Illinois Natural History Survey Reports

              1
ILLINOIS
NATURAL
HISTORY
SURVE Y R e p o r t s
Summer 2003
No. 376
I N S I D E
Genetic Diversity of
Rare Illinois Plants
2
Illinois, West Nile
Virus, Mosquitoes,
and Birds
3
Aquatic Nuisance
Species Outreach:
Damming the
Pathways by Which
Organisms Are Spread
4
Species Spotlight:
Compass Plant
6
Naturalist's Apprentice:
Practical Uses of Native
Illinois Plants
7
Continued on back page
A pair of Eastern Wild Turkeys in a forest near Monticello, IL. Photo by Charlie Warwick, INHS
Office of the Chief
Depending on your perspective,
it is a good time to be alive if you
are a turkey, turkey hunter, or a
turkey biologist in Illinois. With
a population estimate of around
135,000 birds statewide, there are
probably more turkeys roaming
the woodlands of Illinois now
than at any time prior to Euro-pean
settlement. Spring hunting
is permitted in 96
counties, fall
hunting is be-coming
increas-ingly
popular,
and the demand
for hunting op-portunities
con-tinues
to increase
in Illinois. The
National Wild
Turkey Federa-tion
(NWTF), a
conservation or-ganization
dedi-cated
to wild tur-keys,
boasts
450,000
members
nationally, and Illinois is
its top state for number of
local chapters (110) and
members (>30,000).
Through banquets and
other fundraising efforts,
NWTF has raised over
$168 million since 1985
for the conservation of tur-keys
and their habitat.
Despite the turkey’s
popularity and support for
management programs,
turkey biologists face new
The Age of the Turkey
challenges resulting from the
adaptability of the species. These
include conflicts in urban areas,
concerns over crop depredation,
and management of turkeys in
novel landscapes. Central Illi-nois,
dominated by intensive ag-riculture,
is one example of a
novel landscape. Research in the
Illinois Natural History Survey
Center for Wildlife Ecology ex-amined
the ecology of turkeys in
agricultural landscapes of Cass
and Clark counties using radio-telemetry.
Overall we found that
turkeys in central Illinois have
similar population characteristics
as those in other parts of the Mid-west
in what is considered ideal
habitat. During our study, ap-proximately
half the hens sur-vived
each year and the nesting
season was the most dangerous
time for hens. Coyotes, foxes,
and roaming dogs were the pri-mary
predators of adult hens.
Winter mortality is uncommon in
Illinois but several mortalities
during the winter of 1999–2000
were attributed to disease and
parasites and point to a need for
further research.
Winter severity also affects
the number of hens that attempt
to nest during the following year.
Nearly all hens nest following
mild winters while fewer hens
nest after severe winters. Tur-keys
in central Illinois nest in a
variety of habitats, from back-yards
to prairies, and from ma-ture
forest to clearcuts. Hens
produce large clutches with 10–
12 eggs and about half of all nest
attempts are successful. In cen-tral
Illinois, hens may attempt to
nest twice. In areas with longer
Turkeys congregate at a dam site
in Hardin County. Photo by Patrick
Hubert, INHS Center for Wildlife Ecology