Martin et al_Wild turkey roost selection is more consistently associated with tree traits than microclimate

We studied microclimate variables (specifically overnight wind speeds, air temperatures, and accumulated precipitation) and physical characteristics (diameter at breast height and whether the tree was coniferous or deciduous) at roost trees used by eastern wild turkeys (<i>Meleagris gallopavo silvestris</i>) near Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. We first collected location data from GPS-tagged eastern wild turkeys and used spatial analysis to identify roost trees. We then measured physical characteristics and collected microclimate data at both the roost trees and paired non-roost trees. We sampled 25 winter roost pairs and 30 summer roost trees (i.e., pairs in which the roost tree was known to be used by turkeys during winter and summer, respectively). For each pair, the non-roost tree was nearby (50 m away from the roost tree) and represented a tree that was available to turkeys but not apparently used (based on GPS-tagged turkeys and visual inspection for evidence of roosting). Data for winter roost trees were collected from December 1, 2022, to March 27, 2023; and data for summer roost trees were collected from June 1, 2023, to September 25, 2023. Finally, we used the dataset provided here to perform matched case-control conditional logistic regression models to assess how microclimate factors and tree characteristics influence roost tree selection.