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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
Habitat Use By Florida Sandhill Cranes On The Kissimmee Prairie In Central Florida, Mary Anne Bishop
Habitat Use By Florida Sandhill Cranes On The Kissimmee Prairie In Central Florida, Mary Anne Bishop
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Radio-tagged Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) were monitored for habitat use during 1985 and 1986 on the Kissimmee Prairie in central Florida. For both breeding and nonbreeding cranes, 93 % of the daytime locations were in 3 habitat types: cropland and plowed pasture, improved pasture, and palustrine emergent wetlands. Improved pasture was the most frequently used daytime habitat for both social classes. Radio locations were divided among 4 time blocks (3 diurnal, 1 nocturnal) and 4 3-month seasons. Time-of-day effects for use of wetlands and improved pasture were only marginally significant (1' < 0.08 and l' < 0.09, respectively) for breeders and not significant (1' < 0.30 and l' < 0.43, respectively) for nonbreeders. There was no significant difference in habitat use by breeders among seasons. Chi-square analyses of diurnal locations indicated that 4 of the 6 breeding cranes monitored used palustrine emergent wetlands more than their availability. The selection for wetlands reflects not only the rich food sources available, but also their use as midday loafing and drinking sites and as a source of cover that the upland habitats do not offer.
Food And Feeding Habits Of Released Florida Sandhill Cranes, Christine R. Rucker
Food And Feeding Habits Of Released Florida Sandhill Cranes, Christine R. Rucker
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Food habits of 4 pairs of free-ranging Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) on St. Catherine's Island, Georgia, were studied from May to October 1990. Food items were identified and quantified at close range « 10 m). The 4 pairs varied in how they used plant and animal resources (P < 0.0001). Animal material in the diets averaged 19.1 % and ranged from 13.4 to 36.7%. Plant material averaged 80.9% in the pairs' diets. Major foods included subsurface bulbs, roots, and tubers of yellow star grass (Hypoxis micrantha), catbrier (Smilax glauca), and false garlic (Allium bivalva), longleaf pine seeds (Pinus palustris), and insects. Food habits shifted seasonally for all pairs (P < 0.(001). In July and August the percent occurrences of yellow star grass and false garlic in the diets were > 50 %. During September and October pine seed occurrence was > 75 % in the diets of …