Nest success is a primary component of productivity for wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo; turkeys) and there is concern that turkey productivity is declining across the southeastern United States. We evaluated the influence of nest site and landscape characteristics on risk of nest failure for turkeys in pine (Pinus spp.)‐dominated forests across the southeastern United States. We used Cox proportional hazard models to evaluate daily hazard of nest failure associated with nest site and landscape metrics within 500‐m and 1‐km buffers centered on nests. Of 451 nests monitored (n = 320 females) between 2014 and 2018, 76% failed, with predation as the primary cause. Daily hazard of nest failure increased by 1.2% for each day that females delayed nest incubation following the mean nesting date (29 Apr; β_day = 0.010 ± 0.002 [SE]; hazard ratio [HR] = 1.01, 95% CI = 1.006–1.015). Environmental covariates associated with risk of nest failure included the maximum enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and distance to the nearest ecotone. Daily hazard increased with increasing distance away from an ecotone (β_ecotone = 0.16 ± 0.06; HR = 1.17, CI = 1.03–1.32) and with lower EVI around the nest (β_EVI = −0.30 ± 0.06; HR = 0.74, CI = 0.65–0.83). Additional nest site or landscape covariates were included in competitive models but did not influence risk of nest failure significantly. Our study highlights the importance of considering landscape context when designing and implementing land management actions intended to enhance wild turkey reproduction. Our findings suggest that landscape metrics thought to be important to turkeys in northern agro‐forested landscapes may not be relevant to turkeys in pine ecosystems of the southeastern United States. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.

中文翻译：

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野火鸡在美国东南部以松树为主的森林中筑巢成功

筑巢成功是野生火鸡（Meleagris gallopavo ;火鸡）生产力的主要组成部分，而且人们担心，在美国东南部，火鸡的生产力正在下降。我们评估了美国东南部以松树（Pinus spp。）为主的森林中火鸡筑巢位置和景观特征对火鸡筑巢失败风险的影响。我们使用Cox比例风险模型评估与以巢为中心的500 m和1 km缓冲区内的巢站点和景观度量相关的巢失败的每日危害。在受监控的451个巢中（n 在2014年至2018年之间，有320位女性）有76％失败，其中以掠夺为主要原因。雌性在平均筑巢日期后延迟巢孵化的每一天，筑巢失败的每日风险增加1.2％（4月29日；β_天 = 0.010±0.002 [SE]；危险比[HR] = 1.01，95％CI = 1.006– 1.015）。与巢灾风险相关的环境协变量包括最大增强植被指数（EVI）和到最近的过渡带的距离。每日危险与来自交错的距离增大而增加（β_过渡带 = 0.16±0.06; HR = 1.17，Cl = 1.03-1.32），并用围巢下EVI（β _EVI = -0.30±0.06; HR = 0.74，CI = 0.65-0.83）。竞争模型中还包括其他巢穴位点或景观协变量，但不会显着影响巢穴失败的风险。我们的研究强调了在设计和实施旨在增强野火鸡繁殖力的土地管理行动时，考虑景观环境的重要性。我们的发现表明，对于北方农林景观中的火鸡来说很重要的景观指标可能与美国东南部松树生态系统中的火鸡没有关系。©2021野生动物协会。