Diet composition of reintroduced wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo mexicana, Gould, 1856) in "Sierra Fria", Aguascalientes, Mexico

Abstract

WILD TURKEY (MELEAGRIS GALLOPAVO L.) WAS EXTIRPATED FROM ""SIERRA FRIA"", AGUASCALIENTES, MEXICO, AROUND THE 50'S, BUT WAS REESTABLISHED IN THE AREA BETWEEN 1992 AND 1994. AT PRESENT, THE SPECIES IS ABUNDANT IN ""SIERRA FRIA""; HOWEVER, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT ITS FOOD HABITS, REASON WHICH MOTIVATED THE PRESENT STUDY. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DOCUMENT THE DIET COMPOSITION OF WILD TURKEY THROUGH THE ANALYSIS OF CROPS (N = 28) AND GIZZARDS (N = 24) COLLECTED FROM 40 WILD TURKEYS, WHICH WERE HUNTED DURING APRIL AND MAY IN THE YEARS 2001 AND 2002. TWENTY-SIX PLANTS, SEVEN INSECTS AND ONE SNAIL WERE IDENTIFIED AS DIET COMPONENTS. THE PLANT SPECIES WITH HIGHEST PERCENTAGE OF OCCURRENCE (PO) DURING 2001 WERE: TRIFOLIUM AMABILE (85%), PIPTOCHAETIUM FIMBRIATUM (62%) AND ERYNGIUM CARDINALE (54%) WHEREAS THE SPECIES WHICH CONTRIBUTED MOST OF TOTAL DRY WEIGHT (TDW=601.71 G) WERE: ZEA MAYS (478 G) AND OXALIS DECAPHYLLA (24 G). IN 2002 ARCTOSTAPHYLOS PUNGENS AND ZEA MAYS WERE THE MOST FREQUENT SPECIES (PO= 90% AND 70%) AND CONTRIBUTING WITH 19% AND 76% OF TDW (TRD= 329.19 G), RESPECTIVELY. PLANT AND ANIMALS SPECIES FOUND IN THE DIET INDICATE THAT WILD TURKEY IS AN AVAILABILITY OF FOOD. AN EXPLANATION FOR THE RECURRENT PRECENSE OF CORN IN THE DIET IS DUE TO THE USE OF THIS GRAIN AS BAIT DURING WILD TURKEY HUNTING SEASON, AND POSSIBLY BECAUSE THE FOOD SCARCE IN ITS HABITAT IN THIS SEASON OF THE YEAR (APRIL AND MAY).