University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 1-1-2017 Responses of the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) to Human Disturbance Thomas Hughes Martin University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Martin, Thomas Hughes, "Responses of the Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) to Human Disturbance" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1279. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/1279 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. RESPONSES OF THE OCELLATED TURKEY (MELEAGRIS OCELLATA) TO HUMAN DISTURBANCE A Thesis Presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Biology The University of Mississippi by, Thomas H. Martin May 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Thomas H. Martin ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT Habitat loss and habitat degradation are major drivers of the current biodiversity crisis. Nowhere else are these threats more severe than in the tropics. Because the tropics are estimated to contain as much as 60% of all the species on Earth, they are critically important for the conservation of biodiversity. To conserve species we need to understand both the factors that lead to extinction and how the taxa that persist are able to adapt to the rapid anthropogenic change of their environment. The Ocellated Turkey (Meleagris ocellata) is a Neotropical galliform bird of conservation concern because it faces a rapidly changing environment.