Devin R. Erxleben
M.S. Candidate, Texas Tech University
B.S., Texas Tech University, 2006
An evaluation of distance sampling for Rio Grande wild turkeys from roads in Texas
I was born and raised northwest of Houston in Klein, Texas. In 2002, I left home and began working on my B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Management at Texas Tech University (TTU). As an undergraduate student, I held numerous officer positions in the Range, Wildlife and Fisheries Club and I also participated with the Wildlife Quizbowl Team. In the summer months, I gained experience as a Wildlife Technician for the TTU Rio Grande Wild Turkey Project. After completing my B.S. degree in 2006, I went to work for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as the Crew Leader for the Lesser Prairie Chicken Vegetation Mapping Project. I began working on my M.S. degree in November of 2006. When I am not busy working on my research I like to hunt, fish, go backpacking, play sports, ride motorcycles, and work with my dog.
Many techniques have been used to index or estimate abundance, density, and trends of Rio Grand wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo intermedia) populations. Though traditional index-based monitoring techniques can indicate trends in wild turkey populations, they were not designed with the sensitivity necessary to detect anything but drastic changes. Recent research on line transect-based distance sampling from roads has indicated road-based survey can provide an efficient, effective, and inexpensive technique for monitoring wild turkey populations in the Texas Rolling Plains. Our goal is to evaluate the applicability of road-based distance sampling in 4 Texas ecoregions: Southern Rolling Plains, Cross-Timbers, Edward Plateau, and South Texas. We have several research objectives. First, using radio-telemetry data, we plan to quantify the association of wild turkeys to roads and examine the potential biases of using roads as transects for distance sampling. Second, we plan to estimate encounter rates of wild turkeys during road surveys in each ecoregion. Encounter rates will be used to determine the amount of effort (i.e., km of roads) required to obtain adequate sample sizes for road-based distance sampling. Third, we will evaluate the relationship between flock detectability, flocking behavior, and visual obstruction in each ecoregion. Finally, we will evaluate the accuracy and precision of density estimates using computer simulations. We are currently in the planning stages and will begin field activities in August 2007.
Survey protocols and maps are available online.
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J. Butler
This page created by
Matthew J.
Butler
last updated
01/12/08