Wild Turkey Docs Captivate NWTF Audience

For the first time, Mike Chamberlain, Ph.D., Terrell Distinguished Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management at the University of Georgia, and Bret Collier, Ph.D., Associate Professor at the Louisiana State University School Renewable Natural Resources held a wild turkey science seminar for NWTF convention and sport show guests; their ability to succinctly discuss some of the biggest questions surrounding wild turkey ecology captivated the room chock full of intrigued turkey hunters. 

Chamberlain and Collier’s seminar began by dimming the lights and playing “Swamp Thunder,” a minidocumentary that starred the Sunshine State’s own Osceola wild turkey, a subspecies of wild turkey endemic only to Florida. The film underscored that the many challenges the Osceola wild turkey faces are not unlike the challenges wild turkeys across the country face. 

“What is happening in Florida is sort of a microcosm for what is happening across the country,” Chamberlain said. “There is still a lot unknown about how many new external factors are impacting these birds.”

One of the questions that was asked shortly after the film linked what is happening in Florida to what is indeed happening elsewhere.

The audience member expressed that he lives in an area with no visible issues but is still experiencing declines. 

Chamberlain noted that many of the causes for declines are often insidious, and he likened them to the positions of a football team. 

“If habitat is your quarterback, acreage your receiver, poult production your running back and so on, if one of them is off, you could still win a game, but if all of them are off, even slightly, it could cause the team to lose – it’s similar to what turkeys are facing, a myriad of factors that are a bit off.”

Chamberlain and Collier answered various questions from audience members, including questions about predator management, what predators affect poult production and which are pretty benign, subspecies dispersal and more. The researchers also dispelled some common misconceptions in the turkey world too. 

Does spur length determine age, an audience member asked. 

“It doesn’t,” Chamberlain said. 

He explained the vast amount of evidence that supported no direct correlation between spur length and age, noting examples of some old birds that had been aged through tagging and had small spurs, and, likewise, he noted two-year-old birds with large spurs. 

Through all the questions, Chamberlain and Collier answered them as thoroughly and enthusiastically as they would their students’ questions.

While the allotted time was up for the seminar session, and with many hands still in the air, Chamberlain and Collier told the audience they would happily stay and answer any remaining questions outside.  This event was surely a treat for NWTF convention attendees interested in conservation and wild turkey ecology. Considering the room's passion and number of questions, attendees will likely expect more seminars about wild turkey research in the following years.