Rio Grande wild turkey nest predation on the Edwards Plateau of Texas

Authors: J. Z. Dreibelbis, K. B. Melton, R. Aguirre, B. A. Collier, T. W. Schwertner, N. J. Silvy, M. J. Peterson

We followed the fate of nests of Rio Grande Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) on the Edwards Plateau of Texas during 2006 and 2007 using motion-activated digital cameras on a subset of nests to evaluate the frequency of nest predation and to identify nest predators. Predation was the primary cause of loss for nests with cameras, accounting for 57 and 65% in 2006 and 2007,  respectively. Predation for nests without cameras also was high (69 and 65% for 2006 and 2007, respectively) suggesting the cameras did not increase the probability of nest failure. We documented partial-and multiple-predator events that could result in misidentification of nest predators. Our results provide insight into nest predator communities and confirm that multiple predator events occur with regularity in the wild.

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