RENESTING BY RIO-GRANDE WILD TURKEYS AFTER BROOD LOSS

Although the importance of renesting by wild turkeys (Meleagris gallapavo) after clutch loss has been documented, the contribution to turkey populations of renesting after brood loss is unknown. Consequently, we examined renesting capacity of an introduced Rio Grande wild turkey (M. g. intermedia) population in southwestern Oregon from 1989 through 1991. Eleven of 15 adult hens initiated 13 nests after losing broods (within 2 weeks of hatching first or second clutches). Of these, 9 nests were depredated or abandoned, and 4 nests hatched. Clutch size, fertility, egg hatching success, and poults hatched per nest did not differ between renest attempts after brood loss and renest attempts after clutch loss (P = 0.65-0.95). No yearling hens attempted to renest after losing a brood. Total renesting efforts contributed 17% of poults in this study, and renesting after brood loss accounted for 6% of all poults hatched. We believe that renesting after brood loss is a common and important reproductive strategy in this population, and may represent a density-dependent response to relative resource availability.