Wild Turkey Home Ranges in the Ouachita Mountains
| Autor: | M. Anthony Melchiors, James M. Sweeney, T. Bently Wigley, Michael E. Garner |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1986 |
| Předmět: |
geography.geographical_feature_category
Ecology biology Home range Annual average Forestry biology.organism_classification Pinus Geography Habitat Environmental protection Spring (hydrology) General Earth and Planetary Sciences Fish Wild turkey Meleagris gallopavo Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation General Environmental Science |
| Zdroj: | The Journal of Wildlife Management. 50:540 |
| ISSN: | 0022-541X |
| DOI: | 10.2307/3800960 |
| Popis: | Home-range areas were determined for 21 wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas. Annual minimum ranges were larger than previously reported for wild turkeys (i = 3,514 ha), and seasonal minimum ranges averaged 1,295 ha. Variation in annual home range size was correlated with the percentage of the area within each home range composed of habitat characteristics typical of young pine (Pinus spp.) plantations. Reducing the rate at which native stands have been converted to plantations, distributing young plantations evenly among native stands, and applying sawtimber rotations are suggested to enhance turkey habitat. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 50(4):540-544 The wild turkey is a species of management importance throughout much of the United States. For example, during the spring of 1983, approximately 120,000 wild turkeys were harvested in the southeastern United States (Kennamer 1983), and the aesthetic appeal of the wild turkey makes it valuable to the nonconsumptive public. The Ouachita Mountains region is important to users of the wild turkey resource in Arkansas. Although this region constitutes only 14% of the Arkansas land base and 19% of the commercial forestland, it yielded an annual average of 37% of turkeys harvested throughout the state between 1980 and 1983 (Arkansas Game and Fish Comm. 1983). The proximity of the Ouachita Mountains to major urban areas of the state adds to the value of this region. Knowledge of home-range parameters is a near requisite for management of a species. Although home-range area for wild turkeys has been reported in numerous studies (Brown 1980), habitat conditions reported in other studies are not representative of the Ouachita Mountains. Soils in this region are less productive than in many portions of the state, and many areas are under even-aged pine management. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to estimate home-range parameters for wild turkeys in the Ouachita Mountains region of Arkansas and to identify habitat characteristics that influence those parameters. We thank all personnel with the Arkansas Game and Fish Comm., U.S. For. Serv., and Weyerhaeuser Co. who assisted with this study. Special thanks are due E. H. Black, B. G. Cantrell, R. L. Crossett, D. M. Harris, T. Scott, and D. F. Urbston. The editorial assistance of R. S. Beasley, J. M. Guldin, J. A. Rochelle, and L. C. Thompson also is gratefully acknowledged. This study was financed through McIntire-Stennis funds and a grant by Weyerhaeuser Co., and is a tribution of the Arkansas Agric. Exp. Stn. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|