.5 68 Mtdor WMA 0.2 8 1.4 29 0.7 40 The TTU poults/he estimtes were derived from opportuistic oservtios mde y TTU persoel. Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. smplig scheme which ecourged TPWD persoel to record (durig their dily ctivities) 25 oservtios of wild turkey hes for ech 2-week period from 1 July 15 August ech yer (e.g., Schwerter et l. ). Becuse of cocers regrdig idequte smple sizes (umer of flocks oserved) i the TPWD couts (Schwerter et l. ), we eg coductig poult-he couts (herefter, referred to s TTU couts) i t our study sites. The TTU survey protocol lso ws opportuistic smplig scheme which ecourged TTU persoel to record (durig their dily ctivities) 30 oservtios of wild turkey flocks for ech 2-week period from 1 July 15 August ech yer. Primrily, ech protocol differed i smplig gols; the TPWD protocol focused o hes ut the TTU protocol focused o flocks. Flocks, the smple uits, were idepedet groups of wild turkeys; flock could e 1 or more wild turkeys. Regrdless of survey protocol, the smplig uits were wild turkey flocks d oservers recorded the sex, ge, d umer of wild turkeys see i ech flock. However, ecuse the TPWD protocol ws focused o hes, 1 flock of 25 hes fulfilled the TPWD quot ut ws cosidered oly 1 smple uder the TTU protocol. We used oth the TTU d TPWD poult-he couts to clculte poults/he estimtes for ech yer (TTU ; TPWD 1999 ). We used the TPWD poult-he cout dt from couties tht cotied our study sites to estimte the ul TPWD poults/he estimtes for ech of our study sites. No TPWD dt ws ville for the Cimrro Ntiol Grssld study site. We lso used TPWD poult-he cout dt from the Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio to clculte TPWD poults/he estimtes for the ecoregio. As prt of lrger study (e.g., Spers, Holdstock, Phillips, Hll 2005, Huffm 2005), we cptured Rio Grde wild turkeys usig drop-ets (Glzeer et l. 1964), rocket ets (Biley et l. 1980), d wlk-i-trps (Dvis 1994). We ttched 95-g ckpck-style rdio-trsmitter with 8-hour mortlity switch (Model #A1155, Advced Telemetry Systems, Isti, Miesot, USA) to Rio Grde wild turkeys usig 6-mm ylo over-rid ruer hress

162 Popultio Dymics Tle 3. Rio Grde wild turkey estig success rte i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss,. Study site Cimrro NG 43.8 16 40.6 32 35.3 17 27.8 18 Gee Howe WMA 39.1 23 27.3 33 26.3 19 46.3 13 14.3 21 Slt Fork 55.6 9 27.3 22 41.4 29 50.0 12 50.0 14 Mtdor WMA 42.9 21 33.3 21 15.0 20 31.8 22 25.0 12 Ecoregio c 43.4 53 28.9 76 29.4 68 40.4 47 27.7 47 Nests were cosidered successful if 1 poult per clutch htched. We determied ul success rte y clcultig the percetge of successful hes t ech study site. Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. c Dt from the Texs Phdle study sites were pooled d used i the rod-scle, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio lyses. cord usig the methods of Holdstock () d Phillips (). We cosidered wild turkeys 1 yer of ge s juveiles; we determied ge sed o chrcteristics of the ith d teth primries d rectrice legth (Petrides 1942). From ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts durig 2005, we used the percet of ll cptured wild turkeys tht were juveiles (percet juveiles cptured) to idex recruitmet for 1999. Specificlly, we used the percet of juveile femle, juveile mle, d ll juveile wild turkeys cptured s idices of recruitmet t ech study site. Durig, we estimted reproductive prmeters y moitorig 374 rdio-tgged wild turkey hes; we moitored 19.7 1.5 hes ( SE) t ech study site per yer (rged from 9 to 33 hes t ech study site per yer). All rdio-tgged hes were locted vi trigultio or visul oservtio 2 times per week durig the estig period to determie the oset of estig d icutio y ctivtio d dectivtio of mortlity sigls d cotiuous loctio t specific poit (e.g., Miller et l. 1998, Keeg d Crwford 1999). Oce we suspected icutio, we determied est loctios y close proximity (withi 50 m) trigultio of the hes (Spers, Huffm 2005). Fourtee dys fter the egiig of icutio, we pproched ests, d couted d floted eggs i order to estimte htch dte (Westerskov 1950). Though cocers out oserver iduced domet exist, oly 6.6% of ests were doed d i my of those cses the he ws ccidetlly flushed erly (Huffm 2005). After htchig, we exmied the ests d mde visul oservtios of the hes i order to estimte the umer of eggs htched. We cosidered ests successful if 1 poult per clutch htched. We determied ul success rte y clcultig the percetge of successful hes t ech study site. We coducted lyses t 2 scles: locl (study site) d ecoregio (Figure 1). At the locl scle, we compred the TTU d TPWD poults/he estimtes usig pired t-test (Zr 1999). I order to vlidte poult-he couts s idices of recruitmet d reproductio, we coducted oe-tiled correltio lyses. We used Perso s correltio coefficiet (Zr 1999) to determie the lier reltioship etwee the TPWD d TTU poults/he estimtes. We lso clculted correltio coefficiets etwee ech poults/ he estimte d estig success rte, me umer of eggs lid per he, me umer of eggs htched per he, percet juveile femles cptured, percet juveile mles cptured, d percet juveiles cptured. We used dt from the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds, Kss, for the correltio lyses etwee ll of the ove mesures except the TPWD poults/he estimtes. At the ecoregio scle, we pooled dt for the Texs study sites for ech yer d we comied TPWD poult-he cout dt for the Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio (Figure 1) i order to coduct correltio lyses. We cosidered correltios sigifict whe P 0.05 d r 2 0.30. Tle 4. Me umer of eggs lid per he for Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss,. Study site Cimrro NG 7.7 11 7.9 32 10.1 17 9.0 18 Gee Howe WMA 9.3 23 10.3 32 9.0 19 8.3 12 10.0 21 Slt Fork 8.4 8 8.5 22 11.1 25 10.3 12 7.9 13 Mtdor WMA 10.5 21 9.5 20 5.2 20 8.1 22 9.3 10 Ecoregio 9.5 52 9.5 74 8.6 64 8.7 49 9.2 44 Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. Dt from the Texs Phdle study sites were pooled d used i the rod-scle, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio lyses.

Utility of Poult-He Couts Butler et l. 163 Tle 5. Me umer of eggs htched per he for Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss,. Study site Cimrro NG 1.3 11 3.7 32 3.2 17 2.3 18 Gee Howe WMA 3.0 23 2.4 32 2.1 19 4.3 12 1.3 21 Slt Fork 4.4 7 2.3 22 3.3 25 4.8 12 3.7 14 Mtdor WMA 3.5 20 3.4 20 0.7 20 2.9 22 1.9 10 Ecoregio 3.4 50 2.6 74 2.1 64 3.7 46 2.2 45 Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. Dt from the Texs Phdle study sites were pooled d used i the rod-scle, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio lyses. RESULTS At the locl (study site) scle, the TPWD poults/ he estimtes were 2.5 0.7 poults/he ( SE) lrger th the TTU poults/he estimtes (t 3.557, df 6, P 0.012). I dditio, lier reltioship ws ot evidet etwee the TTU d TWPD poults/he estimtes (r 2 0.064, 7, P 0.292). Amog study sites d yers, the TPWD poults/he estimte rged from 1.3 7.3 poults/he (Tle 1) d the TTU poults/he estimte rged from 0.2 2.7 poults/he (Tle 2). Vritio existed mog study sites d yers for estig success rte (14.3 55.6%; Tle 3), me umer of eggs lid per he (5.2 11.1; Tle 4), me umer of eggs htched per he (0.7 4.8; Tle 5), percet juveile femles cptured (0.0 73.1%; Tle 6), percet juveile mles cptured (8.3 89.5%; Tle 7), d percet juveiles cptured (3.1 71.6%; Tle 8). However, t the Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio scle, there ws reduced vritio mog yers. The TPWD poults/he estimtes for the ecoregio rged from 2.3 4.7 poults/he (Tle 1). For the reproductive mesures, estig success rte rged from 27.7 43.4% (Tle 3), me umer of eggs lid per he rged from 8.6 9.5 (Tle 4), d me umer of eggs htched per he rged from 2.1 3.7 (Tle 5). For the recruitmet idices, percet juveile femles cptured rged from 23.0 55.9% (Tle 6), percet juveile mles cptured rged from 17.9 66.3% (Tle 7), d percet juveiles cptured rged from 38.3 60.1% (Tle 8). At the locl scle, estig success rte, me umer of eggs lid per he, me umer of eggs htched per he, the percet of juveile femles cptured, d the percet of juveiles cptured were correlted (r 2 0.349, 9 10, P 0.05) to the TTU poults/he estimtes (Figure 2). However, oe of the reproductive or recruitmet prmeters were correlted with the TPWD poults/he estimtes (r 2 0.143, 13 16, P 0.10; Figure 3). O the ecoregio scle, we oserved o lier reltioship etwee the TPWD poults/he estimtes d the reproductio or recruitmet prmeters (r 2 0.299, 5 6, P 0.15; Figure 4). DISCUSSION These lyses suggested poults/he estimtes idexed reproductio d recruitmet t loclized scles, such s our study sites, ut the efforts of TPWD were ot dequte t locl or ecoregio scles. Though the TTU d TPWD survey protocols were similr i most spects except effort, the differece etwee the poults/he estimtes d the lck of cocordce etwee them revels how effort c ifluece the poults/he idex. Idequte smple size ws prolem for the TPWD poults/he estimte. For the locl scle, smple size verged 6.8 2.2 ( SE) flocks Tle 6. Percet juveile femle Rio Grde wild turkeys cptured durig ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss, 1999. Study site 1999 Cimrro NG 11.3 53 19.4 36 0.0 20 51.2 82 Gee Howe WMA 21.3 61 45.3 53 48.6 37 71.7 46 25.6 43 5.2 7 Slt Fork 54.4 68 50.6 87 29.6 81 73.1 26 41.3 75 30.3 37 Mtdor WMA 32.4 68 37.7 53 47.4 57 30.4 46 50.0 38 34.1 46 Ecoregio c 40.6 250 45.6 229 39.4 175 55.9 138 39.1 238 23.0 90 We used the percet of juveile femles cptured durig ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts to idex ul femle recruitmet t ech study site. Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. c Dt from the Texs Phdle study sites were pooled d used i the rod-scle, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio lyses.

164 Popultio Dymics Fig. 2. Locl scle, lier reltioships mog the Texs Tech Uiversity (TTU) poults/he estimtes for Rio Grde wild turkeys d mesures of reproductio d recruitmet i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss,. Ech poit represets 1 yer t 1 study site. per study site per yer. O the ecoregio scle, smple size verged 30.8 7.3 flocks per yer. Thus, more effort must e pplied if the TPWD poults/he estimte is to e vlule t locl or ecoregio scles. For exmple, the TTU smple size verged 46.7 5.9 flocks per study site per yer. Also, the results of Schwerter et l. () suggested coductig 200 poult-he couts per ecoregio per yer ws ecessry to detect (80% power) iter-ul chge of 10 20%. Additiolly, ueve d idequte coverge of smples cross the Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio my hve cotriuted to the iility of the TPWD poults/he estimtes to predict reproductio or recruitmet o our study sites or the ecoregio. Durig the period of study, TPWD persoel coducted 1.1 0.3 poult-he couts i ech couty of the ecoregio per yer. Typiclly, TPWD persoel coducted poult-he couts i 8.3 1.1 couties of the Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio d i oly 3 of those couties were poult-he couts coducted every yer. The ueve distriutio d icosistecies i the TPWD poult-he coutig effort my hve cotriuted to the lck of cocordce with reproductio d recruitmet. The TTU poults/he estimte exhiited lier reltioship with my mesures of reproductio d recruitmet t the locl scle. This idicted poulthe couts c e used s surrogte for reproductio d recruitmet t locl scles. However, oly out 35 45% of the vritio i mesures of reproductio ws explied y the poults/he estimtes (Figure 2). The ility to expli this mout of vritio i reproductio is importt i wild turkey popultios tht re iflueced y my ecologicl forces. However, from mgemet perspective, this my lck vlue s iformtiol tool. Though mesures of recruitmet were idices, out 52 62% of vritio i the recruitmet idices ws explied y poults/he estimtes (Figure 2). This could e vlule iformtio for wildlife mgers. However, without desity estimtes, idex of recruitmet my e of little vlue to mgers (e.g., McDold 1964). Also, Cughley (1974) suggested ge-rtio treds c pper ideticl for 2 popultios, oe irruptig d the other crshig. Thus, we suggest estlishmet of survey routes with strict survey protocol tht provides for rdomiztio d cotrols effort. Though rdomiztio d wild turkey ehviorl issues rise i rod surveys (e.g., Butler et l. 2005), upulished dt Tle 7. Percet juveile mle Rio Grde wild turkeys cptured durig ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss, 1999. Study site 1999 Cimrro NG 36.4 44 75.0 4 8.3 12 59.3 27 Gee Howe WMA 45.3 24 58.3 36 31.6 19 71.4 21 37.5 24 13.3 18 Slt Fork 41.9 31 55.3 38 29.6 27 67.9 28 66.7 30 27.9 34 Mtdor WMA 70.0 50 48.6 35 42.2 45 61.3 31 89.5 19 13.3 18 Ecoregio c 50.4 113 54.1 109 36.3 91 66.3 80 63.0 73 17.9 70 We used the percet of juveile mles cptured durig ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts to idex ul mle recruitmet t ech study site. Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. c Dt from the Texs Phdle study sites were pooled d used i the rod-scle, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio lyses.

Utility of Poult-He Couts Butler et l. 165 Tle 8. Percet juveile Rio Grde wild turkeys cptured durig ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss, 1999. Study site 1999 Cimrro NG 22.7 97 25.0 40 3.1 32 53.2 109 Gee Howe WMA 23.7 85 50.6 89 42.9 56 71.6 67 29.9 67 18.5 25 Slt Fork 51.9 99 52.0 125 29.6 108 70.4 54 48.6 105 58.2 71 Mtdor WMA 48.3 118 42.0 88 45.1 102 42.9 77 63.2 57 47.4 64 Ecoregio c 43.6 399 48.7 342 38.3 226 60.1 230 46.7 338 40.8 160 We used the percet of juveiles cptured durig ul Jury Mrch trppig efforts to idex ul recruitmet t ech study site. Reserch ws coducted i southwester Kss t the Cimrro Ntiol Grsslds (NG) d i the Texs Phdle t the Gee Howe Wildlife Mgemet Are (WMA), privte rches surroudig the Slt Fork of the Red River, d Mtdor WMA. c Dt from the Texs Phdle study sites were pooled d used i the rod-scle, Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio lyses. (M. J. Butler, Texs Tech Uiversity) suggested smple sizes greter th those collected previously y TPWD c e otied from surveyig t lest 400 km of rods i wild turkey hitt. This would trsform the TPWD poult-he cout ito estimtor of the dult popultio while providig reproductio d recruitmet iformtio, the vlule compoets of popultio dymics ecessry i species mgemet. Applictio t ecoregio scles my cotiue to e elusive ecuse of potetil sychroous productivity d recruitmet etwee locl wild turkey popultios (T. W. Schwerter, TPWD, persol commuictio). As our results suggested, poolig cross the Fig. 3. Locl scle, lier reltioships mog the Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet (TPWD) poults/he estimtes for Rio Grde wild turkeys d mesures of reproductio d recruitmet i the Texs Phdle, 1999. Ech poit represets 1 yer t 1 study site. Fig. 4. Ecoregio scle, lier reltioships mog the Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet (TPWD) poults/he estimtes for Rio Grde wild turkeys d mesures of reproductio d recruitmet i the Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio, 1999. Ech poit represets dt pooled cross the Texs Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio for 1 yer.

166 Popultio Dymics lrge, Phdle Rollig Plis ecoregio will result i loss of the locl vritio ssocited with sychroous productivity d recruitmet cross the ecoregio (Tles 3 8). This potetil sychroy my require stte turl resource gecies to evlute treds t smller scles. Moreover, if smple sizes re improved, efforts distriuted evely, d survey techiques stdrdized d rdomized, the the TPWD poult-he cout my prove vlule. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study ws fuded y Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet, Ntiol Wild Turkey Federtio, Texs Chpter (Superfud) of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Federtio, Kss Deprtmet of Wildlife d Prks, d Kss Federl Aid Grt W-54-R. We thk umerous field techicis who ided i dt collectio d my privte ldowers who llowed ccess to their ld. We grtefully ckowledge D. P. Holdstock, B. L. Spers, T. L. Brett, J. Vcc, B. R. Bedford, d B. R. Buckley for their diligece i the field. Also, H. A. Whitlw, T. W. Schwerter, D. P. Holdstock, N. J. Silvy, M. W. Hurd, d 2 oymous reviewers provided vlule commets d suggestios o erlier drfts of the muscript. This is Texs Tech Uiversity, College of Agriculturl Sciece d Nturl Resources techicl pulictio T-9-1055. LITERATURE CITED Biley, W., D. Deett, Jr., H. Gore, J. Pck, R. Simpso, d G. Wright. 1980. Bsic cosidertios d geerl recommedtios for trppig the wild turkey. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 4:10 23. Brtush, L. H., M. S. Ssser, d D. L. Frcis. 1985. A stdrdized turkey rood survey method for orthwest Florid. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 5: 173 181. Brujes, J. H., IV. 2005. The popultio iology d ldscpe ecology of Rio Grde wild turkeys i the rollig plis of Texs d Kss. Disserttio, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, Texs, USA. Butler, M. J., W. B. Bllrd, M. C. Wllce, S. J. DeMso, d R. D. Applegte. 2006. Comprig techiques for coutig Rio Grde wild turkeys t witer roosts. Pges 112 117 i J. W. Ci III d P. R. Krusm, editors. Mgig wildlife i the southwest: ew chlleges for the 21st cetury. The Southwest Sectio of The Wildlife Society, 9 11 August 2005, Alpie, Texs, USA., M. C. Wllce, W. B. Bllrd, S. J. DeMso, d R. D. Applegte. 2005. From the field: the reltioship of Rio Grde wild turkey distriutios to rods. Wildlife Society Bulleti 33:745 748. Cughley, G. 1974. Iterprettio of ge rtios. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 38:557 562. Dvis, B. D. 1994. A fuel trp for Rio Grde turkey. Proceedigs of the Aul Coferece of the Southester Associtio of Fish d Wildlife Agecies 48:109 116. DeArmet, R. 1959. Turkey he-poult rtios s idex to reproductive treds. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 1:27 31. Glzeer, W. C., A. S. Jckso, d M. L. Cox. 1964. The Texs drop-et turkey trp. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 28: 280 287. Hll, G. I. 2005. Reltioships etwee cttle grzig d Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Souther Gret Plis. Thesis, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, Texs, USA. Hely, W. M., d S. M. Powell. 1999. Wild turkey hrvest mgemet: iology, strtegies, d techiques. U.S. Fish d Wildlife Service Biologicl Techicl Pulictio BTP- R5001-1999. Hoffm, D. M. 1962. The wild turkey i ester Colordo. Colordo Deprtmet of Gme d Fish Techicl Pulictio 12. Holdstock, D. P.. Survivl, movemet, d hitt selectio of mle Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss. Thesis, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, Texs, USA. Huffm, R. T. 2005. The effect of precipittio d cover o Rio Grde wild turkey estig ecology i the Texs Phdle d southwester Kss. Thesis, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, Texs, USA., M. C. Wllce, W. B. Bllrd, G. Hll, R. Houchi, R. Applegte, S. J. DeMso, d P. S. Gipso. 2006. Nestig hitt of Rio Grde wild turkeys. Pges 103 111 i J. W. Ci III d P. R. Krusm, editors. Mgig wildlife i the southwest: ew chlleges for the 21st cetury. The Southwest Sectio of The Wildlife Society, 9 11 August 2005, Alpie, Texs, USA. Keeg, T. W., d J. A. Crwford. 1999. Reproductio d survivl of Rio Grde turkeys i Orego. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 63:204 210. Kemer, J. E., D. H. Arer, C. R. Hopkis, d R. C. Clto. 1975. Productivity of the ester wild turkey i the Mississippi Delt. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 3:41 47. Klogl, E. D. 1955. Fctors ifluecig the fll rodside phest cesus i Iow. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 19:254 262. Kozicky, E. L. 1952. Vritios i two sprig idices of mle rig-ecked phest popultios. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 16:429 437. Kurzejeski, E. W., d L. D. Vgilder. 1992. Popultio mgemet. Pges 165 184 i J. D. Dickso, editor. The wild turkey: iology d mgemet. Stckpole Books, Mechicsurg, Pesylvi, USA. McDold, D. 1964. Turkey he:poult rtios re they ccurte idex of productio? Proceedigs of Aul Coferece of Wester Associtio of Stte Gme d Fish Commissioers 44:206 210. McClure, H. E. 1945. Compriso of cesus methods for phests i Nersk. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 9:38 45. Mezel, K. E. 1975. Popultio d hrvest dt for Merrim s turkeys i Nersk. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 3:184 188. Miller, D. A., L. W. Burger, B. D. Leopold, d G. A. Hurst. 1998. Survivl d cuse specific mortlity of wild turkey hes i cetrl Mississippi. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 62:306 313. Petrides, G. A. 1942. Age determitio i Americ glliceous gme irds. Trsctios of the North Americ Wildlife d Nturl Resources Coferece 7:308 328. Phillips, R. S.. Movemets, survivl, d reproductio of Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Texs Phdle. Thesis, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, Texs, USA. Rice, C. G.. Utility of phest cll couts d rood couts for moitorig popultio desity d predictig hrvest. Wester North Americ Nturlist 63:178 188. Riley, T. Z., d S. P. Riley. 1999. Temporl compriso of phest rood sizes i the Midwest. Wildlife Society Bulleti 27:366 373. Roerts, S. D., d W. F. Porter. 1996. Importce of demogrphic prmeters to ul chges i wild turkey udce. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 7:15 20. Schultz, V., d R. D. McDowell. 1957. Some commets o

Utility of Poult-He Couts Butler et l. 167 wild turkey rood study. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 21:85 89. Schwerter, T. W., M. J. Peterso, N. J. Silvy, d F. E. Smeis.. Brood-cout power estimtes of Rio Grde turkey productio i Texs. Proceedigs of the Aul Coferece of the Southester Associtio of Fish d Wildlife Agecies 57:213 221. Shw, H. G. 1973. The rodside survey for Merrim s turkeys i Arizo. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 2:285 293. Spers, B. L.. Wild turkey pre-flight poult hitt chrcteristics d survivl. Thesis, Texs Tech Uiversity, Luock, Texs, USA., W. B. Bllrd, M. C. Wllce, R. S. Phillips, D. P. Holdstock, J. H. Brujes, R. Applegte, P. S. Gipso, M. S. Miller, d T. Brett.. Retetio times of miiture rdiotrsmitters glued to wild turkey poults. Wildlife Society Bulleti 30:861 867. Suchy, W. J., R. J. Mukel, d J. M. Kiezler. 1991. Results of the August rodside survey for upld wildlife i Iow: 1963 1988. Jourl of Iow Acdemy of Sciece 98:82 90. Westerskov, K. 1950. Methods for determiig the ge of gme ird eggs. Jourl of Wildlife Mgemet 14:56 67. Wuz, G. A., d A. S. Ross. 1990. Wild turkey productio, fll d sprig hrvest iterctios d resposes to hrvest mgemet i Pesylvi. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 6:205 207., d W. K. Shope. 1980. Turkey rood survey i Pesylvi s it reltes to hrvest. Proceedigs of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium 4:69 75. Zr, J. H. 1999. Biosttisticl lysis. Pretice Hll, Upper Sddle River, New Jersey, USA. Mtthew [Mtt] J. Butler (ceter) is curretly post doctorl reserch ssocite i the Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet t Texs Tech Uiversity i Luock. He ered his Ph.D. i wildlife scieces i 2006 from Texs Tech Uiversity. His disserttio reserch ws focused o evlutig survey techiques for Rio Grde wild turkeys i the Souther Gret Plis. He received M.S. i forest resources from the Uiversity of Arkss t Moticello i where he studied the forgig requiremets of red-cockded woodpeckers. I 1999, he received B.S. i fisheries d wildlife iology from Arkss Tech Uiversity i Russellville. Also, Mtt hs worked for the U.S. Forest Service s wildlife iologist d s forestry techici o the Ouchit Ntiol Forest. Mrk C. Wllce (left) received B.S. degree i forestry-wildlife scieces from the Uiversity of Wshigto i 1981, d M.S. i wildlife ecology from the Uiversity of Arizo i 1984, d Ph.D. from the Uiversity of Arizo i 1992. Sice 1996, he s ee fculty memer i the Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Mgemet t Texs Tech Uiversity. His reserch iterests re focused o wildlifehitt reltioships. Wrre B. Bllrd (right) is the Bricker Chir i wildlife mgemet t Texs Tech Uiversity. He received his B.S. i fish d wildlife mgemet t New Mexico Stte Uiversity, his M.Sc. i evirometl iology from Kss Stte Uiversity, d his Ph.D. i wildlife sciece from the Uiversity of Arizo. His professiol iterests iclude predtor-prey reltioships d popultio dymics of crivores d ugultes. Gllo I. Hll (pictured) ws or d rised i Pescol, Florid. He completed his B.S. i Biology t the Uiversity of South Alm i. At the time of this reserch, he ws grdute reserch ssistt t Texs Tech Uiversity where he ered his M.S. i wildlife sciece i the sprig of 2005. Curretly, Glo is district wildlife iologist for the Virgii Deprtmet of Gme d Ild Fisheries. Richrd S. Phillips is doctorl studet i wildlife sciece t Texs Tech Uiversity i Luock. His disserttio reserch is focused o the role of dispersl i popultio dymics of Rio Grde wild turkeys. He received B.A. i iology from Emory Uiversity i Atlt d M.S. i wildlife sciece t Texs Tech Uiversity. His M.S. reserch ws focused o dispersl i yerlig femle Rio Grde wild turkeys. Joh H. Brujes, IV received his B.S. i iology from the Uiversity of North Croli t Wilmigto d his M.S. i wildlife ecology d mgemet from the Uiversity of Georgi. He recetly completed his Ph.D. i wildlife sciece t Texs Tech Uiversity i Luock. His doctorl reserch focused o the ldscpe ecology d popultio dymics of Rio Grde wild turkeys. Joh is curretly the i the migrtory ird progrm leder for the Ketucky Deprtmet of Fish d Wildlife Resources. Ross T. Huffm is curretly employed s the Wyomig Stewrdship Deprtmet mger for Coservtio Seedig d Restortio, Ic. He received his M.S. i wildlife sciece t Texs Tech Uiversity i Luock i 2005 d his B.S. i wildlife mgemet with mior i rge mgemet t Wshigto Stte Uiversity i 1999. He hs worked for the U.S. Forest Service d the Idho Deprtmet of Fish d Gme s wildlife techici, d for the USGS d the Army Corp of

168 Popultio Dymics Egieers s fisheries techici. He ejoys workig with wildlife hitt d wildlife hitt restortio. Rchel L. Houchi recetly completed her M.S. i wildlife sciece t Texs Tech Uiversity i Luock. I, she received her B.S. i wildlife d fisheries sciece with mior i forestry t The Uiversity of Teessee i Koxville. I August 2005, Rchel eg workig s the Reewle Resources Extesio Act (RREA) coorditor d wildlife iologist for Oklhom Stte Uiversity Extesio. Jmes C. Bullock completed his B.S. i wildlife d fisheries mgemet t Texs Tech Uiversity i Luock i. For severl yers, he hs served s wildlife techici t Texs Tech Uiversity. Stephe [Steve] J. DeMso is the upld gme ird progrm leder for the Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet i Austi, Texs. Prior to movig to Texs, he worked for the Oklhom Deprtmet of Wildlife Coservtio d served s the led resercher o the tiolly recogized Pcksddle quil reserch project. Curretly, he serves s Chirm of the Southest Quil Study Group d memer of the Ntiol Wild Turkey Federtio s Techicl Committee. He is memer of the Ntiol d Texs Chpters of The Wildlife Society. He lso served s the Progrm Chirm d Editor for the Proceedigs of the Fifth Ntiol Quil Symposium. Steve ws rised i souther Michig d received his B.S. from Michig Stte Uiversity, M.S. from Texs A&I Uiversity, d is curretly pursuig Ph.D. i the Wildlife d Fisheries Scieces Joit Progrm etwee Texs A&M Uiversity d Texs A&M Kigsville. Roger D. Applegte is the smll gme coorditor for Teessee Wildlife Resources Agecy i Nshville sice August 2005. Prior to tht, he ws the smll gme coorditor for Kss Deprtmet of Wildlife d Prks. Michel [Mike] C. Frisie is the dtse systems lyst for the migrtory, upld, d smll gme progrm for Texs Prks d Wildlife Deprtmet i S Mrcos, Texs. Sice 1992, he hs worked for the Deprtmet developig d lyzig curret d historicl digitl dtsets for vriety of Deprtmet field surveys d coordites the use of these dtsets with vrious reserchers. A life-log Tex, Mike ws rised i Luock d Austi, Texs, d studied wildlife iology d geogrphic iformtio systems t Southwest Texs Stte Uiversity (ow Texs Stte Uiversity S Mrcos).

Muscript pulished i Wild Turkey Mgemet: Accomplishmets, Strtegies, d Opportuities Proceedigs of the Nith Ntiol Wild Turkey Symposium Grd Rpids, Michig 10-14 Decemer, 2005 Edited y C. ALAN STEWART AND VALERIE R. FRAWLEY Michig Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Lsig, Michig Sposored y Michig Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Hl & Je Glsse Memoril Foudtio Ntiol Wild Turkey Federtio Michig Stte Uiversity, Deprtmet of Fisheries d Wildlife Michig Chpter of The Wildlife Society U.S. Deprtmet of Agriculture, Forest Service Wiscosi Deprtmet of Nturl Resources Pulished y Michig Deprtmet of Nturl Resources 2007