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Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Grus americana

2001

Articles 1 - 14 of 14

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Mortality Of Whooping Crane Colts In Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, 1997-99, Douglas G. Bergeson, Brian W. Johns, Geoffrey L. Holroyd Jan 2001

Mortality Of Whooping Crane Colts In Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, 1997-99, Douglas G. Bergeson, Brian W. Johns, Geoffrey L. Holroyd

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Twenty-two whooping crane (Grus americana) pairs with 2 young were monitored in Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) over 3 years to determine causes of colt mortality. The family groups were monitored from the ground, air, and with the aid ofradioteiemetry. We attached transmitters to 18 colts: 5 (28%) fledged, 5 (28%) succumbed to cumulative effects (head trauma, stress, exposure and/or infection), 4 (22%) were lost to unknown causes (3 of these went missing after they had lost their transmitters), 2 (11%) were taken by foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 1 (5.5%) was lost to raven (Corvus corax …


Platte River Cooperative Agreement And Proposed Program: Efforts To Protect, Restore, And Manage Habitat For Whooping Cranes, Least Terns, And Piping Plovers, Clayton Derby, Dale Strickland Jan 2001

Platte River Cooperative Agreement And Proposed Program: Efforts To Protect, Restore, And Manage Habitat For Whooping Cranes, Least Terns, And Piping Plovers, Clayton Derby, Dale Strickland

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

On 1 July 1997 the states of Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado and the U.S. Department of the Interior signed the "Cooperative Agreement for Platte River Research and Other Efforts Relating to Endangered Species Habitats Along the Central Platte River, Nebraska" (Cooperative Agreement). In the Cooperative Agreement, the four parties set forth a "Proposed Platte River Recovery Implementation Program" (Program). The proposed incremental Program uses adaptive management to provide benefits to whooping cranes (Grus americana), least terns (Sterna albifrons), and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). The proposed Program will also test the assumption that it is possible …


Multiple Spatial Scale Analysis Of Whooping Crane Habitat In Nebraska, Amy L. Richert, Kevin E. Church Jan 2001

Multiple Spatial Scale Analysis Of Whooping Crane Habitat In Nebraska, Amy L. Richert, Kevin E. Church

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing technologies were used to evaluate whooping crane stopover habitat in Nebraska. The goal of the research was to investigate habitat selection at multiple spatial scales. The GIS database consisted of all confirmed whooping crane sightings reported in Nebraska from 1975-1996 and land cover information delineated from color infrared aerial photographs and Landsat Thematic Mapper data. Results suggest that whooping cranes select roost habitat by recognizing site-level and landscape-scale land cover composition. Wetland is the most strongly selected habitat type at all spatial scales examined. This presentation emphasizes methods used to analyze habitat selection …


Increased Egg Conservation-Is It Essential For Recovery Of Whooping Cranes In The Aransasiwood Buffalo Population?, James C. Lewis Jan 2001

Increased Egg Conservation-Is It Essential For Recovery Of Whooping Cranes In The Aransasiwood Buffalo Population?, James C. Lewis

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The whooping crane (Grus americana) is in a race for survival against adversities (genetic, demographic, and environmental) that are only partially understood. There is increasing evidence of genetic problems (drift, inbreeding, and loss of heterozygosity) in the captive population that likely also exist in the wild Aransas-Wood Buffalo Population (A WP), a consequence of the 1940s population bottleneck. Small populations are vulnerable to extinction through catastrophic events and random changes in productivity or survival. Negative environmental effects faced by whooping cranes include upstream diversion which diminish freshwater (nutrient) inflow into Texas wintering habitats, and expanding human activities along …


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 …


Egg Collection And Recruitment Of Young Of The Year In The Aransasi Wood Buffalo Population Of Whooping Cranes, John R. Cannon, Brian W. Johns, Thomas V. Stehn Jan 2001

Egg Collection And Recruitment Of Young Of The Year In The Aransasi Wood Buffalo Population Of Whooping Cranes, John R. Cannon, Brian W. Johns, Thomas V. Stehn

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We present data for 61 years (1938 to 1998) on the recruitment of juvenile (i.e., young-of-the-year) whooping cranes (Grus americana) for the 1 natural wild population that nests in the vicinity of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) in Canada and migrates annually to wintering grounds in the vicinity of Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on the Gulf coast of Texas in the United States. We divide these years into 2 data sets: years during which 1 of 2 eggs was collected from WBNP nests (to develop captive populations and to conduct reintroduction experiments), and years during which no …


Whooping Cranes Breeding At White Lake, Louisiana, 1939: Observations By John J. Lynch, U. S. Bureau Of Biological Survey, Roderick C. Drewien, John Tautin, Mary Lynch Courville, Gay M. Gomez Jan 2001

Whooping Cranes Breeding At White Lake, Louisiana, 1939: Observations By John J. Lynch, U. S. Bureau Of Biological Survey, Roderick C. Drewien, John Tautin, Mary Lynch Courville, Gay M. Gomez

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

On 15 May 1939, Jo1m J. Lynch of the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey located l3 whooping cranes (Grus americana), including 2 prefledged young, during an aerial survey near White Lake in southwestern Louisiana. His observation was the last historic record of whooping cranes breeding in the wild in the United States, and it confinned the presence of a nonmigratory breeding population along the Gulf Coast. While reviewing old U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service files at the National Archives in 1999, we located Lynch's original 1939 field note, 2 letters, 5 photographs, and a draft manuscript describing the …


Continuing Studies Of Ultralight Aircraft Applications For Introducing Migratory Populations Of Endangered Cranes, Kent R. Clegg, James C. Lewis Jan 2001

Continuing Studies Of Ultralight Aircraft Applications For Introducing Migratory Populations Of Endangered Cranes, Kent R. Clegg, James C. Lewis

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

This research tested whether captive-reared cranes led by an ultralight aircraft (UL) along a migration route, would, after release on a wintering area, integrate with wild cranes and migrate in spring to their natal area without human assistance. This was the historical first motorized migration involving an endangered species. In 1997, whooping cranes (Grus americana) and greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) were group-reared in species-specific pens and 80% fledged. Beginning 13 October, 4 whooping cranes and 8 sandhill cranes were led along a 1, 133-km migration route from Grace, Idaho, to Bosque del Apache National …


Tracking Sandhill Crane Migration From Saskatchewan To The Gulf Coast, Dale G. Hjertaas, David H. Ellis, Brian W. Johns, Stacie L. Moon Jan 2001

Tracking Sandhill Crane Migration From Saskatchewan To The Gulf Coast, Dale G. Hjertaas, David H. Ellis, Brian W. Johns, Stacie L. Moon

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Four adult sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis rowani) were captured in east-central Saskatchewan, equipped with transmitters, and tracked by satellite to detennine if their migration routes and wintering areas would allow their use as guide birds to establish a new migratory flock of whooping cranes (G. americana). Two birds captured near Yorkton died or their transmitters were lost before migration. Two adults from the Overflowing River moved to staging areas in southern Saskatchewan in September. By 29 September, Crane A left Saskatchewan and moved to North Dakota where it remained until late October. By 21 December, it …


Whooping Crane Egg Management: Options And Consequences, David H. Ellis, George F. Gee Jan 2001

Whooping Crane Egg Management: Options And Consequences, David H. Ellis, George F. Gee

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Eggs to build captive whooping crane (Grus americana) flocks and most eggs for reintroduction experiments have come from second viable eggs in 2-egg clutches in Canada. Four years ago, egg removal ceased. Based on reproductive rates for years when second eggs were removed and for years when eggs were not removed, we project numbers of young fledging in the wild and in captivity for the 2 most likely egg-management strategies. From existing data sets, we find that reproductive performance was, on average, better during the era of routine removal of the second viable eggs than when no manipulation …


Hematological And Serum Chemistry Norms For Sandhill And Whooping Cranes, Glenn H. Olsen, Melina M. Hendricks, Lindsay E. Dressler Jan 2001

Hematological And Serum Chemistry Norms For Sandhill And Whooping Cranes, Glenn H. Olsen, Melina M. Hendricks, Lindsay E. Dressler

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The nonnal values used as a diagnostic tool and for comparison of cranes were established in the early 1970's. In that early study, no effort was made to look at factors such as age, sex, or subspecies. In addition, during the early study disease problems (primarily disseminated visceral coccidiosis) and nutritional problems were undiagnosed and uncontrolled. For 2 years during the annual health examinations of cranes at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (patuxent), we collected blood from healthy cranes for analysis. We found significant differences between the values reported from the 1970's and the values seen in this study …


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 …


Natural Fertility In Whooping Cranes And Mississippi Sandhill Cranes At Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Jane M. Nicolich, George F. Gee, David H. Ellis, Scott G. Hereford Jan 2001

Natural Fertility In Whooping Cranes And Mississippi Sandhill Cranes At Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Jane M. Nicolich, George F. Gee, David H. Ellis, Scott G. Hereford

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The first fertile whooping crane (Grus americana; WC) egg produced through natural breeding at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (patuxent) was laid in 1991. Prior to that time, all fertile whooping crane eggs were the result of artificial insemination. Since 1991, eight different whooping crane pairs at Patuxent have produced fertile eggs through natural breeding. Mean fertility averages over years for each pair range from 40% to 93 %. Fertility rates for each pair also vary greatly between years, from 0% to 100%, but the causes of the variance are unknown. Experiences with natural fertility in Mississippi sandhill cranes ( …


An Update Of The Florida Whooping Crane Release Project Through June 2000, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Martin J. Folk, Kathleen A. Sullivan, Stephen T. Schwikert, Marilyn G. Spalding Jan 2001

An Update Of The Florida Whooping Crane Release Project Through June 2000, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Martin J. Folk, Kathleen A. Sullivan, Stephen T. Schwikert, Marilyn G. Spalding

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) reared mostly at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (patuxent) or the International Crane Foundation (ICF) have been released in Florida in an effort to reestablish a nonmigratory population in the southeastern United States. From 1993 through spring of 2000, we released 208 cranes. Modifications to the release procedure instituted in 1995 have greatly reduced mortality from the initial release period. First year mortality has averaged 50%. A longterm drought that began after spring 1998 may have contnbuted to increased first year mortality in recent years. Most mortality has been from predation, mostly bobcat …