Retroviral Infections Affect Survival and Clutch Size of Female Wild Turkeys

ABSTRACT Pathogens can regulate or decimate free‐ranging wildlife populations. Wild turkeys ( Meleagris gallopavo ), which are widespread across the United States, southern Canada, and northern and central Mexico, are a prized upland gamebird that has experienced dramatic population growth and range expansion as the result of reintroduction campaigns. While increased abundance may promote disease transmission, little is known about the effects of pathogen infections on demographic metrics in wild turkeys. Lymphoproliferative disease virus (LPDV) and reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) are oncogenic retroviruses that infect poultry and wild turkeys and can result in disease and mortality, though most infected individuals appear asymptomatic. We investigated whether retroviral infections influence wild turkey fitness by evaluating effects on female survival and several reproduction metrics. We live‐captured 163 female wild turkeys throughout central Maine, USA during three winters, from 2018 to 2020. We collected blood for LPDV and REV molecular diagnostics and attached a GPS or VHF transmitter to monitor survival and nesting. Infection with REV was associated with nearly half the cumulative annual survival probability, while LPDV‐infected hens laid an average of 1.4 fewer eggs per clutch. We detected no effects of retroviral infection on nest initiation, nesting propensity, or hatch rate, and coinfection was not associated with any measured demographic metric. These findings demonstrate that retroviral infections can negatively affect survival and clutch size in female wild turkeys even in the absence of overt disease, highlighting the importance of considering pathogen effects when evaluating the population dynamics of free‐ranging wildlife.