DOUGLAS C. OSBORNEASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF WILDLIFE

Implications of Arkansas’No-Jake Harvest Policy

870-460-1448 [ofc.]osborne@uamont.edu

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Assessment of Harvest

Policy

1. Timing of opener2. Season length3. Bag structure

1. Timing on Opener

Timing of Opener can disrupt nesting activity

Thogmartin –initiation of incubation 65% Adult 53% Subadults

2-week egg-laying period hens more sensitive to localized disturbances than during incubation

1. Timing of Opener

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1. Timing of Opener

35–40% of adult gobblers can be removed from the population without impacting reproductive output

Whitaker et al. 2005; Diefenbach et al. 2012

2. Season Length

Longer season = more harvest

Season structure that results in harvest of a large proportion of the male population …

…. in conjunction with low reproduction can result in decline in proportion of adult males in population.

2. Season Length

1. Increase Gobbler Carryover 2. Increase Gobbler:Hen to >0.5

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3. Bag Structure

No-Jake Harvest Policy 1. Increase jakes survival and

recruitment into 2-year old age class

2012 Pilot Study Objectives:

1. Estimate Ŝ of Jakes

2. Estimate Ŝ of Jakes recruited into 2-year old age class

2012 Pilot Study

Ozark Highlands = 30 jakes

Gulf Coastal Plain = 17 jakes

Ŝ: Jakes <14 months

Landscape Composition • Patch size, Surrounding landscape• Hardwood mixed vs. Pine

dominated• Topography

Ozarks Gulf Coastal Plain

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AR GCP 0.51 <0.01 AR Ozarks 0.71 <0.01

KY – 0.55 0.20 MO – 0.57 0.11 PA – 0.65 0.25 NJ – 0.80 0.12 OH – 0.87 0.16

Ŝ: 2-Year old Jakes

Harvest Mortality• Public land-use policy

Ozarks Gulf Coastal Plain

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No-Jake Harvest Policy

Ozarks High Harvest Rates – Freelance Low adult gobbler carry-over

High recruitment 2-year old birds

Gulf Coastal Plain Lower Harvest Rate – Permit High adult gobbler carry-over

Low recruitment 2-year old birds

Impacts of No-Jake Harvest Policy

Impacts of No-Jake Harvest Policy

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Where We Go From Here… Phase II

Research Objectives:

1. Jake and Gobbler Ŝ

2. Recruitment of jakes into 2-year old age class

3. Factors influencing Ŝ Cause-specific mortality Hunter density Multiple spatial scales

Jan. 2015 - 2017:

1. Satellite transmitters (n = 60)

Ozark & Ouachita Mnts. 15 jake, 15 gobblers

2. Redeploy lost PTTs annually for 2 years to maintain 60

Douglas Osborne870-460-1448 [ofc.]osborne@uamont.edu

Thank You