# Space Use and Movements During Egg Laying Associated With Nest Fate and Female Survival in Eastern Wild Turkeys

## TL;DR

Female wild turkeys that move more during egg laying have lower nest success but higher survival, while sharing space with other females improves nest success.

## Contribution

This study links female movement and space use during egg laying to nest success and survival in wild turkeys using GPS data and Bayesian analysis.

## Key findings

- Increased daily movement during laying decreases nest success by 1.73% per ~700 m traveled.
- Greater overlap with conspecifics increases nest success by 4.76% per additional overlapping female.
- Movement weakly correlates with increased female survival during incubation.

## Abstract

Reproduction is a fundamental aspect of a species' life history that is energetically costly, yet critical for population sustainability and genetic diversity. Wild turkeys exhibit high rates of nest loss and female mortality during reproduction, prompting females to make decisions related to spatial and movement decisions during nesting. Using GPS data from eastern wild turkeys (
Meleagris gallopavo silvestris
), we assessed female movements and space use during laying and evaluated potential impacts of those metrics on nest success and female survival during incubation. We used a Bayesian logistic regression to estimate nest success and female survival based on space use, daily movements, and range overlap with conspecifics during the laying period. We found that with each increase of ~700 m in average daily distance traveled during laying, there was a 1.73% decrease in the probability of nest success. We also found that having a greater number of conspecific females with overlapping core areas had a positive influence on nest fate. Specifically, an increase of 1 overlapping female (one standard deviation) was associated with a 4.76% increase in the probability of nest success. Conversely, we found weak support that female survival was positively related to increasing average daily distances traveled. Our findings suggest that female wild turkeys perceive reproductive advantages to sharing space with conspecifics during the laying period. Conversely, our findings suggest that movements of female wild turkeys within their reproductive period may only weakly influence metrics of reproductive success during both laying and incubation.

We assessed behaviors of female wild turkeys during the laying period and evaluated impacts of those behaviors on nest success and female survival. We found that increased movements during laying resulted in a decreased probability of nest success but an increased probability of female survival during incubation.