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Join Wildlife Biologis, Adam B. Butler has he explain how trend information for numerous avian species has historically been reliant on easily collectible data gathered by citizen volunteers. For Eastern Wild Turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris), few methods exist to efficiently track population trends at scales larger than individual study sites. Recognizing this limitation, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks (MDWFP) enlisted the help of avid spring turkey hunters in 1995 to record observational information from their trips afield. Over the past three decades, this data set, known as the Spring Gobbler Hunting Survey (SGHS), has successfully tracked trends in turkey populations, helped us better understand patterns in turkey gobbling chronology, and informed more robust scientific inquiries, all while engaged the consumptive users in the process of wild turkey conservation. This presentation overviews the past 30-years of inference gained from the SGHS and demonstrates the cost-effectiveness of citizen science as compared to other more intensive field-based techniques. This lecture is included with museum membership or admission.
BIO: Adam Butler is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and serves as the Wild Turkey Program Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. In this role, he is involved in the planning, coordination, and execution of wild turkey research, monitoring, policy, and management throughout the state. Adam has chaired the Southeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies’ Wild Turkey Working Group and Co-Chaired the National Wild Turkey Federation’s National Technical Committee. Closer to home, he has also held terms as president of the Mississippi Chapter of The Wildlife Society and chairman of the Mississippi Prescribed Fire Council. In 2018, he was recognized as MDWFP’s Wildlife Biologist of the Year, and previously co-hosted the agency’s statewide syndicated radio show, Mississippi Outdoors, for nearly four years. Adam received an undergraduate degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Mississippi State University and a Masters degree in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Georgia. He is an avid outdoorsman and resides in Brandon, MS, with wife Jennifer, their two children, and three bird dogs.
Museum of Natural Science