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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Water Conditioning And Whooping Crane Survival After Release In Florida, George F. Gee, Jane M. Nicolich, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Jeff S. Hatfield, David H. Ellis, Glenn H. Olsen Jan 2001

Water Conditioning And Whooping Crane Survival After Release In Florida, George F. Gee, Jane M. Nicolich, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Jeff S. Hatfield, David H. Ellis, Glenn H. Olsen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

About 50% of the whooping cranes (Grus americana) released in Florida die within the first year of release. Most of these deaths and those in subsequent years result from bobcat (Lynx rufus) predation. Choosing release sites in open marshes away from bobcat habitat has improved survival. We hypothesized that exposure to ponds (water conditioning) at the rearing site would encourage birds to roost in deeper water marshes after release and such exposure would thereby reduce bobcat predation. In this study, we moved young birds (ca 50 days of age) to netted pens with large (I5-m diameter), deep (30--60 …


Results Of The First Ultralight-Led Sandhill Crane Migration In Eastern North America, Joseph W. Duff, William A. Lishman, Dewitt A. Clark, George F. Gee, David H. Ellis Jan 2001

Results Of The First Ultralight-Led Sandhill Crane Migration In Eastern North America, Joseph W. Duff, William A. Lishman, Dewitt A. Clark, George F. Gee, David H. Ellis

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

In 1997, we led 8 sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) south from Ontario, Canada by ultralight aircraft to a wintering area near Warrenton, Virginia, an area without a wild population. Six others were transported south in a trailer in hopes they would return north with those that flew. The migration was 863 kIn long, included 14 stops, and took 21 days to complete. A1l13 SUIViving birds were wintered together. In March 1998, the surviving 7 "aircraft-led" birds departed the wintering site. The following day, 6 of the 7 were reported on the south shore of Lake Ontario. The flock …


Ingested Metal In Whooping Cranes: An Endoscopic Technique For Removal And Implications For The Release Program, Glenn H. Olsen, Michael Wise Jan 2001

Ingested Metal In Whooping Cranes: An Endoscopic Technique For Removal And Implications For The Release Program, Glenn H. Olsen, Michael Wise

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Since 1993 when the whooping crane (Grus americana) release program in Florida started, 21 whooping cranes at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (patuxent) have been diagnosed with gastrointestinal foreign bodies (primarily metal objects). A technique for safely removing these objects has been developed. The technique uses a flexible gastric endoscope to enter the proventriculus or ventriculus, and a snare or forceps passed down a channel of the endoscope to retrieve the foreign bodies. The technique is very successful, with the whooping crane usually back to its pen the next day. The longterm survival of the whooping cranes …


A Reintroduction Technique For Migratory Birds: Leading Canada Geese And Isolation-Reared Sandhill Cranes With Ultralight Aircraft, William A. Lishman, Tighe L. Teets, Joseph W. Duff, William J. L. Sladen, Galvin G. Shire, Kirk M. Goolsby, Wayne A. Bezner Kerr, Richard Urbanek Jan 1997

A Reintroduction Technique For Migratory Birds: Leading Canada Geese And Isolation-Reared Sandhill Cranes With Ultralight Aircraft, William A. Lishman, Tighe L. Teets, Joseph W. Duff, William J. L. Sladen, Galvin G. Shire, Kirk M. Goolsby, Wayne A. Bezner Kerr, Richard Urbanek

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

No successful method for establishing self-sustaining populations of whooping cranes (Grus americana), particularly in a migration situation, has been proven. This research initiated development of a reintroduction technique using ultralight aircraft to lead cranes from a natal area along a desired route to a predetermined wintering site. Canada geese (Branta canadensis) were used in initial migration efforts. Ultralight aircraft and pilots successfully led 86 juvenile geese on 3 southbound migrations from Ontario to winter sites 640-1,312 kIn from the natal area. Of 16 1993-hatched geese that survived their first winter in Virginia and 35 1994- hatched …


Identification Of Potential Reintroduction Sites For Whooping Cranes In The Prairie Provinces Of Canada, Dale G. Hjertaas, Brian W. Johns, Wendy J. Lyon Jan 1997

Identification Of Potential Reintroduction Sites For Whooping Cranes In The Prairie Provinces Of Canada, Dale G. Hjertaas, Brian W. Johns, Wendy J. Lyon

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Action 2.3.3.2.2.1 of the national recovery plan for the whooping crane (Grus americana) calls for the establishment of an independent flock of whooping cranes in Canada, separate from the Wood Buffalo-Aransas flock, that attains a minimum of 25 breeding pairs by 2020 A. D. Potential reintroduction sites include the Prairie Provinces and possibly parts of western Ontario (Edwards et al. 1994). The first step in completing this action is to identify potential reintroduction sites in the 3 Prairie Provinces. We initially screened areas suggested to us by government and Ducks Unlimited biologists. The most important screening criteria were …


Techniques For Rearing And Releasing Nonmigratory Cranes: Lessons From The Mississippi Sandhill Crane Program, David H. Ellis, Glenn H. Olsen, George F. Gee, Jane M. Nicolich, Kathleen E. O'Malley, Meenakshi Nagendran, Scott G. Hereford, Peter Range, W. Thomas Harper, Richard P. Ingram, Dwight G. Smith Jan 1992

Techniques For Rearing And Releasing Nonmigratory Cranes: Lessons From The Mississippi Sandhill Crane Program, David H. Ellis, Glenn H. Olsen, George F. Gee, Jane M. Nicolich, Kathleen E. O'Malley, Meenakshi Nagendran, Scott G. Hereford, Peter Range, W. Thomas Harper, Richard P. Ingram, Dwight G. Smith

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Captive-reared Mississippi sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pulla) reared at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (patuxent) have been released at the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge (MSCNWR) since 1981. Of 131 birds released through December 1990, 103 were reared by foster parents. The remaining 28 were experimentally hand-reared in 1989 and 1990. After refining release procedures, parent-reared birds have integrated into the wild flock, many have survived, and some have bred. Releases of hand-reared cranes elsewhere in the 1970's were largely unsuccessful. at least in part due to the lack of a lengthy acclimation period. A new hand-rearing …


Whooping Cranes In Southwest Louisiana: History And Human Attitudes, Gay M. Gomez Jan 1992

Whooping Cranes In Southwest Louisiana: History And Human Attitudes, Gay M. Gomez

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

When whooping cranes (Grus americana) inhabited southwest Louisiana's coastal marshes, residents viewed them as a food source and a crop pest, and shooting was commonplace. Local attitudes have changed as a result of education, stricter law enforcement, and decreased dependence on wildlife for subsistence, but hunting remains widespread. A 1977 proposal to reintroduce whooping cranes to southwest Louisiana generated strong opposition from the Louisiana Wild Life and Fisheries Commission (now Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries), based on concerns about critical habitat and its likely impact on waterfowl hunting and other traditional marsh uses. These concerns remain, though …


Development Of An Isolation-Rearing/Gentle Release Procedure For Reintroducing Migratory Cranes, Richard P. Urbanek, Theodore A. Bookhout Jan 1992

Development Of An Isolation-Rearing/Gentle Release Procedure For Reintroducing Migratory Cranes, Richard P. Urbanek, Theodore A. Bookhout

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

During 1988 -90, in an effort to develop a reintroduction technique for the whooping crane (Grus americana), we reared 38 greater sandhill crane chicks (G. canadensis tabida) in isolation from humans and gentle-released them on Seney National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Chicks were reared in the field with a puppet/costume technique. After chicks completed acclimation to wild conditions in a release pen, we induced them to migrate by breaking their flock into small groups, translocating some groups, and using guide birds. Solutions to migration initiation problems encountered in 1988-89 were developed …