JWM: Wild turkeys may face a tougher future in a warmer world

November 22, 2023 by David Frey

Climate change may make for bleaker Thanksgiving dinners in the future.

As wild turkey populations struggle in the southeastern United States, warming temperatures may be both a blessing and a curse, researchers found, but probably more curse than blessing. A warmer future may also make it tougher for wildlife managers to plan turkey hunting seasons amid fluctuating population numbers.

Tiny changes in nest success can make the difference between wild turkey numbers rising or falling in a given year, said TWS member Wesley Boone, a postdoctoral research scholar at North Carolina State University. As a result, climate change could have an outsize impact on their populations.

“Just a few percentage points’ difference in the response of their offspring result in population growth or decline,” he said.

Climate change appears to offer mixed outcomes for the birds, said Boone, who led a recent study looking at climate change and wild turkey nest success published in the Journal of Wildlife Management. But overall, he said, the negatives could outweigh the positives.

“What we can say is, it looks like nest success is going to be more volatile,” Boone said. Some years, the birds may do well. Other years, they will experience “near total nest failure,” he said. “How do you set game regulations based on that?”

Climate change may be a mixed bag for wild turkey nest success in the southeastern U.S. Credit: David Moscicki

Boone and his team looked at how climate projections may affect eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) populations in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana and eastern Texas. They found that nest success improved somewhat in warmer springs. But it was the weather earlier in the year—before hens even laid their eggs—that made a bigger difference.

“That’s not really what we expected,” Boone said.

The team found that nest success improves with wetter weather in January. That’s good news for weathering climate change. But those gains would likely be more than offset by January’s warmer temperatures. “It’s a mixed bag,” Boone said.

Researchers aren’t sure why temperatures in January have such a strong effect on nest success in the spring, Boone said, but warmer weather may result in greater disease spread or more active predators.

The study is the second one resulting from Boone and his team’s research into how climate change is affecting wild turkeys in the southern U.S. The first, published earlier this year in Climate Change Ecology, showed that wild turkeys may struggle to keep up with the earlier arrival of spring, resulting in a mismatch between when they nest and when conditions are best for newborn poults.

But while these two studies highlighted the challenges, what they mean for turkey populations remains to be seen. Boone hopes a third study, yet to be published, may help answer that question by looking at poult survival and climate change.

“I think we’re going to find that poults are impacted,” he said. “They’re tiny little birds. Temperature and precipitation should influence their survival.”

Boone worries these findings may make turkey survival even more difficult in a part of the country where factors like habitat loss and land use changes are decreasing their numbers.

“We don’t think climate change plays much into current trends,” he said, “but moving forward it could be very important.”

This article features research that was published in a TWS peer-reviewed journal. Individual online access to all TWS journal articles is a benefit of membership. Join TWS now to read the latest in wildlife research. 

Mexican wolf wanders far beyond introduction area

November 21, 2023 by The Wildlife Society

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is tracking a Mexican wolf that has wandered over 100 miles past its recovery area, but officials say they have no immediate plans to capture it. The female wolf, known as F2754, is part of a population of Mexican gray wolves (Canis lupus baileyi) first reintroduced into Arizona and New Mexico 25 years ago. Interstate 40 was considered the northern boundary of the wolves’ recovery area, but this wolf—nicknamed Asha—has wandered hundreds of miles from its home range. It’s not the first time. Last winter, biologists captured and relocated the wolf after it set out across the landscape. 
Read more from the Associated Press.

JWM: Invasive fire ants reduce butterfly abundance

November 21, 2023 by Joshua Rapp Learn

Invasive fire ants are preying on native butterfly species, so much so that they may be reducing their abundance at some sites in Texas.

“Fire ants are bad for butterflies,” said Emily Geest, a postdoctoral fellow in conservation science at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden.

Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis Invicta) are native to parts of Brazil and Argentina. They were first introduced to the United States in Mobile, Alabama in the 1930s. Since then, they have spread through neighboring states, preying on and killing native birds, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and now, it appears, insects.

Red imported fire ants swarm a beetle. Credit: Emily Geest

Geest and her colleagues were tag-teaming on another study by other researchers examining the effect that the ants had on bobwhite quail (Colinus virginianus) and Attwater’s prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) nesting success. For that study, researchers had treated some parts of giant ranches for fire ants using a granular deadly ant bait spread from helicopters and planes in 2017. Those researchers left untreated plots of land adjacent to every treated area to determine the effect that removing the invasive insects would have on bobwhites and prairie chickens.

Geest’s team took advantage of the treatment, setting traps for pollinators in the same area. They set out colored pans with soapy water, which decreases the surface tension so insects are trapped when they land. They placed yellow, blue and white traps out three times per sampling period in 2018 and 2019. They then collected the contents of the traps and took the pollinators back to the lab for species identification.

They were originally going to examine the effect these ants have on bees, but when they started examining the traps, the researchers quickly realized they were catching far more butterflies than expected. They shifted the focus of their study published recently in the Journal of Wildlife Management.

Emily Geest is a postdoctoral fellow in conservation science at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden. Credit: Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden

In two years, the researchers collected 1,262 butterflies in total from 28 species. They found butterfly abundance was 26.6% higher in the areas treated for fire ants compared to those that hadn’t received treatment.

“Fire ants do attack and lower the total butterfly abundance,” Geest said.

The researchers also found that butterflies that spent their winter in the area as eggs, larvae or chrysalises were more vulnerable to fire ant predation than those that migrated away before these immature stages. The traps collected 1.3 times more overwintering butterflies in treated areas compared to untreated areas.

Geest said this is likely because the insects are more vulnerable in these immature stages, since they can’t fly away to escape predation. Many species are largely immobile in these stages, and caterpillars can’t always move fast enough to escape a swarm of fire ants.

“When you are a caterpillar, egg or chrysalis, you are kind of stuck there,” Geest said.

Researchers set out colored traps to collect pollinators. Credit: David Berman

Some 80% of the butterflies collected were skipper species. These are the predominant pollinators in the butterfly world, Geest said. By removing so many pollinators, fire ants may be affecting the density of wild flowers, aside from just killing insects. Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) also come through this area, though the traps only collected one monarch during the course of this study.

This article features research that was published in a TWS peer-reviewed journal. Individual online access to all TWS journal articles is a benefit of membership. Join TWS now to read the latest in wildlife research.

Earth experiences hottest year on record

November 20, 2023 by The Wildlife Society

If you felt like this has been a warm year, you’re not alone. Researchers say the past 12 months have been the hottest on record.

A recent report by the nonprofit organization Climate Central found that between Nov. 1,2022 and Oct. 31,2023, 90% of people around the world “experienced at least 10 days of temperatures very strongly affected by climate change.” Seventy-three percent experienced more than a month’s worth of these temperatures.

“This is the hottest temperature that our planet has experienced in something like 125,000 years,” Andrew Pershing, vice-president for science at Climate Central, told Nature.

“The highest exposures to climate-driven heat were in the tropics, concentrating the impact on developing countries,” the report found. “However, every country experienced some level of climate-driven heat; and streaks of intense heat occurred in the U.S., Europe, India and China.”

For more on rising temperatures have affected wildlife, check out the November/December issue of The Wildlife Professional.

Read more about the Climate Central study in Nature.

Ruffed grouse genetics consistent across Pennsylvania

November 20, 2023 by Dana Kobilinsky

Researchers have uncovered some potentially good news for ruffed grouse in Pennsylvania. Although the state bird’s numbers have been declining, its genetics are consistent throughout the state—a helpful sign for conservation efforts.

When the West Nile virus was introduced to the U.S. around 2000, it dealt a blow to a number of birds, including ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus). “Since then, not just gamebirds like the ruffed grouse, but other species of the bird community have been declining,” said Leilton Luna, a postdoctoral researcher at Penn State.

Luna, who has a background in genomics applied to biodiversity conservation, wondered if the species’ genes could reveal more about the reasons for the birds’ decline. Researchers knew that some natural populations can display an immune response to new pathogens due to unique genetic variants, akin to responses seen in bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) facing respiratory diseases in North America and even humans who survived the Black Death in Europe.

He wondered if the same might be true for ruffed grouse and West Nile virus. He also wondered how habitat fragmentation might be impacting the species’ natural connectivity through the lens of genetic relationships. If populations become too genetically isolated, it could change the way the state game commission manages them.

Luna led a study published in Molecular Ecology looking at the birds’ genes to answer these questions.

“We can use this information to connect to the landscape level and measure how connected populations are,” he said. “Then, we can use external information like habitat fragmentation, elevation of the terrain and other features on the landscape to see if those features are affecting the way populations are related or not.”

Researchers found ruffed grouse genetics are consistent throughout the state, suggesting management should be the same for all state populations. Credit: Jacob Dingel/Pennsylvania Game Commission

First, Luna and his colleagues sequenced a reference genome of the ruffed grouse—a procedure that once took years but now can be done in months. Then, they collected samples of ruffed grouse from hunters in areas where the landscape was intact and where it was fragmented.

They found grouse genetics were similar throughout the state, suggesting the population should be managed as one unit.

However, they did find that habitat fragmentation is reducing the way some populations are connecting, particularly in the southern part of Pennsylvania, where human development has historically been more intense. “These findings also indicate that the variety of genes in the Pennsylvania ruffed grouse population does not appear to be linked to the rate of population recovery from West Nile virus mortality in the area,” Luna said. “Instead, it appears that other factors, such as the loss of mixed forests, may play a more key role in determining recovery rates.”

Looking at their genetics allowed the researchers pinpoint which of the state’s wildlife management units could benefit from more management efforts, such the creation of habitat corridors.

Fragmentation has caused less genetic connectivity in some areas of Pennsylvania. Credit: Jacob Dingel/Pennsylvania Game Commission

The next step is to look across state lines to see if genetic variation in Pennsylvania is different than in other states throughout their range.

The team also plans to collect DNA from museum specimens to check how much their genetics have changed since the arrival of the West Nile virus and hopefully find clues that indicate an immunologic response to the disease.

As an unexpected result, the team also uncovered some genetic anomalies in individuals, possibly linked to chromosome inversion. These anomalies could change the way the birds look, or even their behavior. Such differences could also affect the productivity of the birds, reducing the number of viable eggs per clutch—information that would have major implications for the management of the species, especially in a breeding program.

However, the researchers don’t yet know how these chromosomal inversions affect the ruffed grouse. “There are many hypotheses that we are currently testing, but I feel that we are only scratching the surface, and that there are still many more exciting things that the genomes of these birds can tell us,” Luna said.

Watch: Studying mule deer nutrition and predation in Oregon

November 17, 2023 by The Wildlife Society

In eastern Oregon, state biologists are researching mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) nutrition and predation. They hope the long-term study will help explain why populations are falling and what that might mean for management.

Biologists with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife are studying the health of does and newborn fawns, checking to see how nutritious their forage is and if the fawns are being preyed upon.

“Mule deer populations have been declining throughout the West,” said Jake Dittel, assistant project lead on the study. “We’re interested in trying to find out another possible avenue of why that decline may be happening in fawn survival.”

Watch the video below.

Wild Cam: Coyote scavenging affects small carnivore behavior

November 17, 2023 by Joshua Rapp Learn

Coyote scavenging affects the behaviors of other carnivores that visit carcasses in parts of the Savannah River near Greenwood, South Carolina.

This reveals some of the ways that a novel apex predator can affect smaller scavengers in an area where large carnivores have been eliminated.

For a study published recently in Ecosphere, Alex Jensen, a postdoctoral researcher at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh, and his colleagues placed 75 trail cameras across a variety of forest habitats in early 2020, and again in early 2021.

They pointed the cameras at carcasses left inside metal cages with small openings big enough to allow scavengers access to the meat. The carcasses—mostly bones, hides and guts—came from local businesses that process harvested deer carcasses for hunters.

“That was a little bit gross—on a warm day they would start smelling in the trash cans we had,” Jensen said.

A golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos at a gut pile. Credit: Jensen et al.

The researchers watched the behavior of gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), opossums (Didelphis virginiana) and raccoons (Procyon lotor), paying attention to how many days it took these species to arrive at the carcasses. They also watched how other species behaved around the carcasses when coyotes (Canis lupus) had also visited in the past seven days.

Using data from 71 of the cameras, they found that coyotes were the most common mesocarnivores at the sites—they appeared at 90% of the sites during the study. Due to the extirpation of black bears (Ursus americanus), wolves (Canis lupus) and cougars (Puma concolor), coyotes are the largest carnivores in the area.

“[Coyotes] really only had a direct impact on bobcats,” said Jensen, who conducted this study while finishing his PhD at Clemson University in South Carolina.

The researchers found that bobcats spent less time at the carcasses that had seen coyote activity than they did at carcasses no coyotes had visited.

Jensen said that the surrounding habitats also seemed to affect bobcat behavior—the species didn’t feed at the carcasses surrounded by thick understory cover as much. “It seems like they felt the safest in open habitat,” he said.

The latter applied to all the mesocarnivores in the study—not just bobcats. These species seemed to avoid areas with lots of understory and presumably places for predators like coyotes to hide.

The researchers also found other trends among scavenging species. Raccoons, for example, located carcasses faster in mature forests, perhaps a function of this being their preferred habitat type.

Gray foxes also seemed to find carcasses faster when there were vultures around. The team thinks they might even cue into vulture activity to find carcasses in some cases.

Coyotes may sometimes be leery at carcasses. Nonetheless, they can usually scavenge on these carcasses without risk from larger predators like wolves or bears.

Jensen also said that the coyotes’ predilection for scavenging gut piles is suggestive of humans supplementing their diet.

“If you’re a deer hunter and don’t like coyotes, well you’re probably supplementing them by leaving these gut piles out,” he said.

This photo essay is part of an occasional series from The Wildlife Society featuring photos and video images of wildlife taken with camera traps and other equipment. Check out other entries in the series here. If you’re working on an interesting camera trap research project or one that has a series of good photos you’d like to share, email Josh at jlearn@wildlife.org.

The November/December issue of The Wildlife Professional

November 16, 2023 by The Wildlife Society

The Wildlife Professional is an exclusive benefit of membership in The Wildlife Society. Published six times annually, the magazine presents timely research news and analysis of trends in the wildlife profession.

Don’t miss another issue! Join today to start receiving The Wildlife Professional in your mailbox and all the other great benefits of TWS membership.

When the Endangered Species Act passed 50 years ago, it received nearly unanimous support. Today, the act has legions of both supporters and critics, and it’s seen its share of successes and challenges. The November/December issue of The Wildlife Professional takes a look at the past half-century of this cornerstone of conservation legislation and glimpses into what the future may hold.

Other articles look at what last summer’s heat wave may tell us about climate change, how a better birdcage can capture nuisance starlings, amping up biosecurity to protect herps from disease, reaching underrepresented students with immersive experiences, and becoming a better biologist—by bartending.

We also take a look at TWS’ 2023 award winners.

Watch for the issue in your mailbox soon, or log in and check it out online.

Wildlife Vocalizations: Daniel Hayes

November 16, 2023 by The Wildlife Society

Wildlife Vocalizations is a collection of short personal perspectives from people in the field of wildlife sciences.

In our professional lives, we encounter many people. But in the daily rush, it’s easy to miss opportunities for engagement that may seem small but can have long-lasting repercussions.

One semester, I saw one of my statistics students sitting in a student lounge as I was rushing by. He had taken another course with me the previous semester, and I was curious how the current stats class was going for him. I poked my head in and asked if he would like to join me as I walked to the building where we held our class.

A headshot of Daniel Hayes in 2015 by the Red Cedar River near the Michigan State University campus. Courtesy of Daniel Hayes

From my perspective, it was just a small gesture of no real consequence. Later, the student relayed to me that one small act—inviting him to walk with me—let him know that someone else cared about his well-being and whether he would succeed. This shifted his perspective and emphasized the importance developing relationships while learning. 

I’ve come to find out that these small actions by “leaders” have long-reaching impacts on “junior” individuals in an agency or an educational setting.

To build a strong foundation in leader-junior relationships, initial interactions—which at the time seem like small gestures—are the building blocks for larger, more elaborate relationships. As the relationships grows, the broader networks of connections become increasingly shared and strengthened. These shared relationship networks serve not only to support people in times of need, but they challenge us to grow.

Hayes with his first fish at around five years old in 1966. The photo foretells his path as a fishery and wildlife biologist. Courtesy of Donald Gaudette

We have all been in both leadership and junior positions. Interactions between the two don’t have to be a one-way street. Instead of junior individuals having to ask their superior for their time, leaders can also approach juniors. This can bolster the junior’s self-esteem and the sense of being an integral and important part of the team.

Learn more about Wildlife Vocalizations, and read other contributions.

Submit your story for Wildlife Vocalizations or nominate your peers and colleagues to encourage them to share their story.

For questions, please contact tws@wildlife.org.

What turned a Hawaiian wildlife refuge pond bright pink?

November 15, 2023 by The Wildlife Society

A pond at a national wildlife refuge in Hawaii has turned bright pink, and biologists aren’t sure why.

Theories first centered on an algal bloom, but that doesn’t seem to be the culprit. Instead, it may be an organism called halobacteria, which thrives in salty water. The salinity at Kealia Pond National Wildlife Refuge on Maui is currently about twice the level of sea water, likely compounded by the island’s drought.

No on at the refuge—even volunteers who have been around for 70 years—have seen this happen before, the Associated Press reports.

The pink water doesn’t seem to be affecting the birds that occupy the refuge, including the endangered Hawaiian stilt, or ae‘o (Himantopus mexicanus knudseni), and the Hawaiian coot, or ‘alae ke‘oke‘o (Fulica alai).

But visitors have been drawn to the refuge to see the bubblegum-pink waters.

“We prefer that they come to hear about our mission conserving native and endangered waterbirds and our wetland restorations. But no, they’re here to see the pink water,” Bret Wolfe, the refuge manager, told the AP. But he understands the curiosity. “If that’s what gets them there, it’s OK,” he said. “It is neat.”

Read more from the Associated Press.