The Wildlife Society has awarded the Donald H. Rusch Memorial Game Bird Scholarship to Laken Mize to determine the genetic impact of 50 years of restocking eastern wild turkeys to a fragmented landscape in eastern Texas.
“[Mize] is fundamentally aligned with the intersection of conservation and traditional wildlife management,” said Warren Conway, a professor in wildlife management at Texas Tech University, in his nomination letter for her. “She has a passion for upland gamebird ecology, management and research and is looking toward continuing that work in a different part of the country for her Ph.D. research upon completion of her thesis here.”
The scholarship honors Donald H. Rusch’s memory and continues his legacy by contributing to graduate studies of upland game bird or waterfowl biology and management.
“Gamebird research and conservation is not a solitary endeavor. It requires collaboration across agencies, institutions and disciplines,” Mize said. “It requires patience because restoration takes decades.”
The award will help Mize assess how a half century of wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) restoration in parts of eastern Texas has contributed to the genetics of wild populations there. The results of the study, published as part of her master’s work at Texas Tech University, will hopefully help researchers understand how restocking has impacted turkey populations affected by habitat loss, fire suppression and landscape fragmentation in post-oak savannah ecosystems.
“When I think back to growing up in east Texas rarely seeing a wild turkey, and now I am contributing research that could help guide the future management of these magnificent birds, it’s profound,” Mize said. “I harbor hope that down the road, these birds will return to the numbers that once flourished in the 1900s, when turkeys were abundant across the Texas landscape.”
The award will be presented at TWS’ Annual Conference in Des Moines, Iowa, starting Nov. 1.
