Nest success is an important parameter affecting population fluctuations of wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). Factors influencing mammalian predation on turkey nests are complicated and not well understood. Therefore, we assessed nest hazard risk by testing competing hypotheses of Merriam's turkey (M. g. merriami) nest survival in a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) ecosystem during 2001–2003. We collected nesting information on 83 female Merriam's turkeys; annual nest success averaged 50% for adult females (range = 45–59%) and 83% for yearling females (range = 75–100%). Proportional hazard modeling indicated that precipitation increased the hazard of nest mortality. However, estimated hazard of nest predation was lowered when incubating females had greater shrub cover and visual obstruction around nests. Coyotes (Canis latrans) were the primary predator on turkey nests. We hypothesize that precipitation is the best predictor of nest survival for first nests because coyotes use olfaction effectively to find nesting females during wet periods. Temporally, as the nesting season progressed, precipitation declined and vegetation cover increased and coyotes may have more difficulty detecting nests under these conditions later in the nesting period. The interaction of concealment cover with precipitation indicated that nest hazard risk from daily precipitation was reduced with greater shrub cover. Management activities that promote greater shrub cover may partially offset the negative effects of greater precipitation events.

Food habits of four rodents (Dipodomys ordM, Onychomys leucogaster, Peromyscus maniculatus, and Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) of a shortgrass prairie ecosystem in northeastern Colorado were studied in 1969 and 1970 through microscopic analysis of stomach contents. Mean per cent volumes of animal matter in diets of these rodents over the entire study were: D. ordii, 4.4 per cent; O. leucogaster, 73.9 per cent; P. maniculatus, 39.0 per cent; and S. tridecemlineatus, 44.0 per cent. The greatest amount of seasonal variation in per cent volume animal matter in the diet was in P. maniculatus. Animal matter in diets of all four species was composed almost entirely of arthropods and a few parts of vertebrates. The most common arthropods included adult and larval Coleoptera, larval Lepidoptera, and grasshoppers (except in D. ordii). Plant matter in the diets of all species included leaves, stems, and flowering parts of various species of grasses, sedges, forbs, and shrubs, seeds (unidentified), and tissues of mosses, lichens, and fungi. Seeds were the most common type of plant matter in diets of D. ordii and P. maniculatus, whereas plant matter in S. tridecemlineatus and O. leucogaster was more equally divided between seeds and nonseed parts of grasses (and sedges) and forbs. Much seasonal variation in types and relative amounts of different kinds of plant and animal matter was noted.Information on food habits of rodents in short-grass and mixed-grass prairies, such as occur in eastern Colorado, is limited. Because food habits reveal much about the niche of a species, stomach analyses were undertaken on four dominant species of rodents in the short-grass prairies of northeastern Colorado. These species were Ord's kangaroo rat (Dipodomys ordii), northern grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster), prairie deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), and thirteen-lined ground sqUirrel (Spermophilus tridecemlineatus) . Other rodents captured or seen but not included in this study include the silky pocket mouse (Perognathus flavus), hispid pocket mouse (Perognathus hispidus), muskrat (Ondatrazibethicus), western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis ), northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides), and black-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus).

We studied the survival and reproduction of a newly introduced population of Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) during 1999 and 2000 to determine the adaptability of this subspecies to a minimally wooded (<10%) region located north of their recorded historic distribution in South Dakota. During 1999 and 2000, the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks (SDGFP) released 111 female and 25 male turkeys from Iowa and Kentucky onto a study area in northeastern South Dakota. We used radio telemetry to monitor survival and reproduction of the females for 2 years after their initial release. Annual survival for 71 females averaged 67%. Seasonal survival was lowest in fall and highest in winter. Mortality agents included avian and mammalian predators, haying equipment, automobiles, and unknown causes. Nesting rate for the 2 years averaged 93%, and renesting rate of turkeys with failed 1st-nest attempts averaged 45%. Nest success for all nests was 50%, and 62% of females attempting to nest each year were successful in at least 1 attempt. Predation was the primary cause of nest failure during both years. Overall, 72% of brooding females successfully raised ≥1 poult to 4 weeks post-hatch while individual poult survival to 4 weeks posthatch averaged 36%. Despite <10% woodland cover, Eastern Wild Turkeys appeared to thrive in a glacial escarpment topography north of their historic range in the northern plains.

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