EDGEFIELD, S.C. — The National Wild Turkey Federation is helping launch a new wild turkey research project in Rhode Island to better understand if and how diseases impact wild turkey reproduction and habitat use. The effort builds upon earlier work supported by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and will inform the work the NWTF implements through its Forests and Flocks Initiative.
“Our main interest here is trying to take what we know about disease prevalence and scale it up to understand whether disease has any population-level effects,” said Dylan Bakner, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at the University of Rhode Island and project investigator. “Our initial project, which was funded by RIDEM, was deploying transmitters and studying things like what habitats wild turkeys are selecting during the reproductive season and what the associated survival rates of hens are during nesting and brood-rearing. This additional funding from the NWTF now allows us to add disease into the equation and see what role it plays on different kinds of vital rates.”
Researchers are specifically interested in testing birds for avian influenza and lymphoproliferative disease, or LPDV, a retrovirus that causes disease and uncontrolled cell growth in wild turkeys that can lead to the co-infection of Reticuloendotheliosis virus and Mycoplasma gallisepticum.
Beginning in December, researchers will head into their first field season to capture wild turkeys. It’s the start of a three-year effort running through March 2028, aimed at attaching and tracking 180 birds with GPS-VHF transmitters. Researchers plan to capture 40 hens and 20 gobblers each season from different landscapes, giving them a clearer picture of how disease and survival vary geographically, if they do.
Researchers will also take blood samples and swabs of each bird for disease testing. Johanna Harvey, Ph.D., assistant professor of wildlife disease ecology at the University of Rhode Island, will be leading the wild turkey disease data collection and processing portion of the project.
Bakner and Harvey are collaborating with Scott McWilliams, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island professor of wildlife ecology and physiology and Elizabeth Bonczek, Ph.D., Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife upland gamebird biologist.
When researchers begin to examine project data, they will be able to see if and how disease limits wild turkey populations in Rhode Island and if it varies based on landscape. They’ll also examine whether infected birds are less successful at nesting and raising young, and whether disease affects how adult males and females move and survive in different types of habitat.
By improving the understanding of disease prevalence and co-infections in wild turkeys across the landscape, RIDEM will be better equipped to implement appropriate management actions when necessary.
In addition to the NWTF’s support from a national level, the local NWTF Ocean State Fantails Chapter has supported the initiation of research projects in Rhode Island and has contributed to the purchase of turkey boxes for the state agency to use.
“We’re super excited about this,” Bakner said. “It’s great that so many people are seeing the value in our research. With this, we’re able to add a whole new layer of questions that we’re interested in. But now, we can study how disease potentially influences population growth rates using an integrated population model which can certainly be used to conserve it [wild turkeys] for future generations.”
Through its National Request for Proposals Program, the NWTF invested in this project along with eight other wild turkey research projects across the United States, totaling $503,618, for the organization’s 2025 research investment. Since 2022, the NWTF and its partners have combined to put more than $22 million toward wild turkey research.
Thanks to support from dedicated volunteers and partners — such as the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund and NWTF state chapters — the NWTF’s RFP Program is an aggressive, annual effort to fund critical wild turkey research projects nationwide.
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities, and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats. and Healthy Harvests. for future generations.
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