Wild Turkey Science

Wisconsin gamebird ecologist Taylor Finger joins us to breakdown the status of turkeys in the state. Join as he shares details on how Wisconsin has achieved successful turkey populations unlike any other state in the country.    Resources:   Lashley, M. A., et al. (2025). Decreased female survival may explain wild turkey decline. bioRxiv, 2025-05.   Legends of turkey research | #50   Pollentier, C. D., et al. (2021). Gobbling across landscapes: Eastern wild turkey distribution and occupancy–habitat associations. Ecology and Evolution, 11(24), 18248-18270.   Ogawa, R., et al. (2025). Is wild turkey habitat selection spatially consistent? A three‐decade meta‐analysis in Mississippi. Wildlife Society Bulletin, e70000.   Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab   Coming Soon: Wild Turkey Manager: Biology, History, & Heritage! Our newest online wild turkey training is launching soon! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!   Be sure to check out our comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!    Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow  UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube   Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund    Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!   Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!   Watch these podcasts on YouTube   Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!    Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube   Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!   Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!   This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.    Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak  

Dr. Ben Jones, CEO of RGS & AWS, joins us to explore how active forest stewardship - from prescribed fire to targeted timber harvests and new wood markets - can restore age-class diversity and habitat for ruffed grouse and wild turkey across eastern forests.   Resources: EQUIP Food Plots, Feed or Fire: The Real Costs Per Pound of Deer Forage (NDA article) Ruffed Grouse Society   Dr. Ben Jones [email protected]   Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab   Coming Soon: Wild Turkey Manager: Biology, History, & Heritage! Our newest online wild turkey training is launching soon! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!   Be sure to check out our comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!    Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow  UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube   Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund    Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!   Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!   Watch these podcasts on YouTube   Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!    Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube   Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!   Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!   This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.    Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak  

Strap in for a philosophical episode as we sit with Dr. Dwayne Elmore and explore the complex nature of critically evaluating information in an age of information overload.   Resources: Pre-Print: Lashley et al. (2025) Female Wild turkey survival meta-analysis   Dr. Dwayne Elmore - Tall Timbers, Publications   Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab   We've launched our SECOND online training course focused on wild turkey biology, history, and heritage! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!   Be sure to check out our comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!    Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow  UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube   Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund    Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!   Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!   Watch these podcasts on YouTube   Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!    Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube   Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!   Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!   This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.    Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak  

We've launched our SECOND online training course focused on wild turkey biology, history, and heritage! Be the first to know when our new course launches by signing up here!   Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab   We've launched a comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!    Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow  UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube   Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund    Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!   Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!   Watch these podcasts on YouTube   Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!    Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube   Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!   Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!   This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.    Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak  

We dive into Will's recent research assessing the effects and prevalence of Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus (LPDV) in wild turkeys in Alabama.   Resources:   Alger, K., et al. (2017). Risk factors for and spatial distribution of lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) in wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in New York State, USA. Journal of wildlife diseases, 53(3), 499-508.   Goodwin, C. C., et al. (2024). Experimental infection of domestic turkeys with lymphoproliferative disease virus of North American origin. Veterinary Pathology.   Shea, S. A. (2021). Retroviral infection dynamics in Maine's wild turkeys. The University of Maine.   Thomas, J. M., et al. (2015). Molecular surveillance for lymphoproliferative disease virus in wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) from the eastern United States. PLoS One, 10(4), e0122644.   Ostrander, K. N., et al. (2025). Histomonosis and Lymphoproliferative Disease Virus in Male Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Alabama, USA. Journal of Wildlife Diseases.   Our lab is primarily funded by donations. If you would like to help support our work, please donate here: http://UFgive.to/UFGameLab   We've launched a comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now!    Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow  UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube   Donate to our wild turkey research: UF Turkey Donation Fund , Auburn Turkey Donation Fund    Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research!   Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at [email protected]!   Watch these podcasts on YouTube   Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you!    Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube   Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support!   Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear!   This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org.    Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak