e-obs Stories & Publications

@article{tekam_habitat_2026,

title = {Habitat Selection and Seed Dispersal by the Great Blue Turaco (Corythaeola cristata) in the Rainforests of Southern Cameroon},

author = {Antoine S. A. Tekam and Nicholas J. Russo and Bonaventure Sonk\'{e} and Vincent Deblauwe and Docas L. Nshom and Nicolas Barbier and Ant\'{o}nio Ferraz and Sassan Saatchi and Martin Wikelski and Elsa M. Ordway and Thomas B. Smith},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/btp.70153},

doi = {10.1111/btp.70153},

issn = {1744-7429},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-17},

journal = {Biotropica},

volume = {58},

number = {1},

pages = {e70153},

abstract = {Tropical rainforests are biodiversity hotspots, where the seeds of 60%\textendash90% of trees are dispersed by animals, yet movement data needed to understand the behaviors and habitat selection of tropical frugivores remain scarce. We GPS-tracked four great blue turacos (Corythaeola cristata) in the Dja Faunal Reserve of southern Cameroon and predicted spatial patterns of seed dispersal within each bird's home range, which covered up to 2.33 km2. Using integrated Step Selection Analyses, we related turaco movements to LiDAR-derived measurements of 3D vegetation structure and habitat type. One individual preferred areas of tall canopy height, whereas one preferred intermediate canopy height and avoided swamps and areas of greater vertical vegetation complexity. Seed dispersal patterns for the two turacos with the largest home ranges were predicted to be more diffuse, with local maxima almost an order of magnitude smaller than those with smaller home ranges. Although the great blue turaco is a common bird species throughout central African forests, this is the first study to characterize the species' movement ecology using telemetry. The observed individual variation in movement and habitat use underscores the need to track a broader range of species in central African landscapes, which are increasingly threatened by hunting, logging, habitat loss, and climate change.},

note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/btp.70153},

keywords = {accelerometer, African, Animal movement, Backpack, behavior, biodiversity, bird, Bird Solar, Flight behaviour, Flying, Forest, frugivore, home range, movement ecology, Space use, Step Selection Function, telemetry},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{koch_risk_2026,

title = {Risk Factors and Coinfection Dynamics of Pathogens in Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) From Pennsylvania, USA},

author = {Ryan W. Koch and Axel O. G. Hoarau and Tryssa Ruyter and Caitlin Duffy and Lucie Pascarosa and Kerry A. Campbell and Casey L. Maynard and Andrew Cushman and Heather Flick and Anthony Musselman and Julianna Patsko and Rachel Bealer and Graham Rhone and Mary Jo Casalena and Andrew Di Salvo and Ken Duren and Jay T. Armstrong and Frances E. Buderman and R. Scott Larsen and Caroline Sobotyk and Erica A. Miller and Kevin D. Niedringhaus and Brock Geary and Eman Anis and Roderick B. Gagne},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ece3.73079},

doi = {10.1002/ece3.73079},

issn = {2045-7758},

year  = {2026},

date = {2026-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-17},

journal = {Ecology and Evolution},

volume = {16},

number = {2},

pages = {e73079},

abstract = {Interactions between co-occurring pathogens can have complex and significant impacts on host survival, fitness, and population dynamics. While common in wildlife, coinfections are often overlooked, and research may create biased management perspectives when individual pathogens are assessed in isolation. Recent work has found that wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo) are affected by various pathogens, but it is unknown how infections and coinfections are spatially structured or interact with each other. Here, we determined the associations and risk factors of infection by lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV), reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV), three avian Mycoplasma species, and internal parasites in Pennsylvania wild turkeys. Our results indicate varying prevalences: LPDV (70%), REV (1%), Mycoplasma gallisepticum (0%), Mycoplasma meleagridis (4%), Mycoplasma synoviae (2%), and internal parasites (63%). The prevalence of LPDV was greater in adults than juveniles but did not vary with year, sex, study area, or landscape type. Parasite species richness was greater in juveniles than adults, greater in males than females, varied by year and study area, but did not vary with landscape type. Coinfections with LPDV and parasites were more common (41%) than infections with only LPDV (26%) or only parasites (22%). All other coinfection prevalences involving viruses, Mycoplasma species, and parasites were low (0%\textendash3%). Finally, infection with LPDV did not differ with overall parasite species richness but was negatively associated with infection with parasitic nematodes. These results reveal high rates of coinfections with LPDV and parasites in turkeys but suggest that parasite infections are independent of LPDV infections. Ongoing work is currently investigating the sublethal effects of these coinfections on wild turkey populations.},

note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.73079},

keywords = {disease, disease surveillance, Ecology, ground, ground dwelling, human conflict, infectious diseases, LPDV, Mycoplasma, nest success, Nesting Disease, parasite, social, telemetry, terrestrial, turkey, Turkey Movement, turky, Wild Turkey, wildlife, Wildlife Management},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{butler_vital_2025,

title = {Vital rates and population trajectory of a declining eastern wild turkey population in southeastern Oklahoma},

author = {Nicolle Butler and R. Dwayne Elmore and Cody Griffin and Kent Andersson and Michael Barrett and Cyrena Bedoian and Craig A. Davis and Samuel D. Fuhlendorf and Evan P. Tanner and M. Colter Chitwood},

url = {https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/wsb.70002},

doi = {10.1002/wsb.70002},

issn = {2328-5540, 2328-5540},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-12-01},

urldate = {2025-12-17},

journal = {Wildlife Society Bulletin},

volume = {49},

number = {S1},

pages = {e70002},

abstract = {Abstract 

 The eastern wild turkey ( 

 Meleagris gallopavo silvestris 

 ; hereafter, wild turkey) is a culturally and economically important game species in North America, yet populations have shown apparent declines across their distribution. Oklahoma, USA, has not been immune to declines, with several indices of abundance and recruitment (e.g., poults per female) trending downward in recent years. To investigate underlying demographic rates driving apparent declines in Oklahoma, we quantified current stage‐specific survival and reproductive rates. Our objective was to determine the current population trajectory using field‐derived vital rates and identify which demographic factors had the greatest influence on the asymptotic population growth rate (λ). In 2022 and 2023, we captured 28 and 33 female wild turkeys, respectively, during winter (January\textendashMarch) using rocket nets in McCurtain County, Oklahoma. Overall annual survival was low (0.40; 95% CI: 0.27\textendash0.59, 

 n = 48), with higher survival in after‐second‐year females (0.55; 95% CI: 0.37\textendash0.82) than second‐year females (0.30; 95% CI: 0.16\textendash0.58); mammalian predation was the leading cause of mortality. Additionally, reproductive output was low, with only 17% of incubated nests (5 of 28) successfully hatching poults and no observed poults survived until independence. A stage‐structured projection matrix parameterized with our field‐derived estimates predicted a 45% annual population decline under current estimated demographic rates. Sensitivity and elasticity analyses corroborated previous work that determined adult female survival as the most influential vital rate driving population dynamics. However, the lack of any poults achieving independence indicates concern regarding the lack of recruitment. Our results underscore the importance of understanding and managing factors that influence adult female survival and reproduction to address wild turkey population declines. Our findings also highlight the necessity of sustained, long‐term monitoring to better understand population dynamics across time and variable environmental conditions. Additionally, while our work provides insights into a local population, there is a need for continued distribution‐wide efforts to identify broad‐scale drivers of population change.},

keywords = {bird, Bird‐2A‐IMU, matrix models, Meleagris gallopavo, nest success, Oklahoma, survival, telemetry, Wild Turkey},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{conc_dolines_2022-1,

title = {Dolines and Cats: Remote Detection of Karst Depressions and Their Application to Study Wild Felid Ecology},

author = {\v{S}pela \v{C}on\v{c} and Teresa Oliveira and Ruben Portas and Rok \v{C}erne and Mateja Breg Valjavec and Miha Krofel},

url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/3/656},

doi = {10.3390/rs14030656},

issn = {2072-4292},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-27},

journal = {Remote Sensing},

volume = {14},

number = {3},

pages = {656},

publisher = {Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute},

abstract = {Automatic methods for detecting and delineating relief features allow remote and low-cost mapping, which has an outstanding potential for wildlife ecology and similar research. We applied a filled-DEM (digital elevation model) method using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data to automatically detect dolines and other karst depressions in a rugged terrain of the Dinaric Mountains, Slovenia. Using this approach, we detected 9711 karst depressions in a 137 km2 study area and provided their basic morphometric characteristics, such as perimeter length, area, diameter, depth, and slope. We performed visual validation based on shaded relief, which indicated 83.5% accordance in detecting depressions. Although the method has some drawbacks, it proved suitable for detection, general spatial analysis, and calculation of morphometric characteristics of depressions over a large scale in remote and forested areas. To demonstrate its applicability for wildlife research, we applied it in a preliminary study in combination with GPS-telemetry data to assess the selection of these features by two wild felids, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) and the European wildcat (Felis silvestris). Both species selected for vicinity of karst depressions, among which they selected for larger karst depressions. Lynx also regularly killed ungulate prey near these features, as we found more than half of lynx prey remains inside or in close vicinity of karst depressions. These results illustrate that karstic features could play an important role in the ecology of wild felids and warrant further research, which could be considerably assisted with the use of remote detection of relief features.},

keywords = {digital elevation model, geographic information systems, geomorphology, karst depressions, LiDAR, spatial ecology, telemetry, wild felids},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{signer_animal_2019,

title = {Animal movement tools (amt): R package for managing tracking data and conducting habitat selection analyses},

author = {Johannes Signer and John Fieberg and Tal Avgar},

url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ece3.4823},

doi = {10.1002/ece3.4823},

issn = {2045-7758},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-01-01},

urldate = {2026-02-27},

journal = {Ecology and Evolution},

volume = {9},

number = {2},

pages = {880\textendash890},

abstract = {Advances in tracking technology have led to an exponential increase in animal location data, greatly enhancing our ability to address interesting questions in movement ecology, but also presenting new challenges related to data management and analysis. Step-selection functions (SSFs) are commonly used to link environmental covariates to animal location data collected at fine temporal resolution. SSFs are estimated by comparing observed steps connecting successive animal locations to random steps, using a likelihood equivalent of a Cox proportional hazards model. By using common statistical distributions to model step length and turn angle distributions, and including habitat- and movement-related covariates (functions of distances between points, angular deviations), it is possible to make inference regarding habitat selection and movement processes or to control one process while investigating the other. The fitted model can also be used to estimate utilization distributions and mechanistic home ranges. Here, we present the R package amt (animal movement tools) that allows users to fit SSFs to data and to simulate space use of animals from fitted models. The amt package also provides tools for managing telemetry data. Using fisher (Pekania pennanti) data as a case study, we illustrate a four-step approach to the analysis of animal movement data, consisting of data management, exploratory data analysis, fitting of models, and simulating from fitted models.},

note = {_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ece3.4823},

keywords = {habitat selection, home range, movement ecology, resource-selection function, step-selection function, telemetry},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}