Geographical variation in male eastern wild turkey gobbling activity relative to female nesting chronology

Wild turkey ( Meleagris gallopavo ) gobbling activity is a key aspect of hunter satisfaction and has been used to help determine the timing of spring wild turkey hunting seasons. However, to minimize effects on reproductive success, the literature is clear that hunting seasons should not begin before the median date of nest initiation. Thus, it's important to understand timing of gobbling and nesting to appropriately structure the hunting season such that hunter satisfaction is maximized while not affecting reproduction. We determined if the relative overlap in timing of gobbling and nesting chronology varied temporally and spatially along an elevational gradient. We collected gobbling chronology data using autonomous recording units ( n = 51) and determined nesting chronology of 370 (of which 305 nested) female eastern wild turkeys ( M. g. silvestris ) monitored with GPS transmitters across 3 distinct physiographic ecoregions in North Carolina, USA, during 2020–2022. We recorded 63,456 gobbles, located 420 nests, and determined that gobbling chronology did not vary regionally but varied daily and annually within each ecoregion. Nest incubation initiation dates were similar among years and across ecoregions, supporting photoperiod as the main driver of nesting chronology. We identified 2 relatively consistent time‐lag relationships between gobbling and nesting activity (6.5 and 38.6 days). However, gobbling activity was not bimodal or consistent in relation to nesting activity across years and ecoregions. For example, gobbling activity declined following the onset of incubation in some ecoregions and years but continued at relatively high rates during incubation in other years and ecoregions. The lack of variation in nesting chronology across the elevation gradient indicates that uniform opening dates for hunting within a similar latitudinal zone were appropriate.