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THERMAL IMPACTS ON WILD TURKEY MOVEMENT AND SPACE USE
Author
Rakowski, Allison
Elmore, R. Dwayne
Davis, Craig A.
Fuhlendorf, Sam
Publisher
Society for Range Management
Publication Year
2017
Body

Thermal environments place physiological and behavioral constraints on organisms. Ground nesting birds in the southern Great Plains are particularly vulnerable to temperature because of their predominately diurnal behaviors, nest location, and exposure to ambient temperature often exceeding 30C�. To better understand how organisms respond to thermal extremes, we assessed movement and space use of Rio Grande Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia; hereafter turkey) on Packsaddle Wildlife Management Area during June-August, 2016. We placed 20 backpack-style GPS transmitters on female turkeys. Each of the transmitters recorded 7 daytime locations (every 2 hours from 0800-2000) daily for 25 female turkey. We measured black ball temperature from (21�C-54�C), which incorporates both ambient temperature and the effect of solar radiation. Preliminary data indicates a tremendous thermal variation across the landscape. At an ambient temperature of ~34�C, black ball temperatures range from 30�C to 53�C, providing a. wide array (23�C) of thermal options to organisms. We also found that during peak heating (1200-1600 hours), locations where turkeys loaf (1400 hour turkey locations) were up to 6�C cooler than the locations at which turkeys feed (0800 hour turkey locations). Additionally, turkeys moved an average of 90m less between successive locations during the hours of peak heating (1200-1600 hours) on days >30�C than on days where temperature remained <30�C. These findings suggest that turkeys may be using the thermal variation across the landscape to help mitigate thermal extremes during the hours of peak heating and are modifying behavior to minimize exposure to high heat.

Language
English
Resource Type
Text
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Conference Name
SRM St. George, UT
Collection
SRM Annual Meeting Abstracts