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1992

Population Biology

Sandhill cranes

Articles 1 - 5 of 5

Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

The Ecology Of Native Grassland Macroinvertebrates And Feeding Ecology Of Sandhill Cranes, Craig A. Davis, Paul A. Vohs Jan 1992

The Ecology Of Native Grassland Macroinvertebrates And Feeding Ecology Of Sandhill Cranes, Craig A. Davis, Paul A. Vohs

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The ecology of native grassland macroinvertebrates along the Platte River in central Nebraska and their role in the feeding ecology of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) was examined on 3 native grasslands along the Platte River during late winter-early spring, 1989 and 1990. Four hundred forty-four soil samples from the study area were sorted for macroinvertebrates. Environmental factors such as soil moisture, water table depth, soil texture, and plant species composition were recorded from each soil collection site. Fifteen sandhill cranes, observed feeding for 40 minutes, were collected from 1 of the study areas. Maeroinvertebrates were collected from 4 …


Winter Release Of Isolation-Reared Greater Sandhill Cranes In South Texas, Meenakshi Nagendran Jan 1992

Winter Release Of Isolation-Reared Greater Sandhill Cranes In South Texas, Meenakshi Nagendran

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

During the summer of 1988, 7 greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) hatched from 15 eggs collected at Seney National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Michigan, were isolation-reared at Welder Wildlife Refuge (WWR) near Sinton, Texas, and fitted with radio transmitters prior to fledging. Because of severe drought conditions on WWR. 3 surviving juveniles were moved to Laguna Atascosa NWR (LANWR) in south Texas and released on 27 January 1989. On 12 March 1989 they left LANWR with 3 wild cranes. They were relocated on 4 April in Rosebud, Texas. The 3 cranes were captured and transported to Grand Island, …


Gender Prediction From Body Measurements Of Two Subspecies Of Sandhill Cranes, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Clinton T. Moore, Kathleen S. Williams Jan 1992

Gender Prediction From Body Measurements Of Two Subspecies Of Sandhill Cranes, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Clinton T. Moore, Kathleen S. Williams

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Linear discriminant functions estimated from leg length, bill length and body weight measurements of known subspecies and known gender (KS-KG) Florida (FSH) and greater sandhill cranes (GSH) (Grus canadensis pratensis and G. c. tabida, respectively) were used to predict gender of known subspecies and unknown gender (KS-UG) individuals. Mean body measurements were larger among males than among females of either subspecies, but the difference in mean bill length between genders was larger among GSH than among FSH cranes. Gender misclassification was less frequent among GSH than among FSH cranes. Of birds whose measurements fell outside of the 80% …


Temporal Patterns Of Sandhill Crane Roost Site Use In The Platte River, Bradley S. Norling, Stanley H. Anderson, Wayne A. Hubert Jan 1992

Temporal Patterns Of Sandhill Crane Roost Site Use In The Platte River, Bradley S. Norling, Stanley H. Anderson, Wayne A. Hubert

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Temporal patterns of daily arrival and departure of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) at roost sites were examined along the Platte River in Nebraska during spring 1990. Departure times were earliest and arrival times were latest during the beginning of the 8taging season (9-21 March). Date within the staging season was the primary variable associated with time of initial departure and arrival, but arrival and departure times were also influenced by climatic factors. Departure times correlated positively with fog and precipitation (P < 0.05) and negatively with air temperature (P < 0.05), whereas arrival times correlated positively with both cloud cover and air temperature (P < 0.05).


Sandhill Crane Habitat Use In Northeastern Utah And Southwestern Wyoming, Donald E. Mcivor, Michael R. Conover Jan 1992

Sandhill Crane Habitat Use In Northeastern Utah And Southwestern Wyoming, Donald E. Mcivor, Michael R. Conover

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Patterns of habitat use by greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) were examined during April-July 1991 when crop damage attributed to cranes normally occurs. We conducted surveys weekJy along 37-km transects in Cache Valley, Utah, and bi-weekly in the Bear River Valley in Rich County, Utah, and Lincoln County. Wyoming. During the surveys, we sighted 1,235 cranes in 165 separate groups in pasture (55%), small grains (19%), riparian (8%), alfalfa (6%), corn (3%), and miscellaneous (9%) habitats. Cranes did not use habitats in proportion to their availability (P < 0.0005); they fed more in small grain fields and pasture-hay habitats. Depredations attributed to cranes have been reported in Cache Valley corn crops in spring and in Bear River Valley small grain crops in fall. Farmers with chronic depredation problems in small grains and corn may wish to cultivate crops less preferred by cranes.