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McRoberts' research is testing how the trap and transfer concept works with the ocellated turkey of Central America. The ocellated tom (below) shares similar features and behaviors with the wild turkey, but the best way to manage them is still a mystery. |
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The NWTF funds research projects such McRoberts' ocellated wild turkey work. Without the support of generous NWTF members, the ocellated turkey of Central America may be a species lost to habitat destruction and poor management decisions. |
Ocellated wild turkey
For a turkey hunter, pursuing an ocellated turkey might be in the same league as an African safari for a big game hunter. Hunting ocellated turkeys is not quite as expensive as an excursion to the Dark Continent, but it takes extensive planning and a budget to make the hunt successful, especially if your destination is out of the country. And you better hire a great guide, since the habits of the ocellated turkey are still somewhat of a mystery.
Jon McRoberts wants to change that.
McRoberts is a Missouri farm boy turned graduate student in Mexico. And he's a turkey hunter to boot. His research on the ocellated turkey is part of his doctoral studies program at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. His advisor is Dr. Warren Ballard, from the Department of Natural Resources Management.
The NWTF is interested in McRoberts' results, because according to Tom Hughes, assistant vice president for education and outreach programs, little is known about the ecology and life history of the ocellated turkey. Hughes says the outcome of McRoberts' research will be valuable to wildlife managers in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize for formation of habitat management plans and hunting season regulations.
To complete the program, McRoberts spends six months on campus, followed by six months in Mexico — alternating between the jungle on the 25,000-acre La Montaña Ranch and two agricultural ejidos, Cano Cruz and Las Flores, in the state of Campeche, on the Yucatan Peninsula. He projects his doctoral study, which started in November 2009, will be completed in four years.
Part of the project includes a telemetry study, where turkeys are trapped and transplanted from an ejido and moved to the jungle. McRoberts uses many of the same techniques and methods employed by other graduate students from Texas Tech in a 9-year study on Rio Grandes, including walk-in traps, drop nets and cannon nets to capture turkeys. Standard physical measurements are taken and recorded, then the birds are radio tagged with a 95-gram backpack-style radio transmitter.
The ocellated turkeys look a little like backpack-toting college coeds helping McRoberts with his research.
McRoberts and his team monitor the birds at least three times weekly, using homing and triangulation to determine movement and dispersal patterns. During nesting season, the team monitors hens more frequently to determine nest initiation rates and sequential order of nesting events. Once a hatch has occurred, a site inspection will determine hatch sex ratio using DNA analysis. All efforts are taken to avoid disturbing the hens while on nests.
Life in the field
McRoberts called to discuss the project last December, on a break from a week in the jungle. Since November and December are prime for capturing birds, he left campus early in the fall semester to take advantage of this cycle.
When in the jungle, McRoberts lives with a family of four. The father is a mechanic, and the two sons, in their 20s, help McRoberts trap turkeys, then fit them with telemetry backpacks and leg bands. The mother cooks for the crew, and McRoberts says he eats like a king while in the jungle. When he is back in the ejido, he works with an eclectic group: a Mexican scientist and a German Mennonite farmer. Communication is not a problem since they all speak Spanish.
According to McRoberts, the project gets even more interesting when a radio signal alerts him that after a few hours, there has been no movement of one of the turkeys. He immediately notifies his two go-to guys and heads out to find the downed turkey. These men — natives that grew up in the jungle — not only help him locate the bird, but also do a little CSI work onsite, by identifying predator tracks, other markings and recreating a possible scenario for the death of the bird.
"They might say, 'It looks like it was taken on the roost' … or something like that. It's an educated guess," McRoberts said.
Although too early to hypothesize, McRoberts is seeing more turkeys than he expected at the agricultural site, which could be a good thing for not only management practices, but also for hunting access in the near future. McRoberts' work will help shape the future of this jungle turkey. — Barbara Baird