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Timing Of Molt In Florida Sandhill Cranes, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Stephen T. Schwikert
Timing Of Molt In Florida Sandhill Cranes, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Stephen T. Schwikert
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
We observed feather molt in Florida sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pratensis) between 1978 and 1997. We report data from 4 feather groups: remiges, rectrices, wing coverts and contour feathers. In all feather groups, the median date of ecdysis preceded endysis by about 30 days. Endysis in adults was generally later than it was in first- or second-year subadults. Remiges grew at a rate of 4.72 ± 1.56 SD mm per day. We estimated that primary and secondary wing feathers were usually regenerated within 45 to 70 days.
Serological Survey For Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Ex Posure In Captive Cranes, Barry K. Hartup, Holly S. Sellers
Serological Survey For Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Ex Posure In Captive Cranes, Barry K. Hartup, Holly S. Sellers
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Between September 2001 and March 2002, unusually high morbidity and mortality was observed during releases of endangered, captive-reared whooping cranes (Grus americana) in central Florida. An ongoing epidemiological investigation has implicated infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV; Family Birnaviridae) as the likely etiological agent (Spalding et al. 2008). The source of this virus remains unknown. A previous serological survey showed positive antibody titers to IBDV serotype 2 were present in small numbers of juvenile and adult whooping cranes at the International Crane Foundation (ICF), Baraboo, Wisconsin and the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, Maryland between 1995 and 2003 (Hartup et al. …
Surveillance For West Nile Virus At The International Crane Foundation 2000-2004, Barry K. Hartup
Surveillance For West Nile Virus At The International Crane Foundation 2000-2004, Barry K. Hartup
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Between 2000 and 2004, serum samples collected annually from captive cranes at the International Crane Foundation (ICF) were analyzed for the presence of West Nile virus (WNV) antibodies using a plaque reduction neutralization test. Eighteen individual cranes representing 8 species were identified with positive titers (geometric mean = 188, range 40 – 1280, n = 29). Whooping cranes (Grus americana) represented the largest proportion of seropositive individuals (33%). Flock seroprevalence increased rapidly in 2003 and 2004 to a peak of 10%, representing a four-fold increase following index cases in 2000. None of the seropositive cranes, however, showed clinical signs consistent …
Body Mass Index (Bmi) Of Normal Sandhill Cranes, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Marilyn G. Spalding, Kristen L. Candelora, Paul S. Kubilis, Stephen T. Schwikert
Body Mass Index (Bmi) Of Normal Sandhill Cranes, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Marilyn G. Spalding, Kristen L. Candelora, Paul S. Kubilis, Stephen T. Schwikert
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
We used linear and mass measurements to construct a body mass index (BMI) for 2 subspecies of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). We found that BMI declined during the spring and early summer period. We used the BMI to show that juvenile Florida sandhill cranes (G. c. pratensis) reach their full mass at about 270 days of age, near the age at which they begin to leave the company of their parents. We used mensural data to predict a minimum expected mass for normal sandhill cranes which could be then used to evaluate the relative health of …
Egg Breakage By Captive Cranes At The International Crane Foundation, Stacy Puchta, Michael S. Putnam, Kelly Maguire
Egg Breakage By Captive Cranes At The International Crane Foundation, Stacy Puchta, Michael S. Putnam, Kelly Maguire
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Captive cranes can break eggs through deliberate destruction, clumsy parental behavior, or accidentally because of thin shells. We report on the frequency of egg breakage by pairs of captive cranes at the International Crane Foundation (ICF). Among the 15 species of cranes and 1 hybrid female, all except a grey-crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) have broken eggs at ICF. Some pairs broke 1/3 or more of their eggs despite efforts by aviculturists to retrieve them before breakage. We compared the proportion of broken eggs among 7 species where we have data from >5 individual females and more than 150 eggs …