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# Juvenile male wild turkeys survived better where open forage cover was less fragmented by dense young forest
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-09-16-juvenile-wild-turkey-survival-landscape/
- Published: 2026-09-16T12:13:03.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-16T12:13:03.000Z
- Description: A Tennessee telemetry study estimates annual survival at 0.73 and finds landscape configuration—not simply the presence of ‘young forest’—changes the relationship between cover and survival.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: wild turkey, juvenile survival, habitat configuration, pasture, young forest, Wildlife, Land, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-09-16, #global-radar, #peer-reviewed, #geo-north-america

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Tennessee, USA

System

Southeastern agricultural–forest mosaic

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Researchers radio-tagged 136 juvenile male wild turkeys in Tennessee and estimated annual survival at 0.73\. The birds selected landscapes with smaller row-crop patches and less developed and young-forest cover. Survival increased with use of hay and pasture interiors but declined as young forest became more interspersed across the landscape, indicating that the configuration of cover mattered as well as its presence.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

Habitat categories are not prescriptions by themselves. ‘Young forest’ can be valuable in one ecological role while still creating unfavorable configuration for another life stage or movement pattern. Management should ask how patches are arranged and used, not merely how many acres of each cover type exist.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

The study focuses on juvenile males in one state and does not establish a universal habitat recipe for wild turkey populations. Selection, survival and reproductive habitat can respond differently, and landscape relationships may vary with predator communities and regional land use.

## SOURCE

Journal of Wildlife Management · Original evidence  
[View original evidence ↗](https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.70255?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

Wild Turkey Science / Natural Resources University · Research discussion  
[View supporting source ↗](https://naturalresourcesuniversity.libsyn.com/what-affects-jake-survival-wild-turkey-science-607?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-09-16

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-09-16/)