Christine Parker
Research scientist
Illinois Natural History Survey
Distance education adjunct faculty
Unity College
Wild turkeys
Just published in
Forest Ecology & Management!
Poster presented at the 2017 Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference in Lincoln, Nebraska.
*Click image to open as PDF.*
Turkey wrangling
My research is part of a collaborative project initiated by the IDNR and INHS. Broadly we are interested in how forest management within public parks are influencing habitat use and reproductive success of wild turkey hens.
Turkey lurking (i.e., tracking)
Using the GPS units on the released hens, we are able to track the birds using VHF (very high frequency) telemetry. Once within approximately 500 meters of a bird, we are able to remotely download the data from that bird's GPS unit (something like getting emails on your cell phone). This allows us to get lots of information about where the bird has been, in a non-invasive way.
Black fly (Simuliidae) sampling
In 2017, we began monitoring black fly abundance to better understand potential factors that may influence the nesting success of wild turkeys.
Spatial Data Analyses
During 2015 between 100 - 3,000+ location points were recorded for individual hens. I am using advanced modeling techniques to determine the utilization distributions of each hen, which can be used to estimate home ranges and the intensity of landscape use by hens.