Investigating the Role of Management Decisions in Subspecies Hybridization Across the Wild Turkey's Range

Abstract

The expanded geographic range and recovery to millions of wild turkeys across the country would not have been possible without management actions that included introducing and translocating individuals. However, the range-wide genetic impact of management decisions on one of North Americas greatest conservation success stories remains unknown despite the potential economic impact as hunters seek out easily identifiable subspecies for grand slams. In this study, we used DNA extracted from hunter-collected feathers from 29 states and Ontario to investigate genetic differences among turkeys in their historic and introduced ranges. Additionally, we compiled state-level management data to investigate how different management decisions are associated with the amount of admixture among subspecies. We found no difference in the amount of admixture in the turkeys historic range compared to the introduced range. However, management decisions like as the number of subspecies introduced and the number of unique source states resulted in an increased level of admixture detected, but there was no relationship in admixture and the number of unique relocated counties. This first investigation into the hybridization among subspecies of wild turkey provides evidence that individual states management actions have influenced the genetic makeup of subspecies in that state.