Theses and Dissertations
Issuing Body
Mississippi State University
Advisor
Wang, Guiming
Committee Member
Butler, Adam
Committee Member
Rush, Scott
Date of Degree
8-12-2016
Document Type
Graduate Thesis - Open Access
Major
Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Degree Name
Master of Science
College
College of Forest Resources
Department
Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Aquaculture
Abstract
The effects of landscape structure on wildlife populations have drawn more attention from ecologists and wildlife managers as landscapes have rapidly changed worldwide. The objectives of this study were to (1) conduct a statewide habitat suitability assessment for wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) in Mississippi using machine learning methods; (2) determine landscape-abundance relationships of wild turkeys at 2 spatial scales; and (3) measure genetic distinction of wild turkey populations in Mississippi. I found that habitat suitability for wild turkeys was positively related to amount of forest cover. Wild turkey relative abundance peaked at an optimal hardwood forest proportion of 0.29 and increased with enhanced landscape configuration at the annual dispersal scale, supporting the landscape composition hypothesis. Using microsatellite analysis of 224 birds, I found 3 distinct genetic clusters in Mississippi; however, population genetic differentiation neither fit to the isolation by distance or isolation by resistance models but may have behavioral cues.
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/11668/21117
Recommended Citation
Davis, Annie Moriah, "Landscape Ecology of Eastern Wild Turkeys in Mississippi" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 2918.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/2918
Comments
Population genetic structure||Machine learning||Landscape-abundance relationship||Habitat suitability model||Habitat management