Wild Turkeys from Maine are Wired to Adapt to Winter Weather, Study Says

According to a recent study, wild turkeys in Maine can easily adjust to changes in winter weather and rising temperatures.

There are fewer resources available to turkeys during the winter, along with extremely cold temperatures. To increase their chances of survival, wild turkeys will alter their movements in bad winter weather, but as the climate continues to warm, their habits may change.

Wild Turkeys from Maine

Wild turkey populations were historically exterminated in Maine, but because of conservation efforts that started in the 1970s, they have now been revived and can now be found in every county. Wintering turkeys in Maine typically have to contend with extremely low temperatures and a lack of food.

To improve their survival chances in the harsh Maine winters, turkeys modify their movements, such as where they roost at night.

It is becoming more and more crucial to comprehend how species behave in their most arctic habitats as the world changes. A species' range may extend further north due to a warming climate, but it is also associated with an increase in the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, which affect an animal's chances of surviving.

Turkeys eat a wide range of animal and plant materials, including insects, greens, grains, fruits, berries, seeds, and nuts, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Turkeys eat burdock seeds, bayberry fruits, sensitive fern spore heads, and other vegetation near spring-fed brooks and on the bare edges of fields during the winter.

Turkeys in Maine also rely on dairy farms for nourishment to get through the winter. Manure containing undigested corn, as well as silage corn are produced by dairy farms and either spread on fields or stored for later application.

GPS and 59 Wild Turkeys Later...

To better understand how wild turkeys manage their movement in Maine throughout the winter, a group of UMaine researchers collaborated with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. On 59 wild turkeys that were caught at baited sites from 2018 to 2020, they implanted GPS transmitters.

The turkeys were seen in commercial forests, suburban communities, and agricultural lands, among other types of landscapes. The researchers compared how the wild turkeys changed their states of motion, including stationary, mobile, and roosting, in response to the local weather, taking into account elements such as snow depth and temperature.

According to the data, wild turkeys changed their movements subtly and specifically according to the weather. For instance, when it was colder and there was more snow, turkeys were more likely to remain stationary for an extended period of time. Turkeys preferred conifer forests for roosting and avoided land uses associated with searching for food, such as agriculture and habitation; this was particularly true in inclement weather.

Read also: 29,000 Turkeys Killed to Prevent a Highly Pathogenic Strain of Bird Flu in the U.S. 

Flexibility to Adapt

Matthew Gonnerman said that their findings highlight both how Maine's harsh winters are a constraint on turkey populations and how turkeys have adapted to withstand them.

Turkeys can conserve energy during inclement weather and take advantage of the resources when they become available by being adaptable in their movement patterns. These pressures lessen as the winters grow shorter and warmer, which may be advantageous for the populations of turkeys. Gonnerman is now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland.

It was discovered that wild turkeys were adaptable in their capacity to modify their movements to the shifting winter weather conditions. The findings will guide efforts to conserve wild turkeys in light of climate change and could serve as a guide for similar efforts to conserve other species. For instance, populations of wild turkeys will require habitats with sufficient shelter to keep them safe during inclement weather as the upper limits of their range continue to be extended by a warming climate.

Erik Blomberg, an associate professor in the UMaine Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, said that their research suggests that the ability of the turkey populations to adapt to the harsh Maine winters is a factor in their success. It will be fascinating to monitor turkey populations and their responses as Maine's winter conditions continue to change due to climate change, UMaine News reports.

The study by Gonnermanm Blomberg and their colleagues was published in the journal Ecological Applications.

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