Roosting ecology and human influences related to conservation of female wild turkeys in Kansas

Abstract

Despite being considered a major conservation and restoration success, the culturally and economically significant wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) has experienced recent regional population declines. Proposed reasons for these declines include survival, recruitment, vegetation structure, and harvest management despite wild turkeys being considered habitat generalists. Potentially limiting factors must be identified for effective management to abate the population decline of wild turkey. My study occurred across a precipitation gradient across much of Kansas, USA, which was characterized by a unique, mostly privately owned grassland-dominated landscape with limited riparian areas with frequency of tree occurrence increasing from west to east. Wild turkeys are a tree-dependent species so availability of forested or wooded areas limits potential wild turkey habitat and space use, dictating where management can be applied. My primary objectives were to characterize tree- and landscape-level factors associated with roost-site selection and roost fidelity; evaluate whether female movement, space use, survival, and landownership use changed in response to spring hunting disturbance; and identify landowner characteristics and decision-making factors associated with intentions to manage habitat for wild turkeys. I evaluated female wild turkey roosting ecology and response to spring hunting disturbance across an east-to-west ecological gradient in Kansas by capturing and marking female wild turkeys (n = 400) using Iridium backpack-style transmitters during winter 2024 and 2025 across three study regions representing landscapes with differing availability of forest stands. For the roosting component, I collected characteristics of roosts used by female wild turkeys and random, available trees at multiple scales during the leaf-on (May-Aug) and leaf-off seasons (Nov-Feb) during 2024–2026. Roost-tree selection varied regionally, with diameter-at-breast-height identified as the strongest predictor of use. Across seasons and regions, roost use was best explained by larger diameter trees, reduced low understory cover, and more closed overstory canopy, suggesting that availability of roost trees is driven more by structure than by species. These structural requirements are needed within the context of a heterogeneous landscape providing other life-cycle requirements. Landscape-level selection analyses indicated that roosts were associated with greater forest cover, closer proximity to stream corridors, and lower developed land, shrubland, water, and cropland cover than available points. Availability of landcover and structural requirements influence the space use by wild turkeys. Estimated monthly home range area was similar among seasons and regions. However, female wild turkeys in the West Region had the largest home range during summer and the smallest during winter. Roost fidelity also varied regionally, with the highest fidelity in the West Region and the lowest fidelity in the East Region, consistent with a regional gradient in tree availability. Across years and regions, mean roost fidelity was 0.63 ± 0.20 during summer and 0.81 ± 0.16 during winter. Roost structure, landscape, and fidelity combined with wild turkey movements show that roost availability was limited in the West Region, especially during winter. To evaluate female response to spring hunting disturbance, I used a Before–After–Impact–Control design comparing survival and space use before (Mar), during (Apr–May), and after (Jun) the hunting season. I classified weekly dominant landownership (private vs. public) to test whether females shifted habitat use during the hunting season. Survival was slightly lower on public lands (Private: 0.65 ± 0.03; Public: 0.57 ± 0.04), but weekly survival did not differ among periods. However, mortality locations occurred on public lands more often than expected based on availability within pre-mortality use areas, suggesting that females using publicly accessible lands may experience elevated mortality risk. Females overwhelmingly used private land, with only ~3–5% of weekly locations on public land. Ownership switching was rare, with <15% of birds changing dominant landownership during the hunting season, peaking prior to firearm season. Space use increased during the hunting period for all birds but did not differ between ownership groups. Overall, I found limited evidence that the spring hunt altered female wild turkey behavior or survival, likely due to movement to private land prior to the season. Given the importance of private lands in this system, I surveyed 176 Kansas landowners who allowed wild turkey researchers access to their properties to evaluate private-land management potential using the Theory of Planned Behavior and audience segmentation in April and May of 2026. Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control positively predicted intentions to implement wild turkey management practices. Intention was best represented by three landowner clusters that differed in willingness across management practices. Clusters were also distinguished by age, property size, and land-use diversity, indicating that outreach should account for differences in landowner capacity and management context. These results indicate that landowner support for wild turkey conservation depends not only on general attitudes toward wildlife, but also on the specific practice being considered and how well that practice fits land-use goals, resources, and experience. Recognizing these differences can help agencies, extension, and conservation partners develop more effective, locally relevant outreach strategies that support voluntary wild turkey management and broader private lands conservation in Kansas. In summary, these findings indicate that wild turkey management in Kansas will be most effective when habitat needs, behavioral responses, and private landowner decision-making are addressed simultaneously. Roost availability appears to be a limiting resource in portions of the state, particularly in western Kansas and during winter, making the protection and development of large-diameter open-branching trees in proximity to other life-cycle resource needs an important management priority. In contrast, spring hunting appeared to have limited influence on female behavior and survival, likely because females used private land extensively before and during the hunting season. Therefore, management actions focused solely on public lands or harvest regulations may have limited ability to influence female wild turkey populations in Kansas. Because most wild turkey habitat occurs on private working lands, conservation efforts should prioritize voluntary, locally relevant outreach to landowners, especially those already receptive to wildlife management. Overall, wild turkey management in Kansas will be most effective when roosting habitat, behavioral responses to disturbance, and private landowner decision-making are addressed together. Management should promote voluntary practices such as timber stand improvement, prescribed fire, and invasive vegetation control as habitat improvements that can be integrated into working lands.