Photo courtesy of NWTF

2025 Program

The information below is posted for reference only as this event has passed. Please check back for updates regarding the next Symposium. Thank you for joining us!

Photo by Melissa McGaw

Monday, December 8, 2025

3:00 PM - 6:00 PM	Registration Open
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM	Welcome Dinner

Tuesday, December 9, 2025

7:00 AM - 4:00 PM	Registration Open
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM	Breakfast
8:30 AM - 9:10 AM	Call to Order, Opening Ceremony, Introductory Acknowledgements/Comments
9:10 AM - 10:30 AM	Welcome & Introductory Remarks 9:10 AM | Wild Turkey Research: A look Back - Eric Kurzejeski 9:30 AM | Wild Turkey Research: Present and Future - Bret Collier, Louisiana State University 9:50 AM | Turkey Research on the Great Plains - Jason Hardin 10:10 AM | Panel Q&A
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM	Mid-Morning Break
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	Status, Brood Survey, Hen Survival 11:00 AM | Status and Distribution of Wild Turkeys in the Unites States: 2025 Status - Bret Collier, Louisiana State University 11:10 AM | A national standardized wild turkey brood survey: the first 6 years - Danks et al 11:40 AM | Panel Q&A
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM	Lunch Break
1:30 PM - 2:50 PM	Turkey Genetics 1:30 PM | Role of kinship in sociality of female eastern wild turkeys - Chamberlain et al. 1:50 PM | Genetic structuring and within-flock relatedness of eastern wild turkeys - Watkins et al. 2:10 PM | Investigating the role of management decisions in subspecies hybridization across the wild turkey's range - Beckman et al.
2:50 PM - 3:20 PM	Afternoon Break
3:20 PM - 4:40 PM	Disease Ecology and Predation 3:30 PM | Influence of lymphoproliferative disease virus on behaviors of female easter wild turkeys during reproductive periods - Chamberlain et al. 3:40 PM | Our current understanding and research needs for lymphoproliferative disease virus in wild turkeys - Goodwin et al. 4:00 PM | Environmental influences on development of aflatoxins in supplemental feed for wildlife - Day et al. 4:20 PM | The Notorious P.I.G.: Wild pigs are not primary predators of wild turkey nests - Collier and Chamberlain 4:40 PM | Panel Q&A
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM	Dinner

Wednesday, December 10, 2025

7:00 AM - 4:00 PM	Registration Open
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM	Breakfast
8:30 AM - 10:10 AM	Habitat Selection 8:30 AM | Spatial and temporal variation in female wild turkey roost site selection - Nieves et al. 8:50 AM | Multi-scale evaluation of eastern wild turkey nest site selection and nest survival - Moscicki et al. 9:10 AM | Measuring congruence between available and selected vegetation at wild turkey nest sites - Bakner et al. 9:30 AM | Is wild turkey habitat selection spatially consistent? A three-decade meta-analysis in Mississippi - Butler et al. 9:50 AM | Panel Q&A
10:10 AM - 10:40 AM	Mid-Morning Break
10:40 AM - 12:20 PM	Population Dynamics - Larger spatial extent 10:40 AM | TBA 11:00 AM | Effects of temperature and precipitation on wild turkey brood survival in the southeastern United States Boone et al.  11:20 AM | Inter-annual lek fidelity in eastern wild turkey flocks - Argabright et al.  11:40 AM | Decreased female survival may explain wild turkey decline - Lashley et al. 12:00 PM | Panel Q&A
12:20 PM - 1:30 PM	Lunch
1:30 PM | 3:30 PM	Poster Session with refreshments
3:30 PM - Evening	Free Time in Kansas City

Thursday, December 11, 2025

7:00 AM - 4:00 PM	Registration Open
7:00 AM - 8:30 AM	Breakfast
8:30 AM - 10:10 AM	Population Dynamics - A regional look around the USA - 8:30 AM | Vital rates and population trajectory of a decline in eastern wild turkey population in southeastern Oklahoma - Butler et al. 8:50 AM | Factors influencing eastern wild turkey population growth in northeastern South Dakota - Tyl et al. 9:10 AM | Spring survival of wild turkeys in Delaware - Holland et al. 9:30 AM | Comparing nesting rate and space use between extant and translocated eastern wild turkeys - Argabright et al.  9:50 AM | Panel Q&A
10:10 AM - 10:40 AM	Mid-morning Break
10:40 AM - 12:00 PM	Human Dimensions and Hunting 10:40 AM | Hunting impacts male wild turkey movement and resource selection: insights from a hunted and nonhunted population - Wightman et al. 11:00 AM | Reviewing human dimensions of wild turkey hunting research and synthesizing future directions - Steele et al. 11:20 AM | Geographical variation in male eastern wild turkey gobbling activity relative to female nesting chronology - Moscicki et al. 11:40 AM | Panel Q&A
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM	Lunch Break
1:30 PM - 2:50 PM	Tools to Estimate Survival 1:30 PM | Evaluating camera survey methods for estimating wild turkey abundance - Buckley et al. 1:50 PM | Comparison of methods for estimating wild turkey poult survival estimates - Quehl et al. 2:10 PM | A framework for analyzing wild turkey sighting data - Diefenbach et al. 2:30 PM | Panel Q&A
2:50 PM - 3:20 PM	Afternoon Break
3:20 PM - 4:40 PM	New/ Emerging Tools 3:20 PM | Investigating diel patterns of predation events in wild turkey using tri-axial accelerometer data - Wightman et al. 3:40 PM | Use of LIDAR to examine habitat selection by incubating female wild turkeys in South Carolina - Ulrey et al. 4:00 PM | Assessing the potential of unoccupied aerial vehicles and deep learning to survey wild turkey populations - Schumacher et al. 4:20 PM | Panel Q&A
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM	Closing Banquet