Piecing Together the Wild Turkey Puzzle: A Nationwide Look at Diet, Disease and Decline

Led by Andrew Gregory, Ph. D, assistant professor of conservation biology and landscape ecology at the University of North Texas, this innovative project combines genetics, citizen science, field surveys and long-term population data to investigate the health, diet and demographics of wild turkeys. Funded in part by the National Wild Turkey Federation, the study aims to develop a comprehensive look at what’s driving wild turkey population trends — and how those trends differ across landscapes. 

“There’s been a lot of speculation about what’s behind turkey declines,” Gregory said. “But we don’t really have the high-resolution data to say definitively whether it's habitat loss, disease or some interaction between the two. This project aims to change that.” 

The research team is using multiple lines of inquiry. First, they’re analyzing data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey — a long-running, standardized bird monitoring effort — to model trends in wild turkey abundance across the species’ range. These models will help identify regions where populations are declining and where they are stable or increasing, offering crucial insights into regional variation. 

“Wild turkeys don’t recognize state boundaries,” Gregory said. “To really understand what’s going on, we need to look across regions and ecological boundaries.” 

A major component of the study involves a national call to action for citizen scientists. The team is distributing sample kits to NWTF members, wildlife agencies and turkey hunters across the country, asking them to submit wild turkey scat and feathers. Samples can be collected year-round, either by harvesting birds during the open spring and fall seasons or opportunistically, such as from droppings or feathers found beneath roost sites. These samples offer a goldmine of information: not just DNA for population genetics, but also dietary and disease data through a process called DNA metabarcoding. 

“With fecal metabarcoding we are able to dig into the feces,” Gregory said. “That sounds gross, but that's what we're doing, both literally and metaphorically to look at what types of diseases and parasites might be present in different populations of turkeys.” 

Each sample includes GPS data and photos of the collection site, allowing researchers to pair biological data with habitat conditions. This layered approach will help them evaluate how habitat quality affects turkey health, survival and diet — particularly for poults, which rely on protein-rich invertebrates in their first few weeks of life. 

In addition to habitat degradation, researchers are exploring whether disease and parasites may be contributing to population declines. While earlier studies in Texas found pathogens like low-pathogenic avian influenza and tapeworms, levels were not above expected baselines. Still, the presence of multiple stressors could be tipping the scales. 

“This project isn’t just about finding out what turkeys are dying from,” Gregory said. “It’s about figuring out what healthy turkey populations look like — and why they’re thriving in some places but not others.” 

One of the key hopes for the project is to inform future translocation efforts. Wild turkeys are often moved from stable populations to areas where numbers are struggling. But without a clear understanding of population genetics and disease exposure, that practice could do more harm than good. 

“Some states have been sourcing birds from areas where turkeys are considered a nuisance, like Wisconsin or South Dakota, and moving them to states with declines, like Texas or Alabama,” Gregory explained. “But if those birds are genetically distinct or carrying diseases, we may just be setting them up to fail.” 

The project is entering its critical phase. With the groundwork and lab protocols now in place, the next two years will be focused on collecting and processing hundreds of samples from across the country. The goal is to generate the largest data set of its kind, helping researchers and wildlife managers make smarter, more targeted decisions. 

Ultimately, the team hopes their findings will help clarify what’s causing turkey declines and how conservationists can address those threats in specific regions. 

“If it’s habitat loss in one region and disease in another, we need different tools for each,” Gregory said. “Our job is to help pinpoint the problem, so we can start solving it.” 

If you're a hunter or landowner interested in contributing to this research, sample kits can be obtained by contacting Gregory at Andrew.Gregory@unt.edu, providing your name and address and taking the sample survey here.  

The NWTF invested funds into the above project along with eight other wild turkey research projects across the United States, totaling $655,447 for the organization's 2024 RFP allocation.   

Since 2022, with partner funds leveraged at more than a 10-to-1 ratio, the NWTF, its chapters, members and partners have combined to put more than $18 million toward wild turkey research. This number will increase as the NWTF's national Science and Planning team is slated to fund more wild turkey research projects later this year.    

Thanks to support from dedicated partners — such as the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Mossy Oak and NWTF state chapters — the RFP program is an aggressive, annual effort to fund critical wild turkey research projects nationwide.