Partners Establish Groundbreaking New Collaborative: WildturkeyDNA

EDGEFIELD, S.C. — Wild turkeys have inhabited North America for thousands of years, and the DNA of the bird has been shaped by the landscape. Multiple wild turkey subspecies express their genetic characteristics differently, from the large bodies and bright, white-tipped tail fans of the Gould’s subspecies to the long beards and chestnut-tipped tail fans of the Eastern subspecies.

 

A new, large-scale, collaborative research endeavor of wild turkey genetics —wildturkeyDNA — is looking to get a better understanding of the bird’s genetic makeup through hunter-harvested wild turkey DNA samples.

 

WildturkeyDNA is spearheaded by the Wild Turkey Lab, the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), Ducks Unlimited (DU), University of Texas El Paso (UTEP) and the Low Country Game Bird Foundation.

 

“The opportunity to partner with the NWTF, DU, UTEP and the Low Country Game Bird Foundation on wildturkeyDNA is truly exciting,” said Michael Chamberlain, Ph.D., National Wild Turkey Federation Distinguished Professor and founder of the Wild Turkey Lab. “Through wildturkeyDNA, we will seek the assistance of turkey hunters to allow us to study various aspects of genetics in wild turkey populations.”

 

Inspired by the success of DU’s duckDNA project, wildturkeyDNA uses a similar approach of seeking assistance from hunters to study genetics of wild turkeys at broad scales. Understanding population genetics across a species’ range offers an invaluable opportunity to conduct science that can inform wildlife managers, state and federal agencies and wild turkey hunters passionate about the bird.

WildturkeyDNA partners initially plan to improve the overall understanding of the origins of color variations in feathers and the potential for color phases in wild turkey populations. During subsequent years, wildturkeyDNA will expand its breadth to evaluate additional areas of interest, such as genetic diversity, hybridization and detailed metrics of population genetics across the bird’s range, the scope of which has never been attempted previously.

“At the NWTF, we are heavily invested in the science and research involved in managing the beloved wild turkey,” NWTF co-CEO Jason Burckhalter said. “While we are making significant investments in wild turkey research across the country, one thing we want to do is engage the passionate turkey hunting community and our partners in the conservation space to carry out research and science for wild turkey management. WildturkeyDNA bridges that gap, allowing hunters to be a part of the important work that goes into managing turkeys for future generations.”

Thanks to the funding of wildturkeyDNA partners, this program has no associated cost for hunters. Hunters who harvest a color-phased wild turkey or oddity can visit the website and request a sample kit. With the sample kit, hunters are instructed to remove a portion of the harvested turkey’s tongue for testing. Read more detailed instructions for submission.

“When our friends at NWTF approached Ducks Unlimited about partnering on wildturkeyDNA, our answer was a resounding ‘yes,’” said Karen Waldrop, Ph.D., DU chief conservation officer. “Many of our members are also passionate turkey hunters, and a lot of our conservation work benefits wild turkeys. This project shows that the power of partnerships is important when delivering habitat and also when bringing innovative science to our shared supporters.”

Samples will be sent for genetic analysis to the Lavretsky Lab at UTEP. Once ancestry testing has been completed on submitted tissue samples, results will be provided to the hunter and published on the social platforms for wildturkeyDNA.

“This collaboration provides the first-of-its-kind, citizen-science project to build our genetic understanding of wild turkeys across the nation,” said Philip Lavretsky, Ph.D., associate professor at UTEP. “Hunters will have the chance to participate through sample submissions to wildturkeyDNA, and they will get ancestry certificates so they, too, understand exactly what they harvested. I am simply excited for hunters and the potential this work will bring to the future of turkey conservation.”

“The Low Country Game Bird Foundation is deeply committed to promoting the conservation, management and traditional hunting practices of North American game birds,’” said Scott Rhodes, founder of Low Country Game Bird Foundation. “Our knowledge of wild turkey physiology, behavior and habitat needs has advanced at a rapid pace in the last decade. Now, as we look ahead, turning the page to a more acute understanding of wild turkey genetics and how this applies to management of the species across their range could have lasting effects on applied conservation efforts.”

About the Wild Turkey Lab
Committed to creating the best access to the latest scientific research on wild turkeys and the landscapes they inhabit, the Wild Turkey Lab® serves as the definitive communication platform for science-driven information to benefit wild turkeys. By distributing content led by Dr. Mike Chamberlain, the Wild Turkey Lab® provides the most comprehensive collection of current research and meaningful historical works focused on wild turkeys.

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.

About Ducks Unlimited
DU Inc. is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing wetlands, grasslands and other waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, DU has restored or protected more than 19 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science, DU’s projects benefit waterfowl, wildlife and people in all 50 states. DU is growing its mission through a historic $3 billion Conservation for Continent comprehensive campaign. Learn more at www.ducks.org.

About University of Texas at El Paso’s Lavretsky Lab
The research program in the Lavretsky Lab is interdisciplinary and transcending landscape, evolutionary, and conservation genomics to study speciation, evolution, adaptation and the role of gene flow. Overall objectives of our research are to determine the distribution of genetic diversity across species’ ranges to understand (1) the extent to which adaptive and non-adaptive genetic diversity shapes population structure, including (2) what genes are responsible for geographic adaption versus alternative selective pressures (e.g., sexual selection), (3) how contemporary pressures influence a species’ adaptive landscape, and (4) how best to use this information to establish better management and conservation practices.

About Low Country Game Bird Foundation
The Low Country Game Bird Foundation (LCGBF) was founded in 2022 and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to promoting the conservation, management and traditional hunting practices of North America gamebirds. In the first two years of inception, the LCGBF has raised and directed $172,500 to wild turkey research by working with University of Georgia, University of Nebraska and Mossy Oak Gamekeepers.