Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Animal Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 30 of 63

Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences

Pedigree Analyses Of The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Jessica R. Henkel Jan 2010

Pedigree Analyses Of The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Jessica R. Henkel

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The genetic status of the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill crane (Grus canadensis pulla) was analyzed using 2008 studbook data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managed captive breeding and release program. Since the captive breeding program was established in 1964, gene diversity has decreased 6%, average mean kinship is at the level of first cousin, and inbreeding coefficients have been observed as high as 0.375. These high inbreeding levels were correlated with lower survivorship, and an analysis of the mate suitability of current pairs at the release site revealed poor mate suitability indices. These factors may be …


Thirty Years Of Mortality Assessment In Whooping Crane Reintroductions: Patterns And Implications, Barry K. Hartup, Marilyn G. Spalding, Nancy J. Thomas, Gretchen A. Cole, Young Jun Kim Jan 2010

Thirty Years Of Mortality Assessment In Whooping Crane Reintroductions: Patterns And Implications, Barry K. Hartup, Marilyn G. Spalding, Nancy J. Thomas, Gretchen A. Cole, Young Jun Kim

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We reviewed postmortem data to identify primary causes of mortality in reintroduced whooping cranes (Grus americana) and assess their potential for mitigation in future reintroduction efforts. In total, 240 cases from 3 populations were reviewed for causes of death, including the Rocky Mountain migratory population (n = 24, release dates 1975-1989), the Florida resident population (n = 186, 1993-2005), and the Wisconsin migratory population (n = 30, 2001-ongoing). Traumatic injury was the leading cause of mortality among the reintroduced whooping cranes, most commonly from predation (n = 120 or 50%, range 8-58% per project) or collision with fixed …


Endoparasites Of Greater Sandhill Cranes In South-Central Wisconsin, Somer Hartman, Betsy Reichenberg, Jane Fanke, Anne E. Lacy, Barry K. Hartup Jan 2010

Endoparasites Of Greater Sandhill Cranes In South-Central Wisconsin, Somer Hartman, Betsy Reichenberg, Jane Fanke, Anne E. Lacy, Barry K. Hartup

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Windingstad and Trainer (1977) used both fecal sampling and postmortem examinations to document the occurrence of parasites in greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) from Wisconsin in the fall. We conducted repeated fecal sampling of a well-known population to expand on results of their study. Our objective was to determine whether seasonal differences exist in the prevalence of endoparasites of Wisconsin sandhill cranes. We collected 7 to 10 fecal samples approximately every other week from a consistent roost site on the Wisconsin River (43°34'52.99''N, 89°36'38.42''W) near Briggsville, Wisconsin, from 29 May through 25 September 2008. The sample size …


Icf Conservation Education: Bridging Crane Conservation And The International Education Community, Joan Garland, Korie Klink Jan 2010

Icf Conservation Education: Bridging Crane Conservation And The International Education Community, Joan Garland, Korie Klink

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Education, at multiple levels with audiences in Wisconsin, Florida, Texas, and along the flyways where sandhill (Grus canadensis) and whooping cranes (G. americana) sometimes find themselves in close quarters with people, is the key to protecting North America's cranes. The migration of these birds highlights the dependence of cranes and other wildlife on wetlands along the migration routes. Most of these wetlands are privately owned, so the decisions and conservation outlook of future generations are critical to the survival of these cranes. The International Crane Foundation's (ICF) conservation education programs and materials focus on the importance of …


Video Surveillance Of Nesting Whooping Cranes, Timothy A. Dellinger, Martin J. Folk Jan 2010

Video Surveillance Of Nesting Whooping Cranes, Timothy A. Dellinger, Martin J. Folk

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The primary objective of the whooping crane (Grus americana) recovery plan is to establish and maintain 3 selfsustaining wild populations, 1 being a non-migratory Florida population. From 1993 to 2005, we released 289 captive cranes in central Florida, with 31 surviving as of 1 June 2008. From 1995 to 2008 we monitored 68 nests of the Florida population; from those, only 32 chicks hatched and 9 fledged. It often was not apparent why nests failed, and it was not practical to conduct labor-intensive observations at nests; therefore, we collected behavioral data using 12-volt VHS video surveillance cameras at …


Demography Of Whooping Cranes In The Eastern Migratory Population, Sarah J. Converse, Richard P. Urbanek Jan 2010

Demography Of Whooping Cranes In The Eastern Migratory Population, Sarah J. Converse, Richard P. Urbanek

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The ultimate success of the whooping crane (Grus americana) reintroduction to eastern North America rests on adequate demographic performance of the population. We are undertaking a population viability analysis (PVA) of the eastern migratory population in order to evaluate progress toward the fundamental population objective, to better understand the critical demographic thresholds that must be met to fulfill this objective, and, most importantly, to support management decision-making. The initial phase in the PVA development process involves estimation of demographic parameters to be used in later population modeling phases. Multi-state models provide an appropriate analytic framework for estimation, wherein …


Current Status Of Lesser Sandhill Cranes In Yakutia, Inga Bysykatova, Sergey Sleptsov, Nikolay Vasiliev Jan 2010

Current Status Of Lesser Sandhill Cranes In Yakutia, Inga Bysykatova, Sergey Sleptsov, Nikolay Vasiliev

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

In Yakutia, the sandhill crane (Grus canadensis canadensis) was considered a common bird in 1957 on the Primorie tundra from the Kolyma River to the Alazeya River. In 1980 the area of the species’ supposed breeding grounds within the Kolyma- Indigirka interfluve comprised 34,600 km2. In 1984-85, the breeding grounds extended west to the Sundrun River, with the total area reaching 49,400 km2. At present, the westernmost sandhill crane range is on the tundra along the lower reaches of the Berelekh River. This region joins the higher density Siberian crane (G. leucogeranus) range, so that the …


Rural Inhabitant Perceptions Of Sandhill Cranes In Northern Mexico Wintering Areas, Ingrid Barceló,, Julia Rivera López, Felipe Chávez-Ramírez Jan 2010

Rural Inhabitant Perceptions Of Sandhill Cranes In Northern Mexico Wintering Areas, Ingrid Barceló,, Julia Rivera López, Felipe Chávez-Ramírez

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

While a large proportion of the sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) population winters in northern Mexico, little information is available regarding conservation status of wetlands and human dimension issues. We conducted preliminary interviews of rural inhabitants living near wetlands used by cranes in 3 Mexican estates. One hundred percent of interviewees affirmed to know cranes, see them regularly (100%), and were capable of describing cranes. Winter is the time most have seen cranes (78%) with fall being second (20%). Most cranes were observed in lakes (56%), agriculture fields (35%), and cattle troughs (2%). Most responded to have seen 0-100 …


Whooping Crane Titers In Response To Eastern Equine Encephalitis Immunization, Glenn H. Olsen Jan 2010

Whooping Crane Titers In Response To Eastern Equine Encephalitis Immunization, Glenn H. Olsen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a viral disease caused by a vector-borne alphavirus. Various bird species, primarily native passerines in eastern North America, act as reservoir hosts without suffering clinical disease. When outbreaks occur, the disease is maintained and amplified through a mosquito-wild bird-mosquito cycle. EEE does not cause morbidity or mortality in North American passerines, but does cause mortality in some non-native birds such as pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) and emus (Dromiceius novaehollandiae) (Tengelsen et al. 2001) plus horses (Main 1979) and humans. Between September and December 1984, EEE killed 7 of 39 captive whooping cranes …


Mississippi Sandhill Crane Chicks Produced From Cryopreserved Semen, Anahid M. Pahlawanian, Megan L. Savoie, Vanessa Peery, Betsy L. Dresser, S. P. Leibo Jan 2010

Mississippi Sandhill Crane Chicks Produced From Cryopreserved Semen, Anahid M. Pahlawanian, Megan L. Savoie, Vanessa Peery, Betsy L. Dresser, S. P. Leibo

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Mississippi sandhill crane (MSC, Grus canadensis pulla), 1 of 6 subspecies of sandhill cranes, is classified as critically endangered and was placed on the United States' List of Endangered Fish and Wildlife in 1973. For 13 years starting in 1996, the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species (ACRES) and Freeport-McMoran Species Survival Center (SSC) in New Orleans have been contributing to the MSC Recovery Program. Through successful captive propagation of MSCs by use of natural breeding and artificial insemination, more than 150 chicks raised at SSC have been released into the wild population at the MSC National …


Mechanisms Of Habitat Selection Of Reintroduced Whooping Cranes On Their Breeding Range, Kelly J. Maguire, Stanley A. Temple Jan 2010

Mechanisms Of Habitat Selection Of Reintroduced Whooping Cranes On Their Breeding Range, Kelly J. Maguire, Stanley A. Temple

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We examined several mechanisms that influenced the habitat selection of reintroduced whooping cranes (Grus americana) on their breeding range in the midwestern United States. Visual observations on 56 whooping cranes from 2001 to 2006 provided accurate locations, habitat descriptions, and bird associations. Location information on each bird was mapped to create home range and to describe the habitat. We found evidence that habitat selection in these cranes resulted from multiple mechanisms, including habitat imprinting, philopatry, site tenacity, intra-specific interactions, and environmental stochasticity. The initial home ranges of all cranes contained habitat similar to that in which they were …


Influence Of Landscape Features Of Wetlands On Nesting Patterns Of Sandhill Cranes In Central Wisconsin, Su Liying, Anne E. Lacy, Jeb A. Barzen Jan 2010

Influence Of Landscape Features Of Wetlands On Nesting Patterns Of Sandhill Cranes In Central Wisconsin, Su Liying, Anne E. Lacy, Jeb A. Barzen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We studied the relationship between landscape features and nesting patterns of greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) in central Wisconsin for 3 years. Our study covered 9,840 ha, including about 50% agricultural fields, 20% forest, and 20% wetlands. We analyzed landscape features and nesting patterns at the wetland complex level. Landscape features included size, shape, and type of cover for each wetland complex. Nesting patterns included nesting density and the spatial pattern of the nest locations in a wetland among years. Nest density varied among wetland complexes and years. Mean nest densities in wetlands surveyed were 0.037, 0.033, …


Evaluating Chemical Deterrence At Two Spatial Scales: The Effectiveness Of Chemical Deterrence For Sandhill Cranes In Cornfields, Anne E. Lacy, Jeb A. Barzen Jan 2010

Evaluating Chemical Deterrence At Two Spatial Scales: The Effectiveness Of Chemical Deterrence For Sandhill Cranes In Cornfields, Anne E. Lacy, Jeb A. Barzen

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

From 2006 through 2008, 9,10 anthraquinone (sold as Avitec™) was used as a deterrent on planted corn seed in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. ICF conducted field trials in Wisconsin to determine efficacy of Avitec™ to repel sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) from germinating corn. We assessed crane use at 2 levels: between and within habitats by crane population surveys to determine crane use of fields, and corn density surveys to assess possible damage within fields. In addition, corn seed samples were taken to assess amount of active ingredient on treated corn seeds in the ground. In 2008 the concentrations …


Countability Of Sandhill Cranes In Aerial Surveys, Douglas H. Johnson, John W. Solberg, Courtney L. Amundson Jan 2010

Countability Of Sandhill Cranes In Aerial Surveys, Douglas H. Johnson, John W. Solberg, Courtney L. Amundson

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Aerial surveys are used to monitor populations of many wildlife species, including sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis). In addition to the usual problems of detectability (involving both availability and perceptibility), aerial surveys of concentrated animals are subject to countability issues; from a rapidly moving aircraft, observers cannot count or accurately estimate the number of animals in a large group. Calibration is sometimes performed in an effort to adjust aerial counts for incomplete detectability and countability by calculating the ratio of animals actually in a group to the number in the group estimated from the aircraft. Here we explore alternative, …


Whooping Crane Migrational Habitat Use Of The Platte River, Nebraska, 2001-2006, Shay Howlin, Clayton Derby, Dale Strickland Jan 2010

Whooping Crane Migrational Habitat Use Of The Platte River, Nebraska, 2001-2006, Shay Howlin, Clayton Derby, Dale Strickland

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The Platte River Endangered Species Partnership monitored whooping crane (Grus americana) habitat use along the Platte River between Chapman and Lexington, Nebraska during 11 migration seasons from 2001 to 2006. Daily aerial surveys took place in the morning from 21 March to 29 April in the spring and from 9 October to 10 November in the fall. Decoy detection trials were conducted during each of the 11 survey seasons to calculate actual sample inclusion probabilities for crane groups detected during monitoring flights. The detectability model found significant differences in detectability among strata (upland or channel), contractor, and altitude …


Development Of The Whooping Crane Tracking Project Geographic Information System, Martha Tacha, Andy Bishop, Justin Brei Jan 2010

Development Of The Whooping Crane Tracking Project Geographic Information System, Martha Tacha, Andy Bishop, Justin Brei

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The highest losses in the Aransas-Wood Buffalo whooping crane population occur during migration. Conservation and recovery of the endangered whooping crane requires understanding of migration patterns to identify important stopover areas and potential sources of mortality or disturbance. We converted the Cooperative Whooping Crane Tracking Project database, containing more than 3 decades of data on whooping crane sightings, to a geographic information system (GIS) to allow coarse scale spatial analyses of whooping crane migration patterns in the United States portion of the Central Flyway. At this writing, the geodatabase contains point data for 1,981 confirmed whooping crane sightings through the …


Changes In Winter Whooping Crane Territories And Range 1950-2006, Thomas V. Stehn, Felipe Prieto Jan 2010

Changes In Winter Whooping Crane Territories And Range 1950-2006, Thomas V. Stehn, Felipe Prieto

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The whooping crane (Grus americana) winters on the Texas coast primarily in salt marsh habitat. The location of adult whooping crane winter territories during 9 winters between 1950 and 2006 was derived from aerial census data digitized onto infrared photos using GIS software. Range expansion, including changes in distribution and size of winter territories, was analyzed over a 57-year period as flock size increased by 765%. Crane pairs have opted to establish territories in or close to the traditional winter area rather than moving long distances along the coast. This distribution seems based on the preference of the …


Eastern Equine Encephalitis In Florida Whooping Cranes, Marilyn G. Spalding, Lillian M. Stark Jan 2010

Eastern Equine Encephalitis In Florida Whooping Cranes, Marilyn G. Spalding, Lillian M. Stark

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Two whooping cranes (Grus americana) that were part of separate projects to reintroduce whooping cranes in eastern North America died suddenly in Florida following a few days of abnormal behavior. The first case was a semi-captive bird on ultralight-led migration from Wisconsin to Florida in December 2004. The second case was a molting 10-year-old male and successful wild breeder that died in May, 2005. Clinical signs were lethargy, abnormal posture, isolation followed by attack by other birds, collapse, heart murmur, and death. Eastern equine encephalitis virus (alphavirus) was isolated from the liver of both birds. The most severe …


Proceedings Of The Eleventh North American Crane Workshop: Preface And Contents Jan 2010

Proceedings Of The Eleventh North American Crane Workshop: Preface And Contents

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The North American Crane Working Group (NACWG) is an organization of professional biologists, aviculturists, land managers, and other interested individuals dedicated to the conservation of cranes and their habitats in North America. Our group meets approximately every 3 years to exchange new information on research and conservation of sandhill and whooping cranes and occasionally reports from abroad. Our meeting in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, 23-27 September 2008, was no exception. The workshop was ably organized by Tom Hoffman, the scientific program was well-constructed by Jane Austin, and George Archibald and Richard Urbanek helped to bring together a memorable field day in …


Wintering Sandhill Crane Distribution And Habitat Use Patterns At Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, Tandi L. Perkins, Leigh H. Fredrickson Jan 2010

Wintering Sandhill Crane Distribution And Habitat Use Patterns At Bosque Del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, Tandi L. Perkins, Leigh H. Fredrickson

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

The single most important factor regulating sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) populations is their ability to carry out annual life cycle events while responding to changing habitat availability and distribution across local, regional, and continental landscapes. Wetland and cropland resource availability and distribution across the landscape have become increasingly unpredictable. Recent changes in farming practices, urbanization, and prevailing drought conditions in New Mexico have transformed and reduced dynamic, heterogeneous landscapes into scattered fragments of the original setting. Concerns are increasing for the cumulative influence of these often irreversible actions in providing the type of resources needed by cranes at …


Demoiselle Cranes On Agricultural Lands In The Ukraine, Yuriy Andryushchenko Jan 2010

Demoiselle Cranes On Agricultural Lands In The Ukraine, Yuriy Andryushchenko

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

In Eurasia, the western range of the demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) includes the southeast of Ukraine. Here the species nests, forms flying and pre-migrating concentrations, and participates in migration. The number of demoiselle cranes in April-June is about 600-700 individuals (200-250 nesting pairs), and toward the end of the year the population can reach 900-1000 individuals. Of cranes observed during 2000-2008 in the Crimea, 42.3% of pairs (n = 151) nested on agricultural fields: 21.5% on virgin land, 16.1% on cropland, and 3.4% on fallow lands. Principal characteristics of the demoiselle crane nesting locations were wavy relief, scarce herbage, …


Possible Competition Between Waterfowl And Sandhill Cranes At Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, Tennessee, David A. Aborn Jan 2010

Possible Competition Between Waterfowl And Sandhill Cranes At Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge, Tennessee, David A. Aborn

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

As a result of crop planting for waterfowl, numbers of eastern greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) staging and overwintering at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in eastern Tennessee have sharply increased over the last 30-40 years. Peak numbers of wintering cranes have reached 14,000, and this large increase in crane numbers raises the possibility that they may be competing with waterfowl for food and space. I examined broad-scale changes in waterfowl numbers using Christmas Bird Count data, as well as small-scale changes using observations of waterfowl numbers and locations in relation to cranes on individual days. Preliminary results …


Summary Of Sandhill Crane Sport Harvest In Canada 1975-2006, Adrianna C. Araya, Kammie L. Kruse, Keith D. Warner Jan 2010

Summary Of Sandhill Crane Sport Harvest In Canada 1975-2006, Adrianna C. Araya, Kammie L. Kruse, Keith D. Warner

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Knowledge of harvest in all areas where the mid-continent population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) occurs is critical to managing the population in a sustainable manner. The harvest of MCP in the U.S. has been well documented; however, the harvest in Canada has received less attention. The Canadian Wildlife Service initiated a National Harvest Survey program in 1967, but all sampling variables were not directly comparable until 1975. In this paper, we summarize crane harvest in Canada during the 1975-2006 hunting seasons for Saskatchewan and Manitoba, the 2 provinces with significant sport hunting harvest of sandhill cranes. …


Mammalian Nest Predation In Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, Rose Butler Jan 2010

Mammalian Nest Predation In Mississippi Sandhill Cranes, Rose Butler

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Low recruitment is the largest challenge facing the recovery of the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill crane (MSC, Grus canadensis pulla). Lack of information on nest predation and the impacts of specific nest predator species hinder effective management to lower nest predation rates. I have completed my first year of a 2-year research project on mammalian predation at the MSC National Wildlife Refuge in Gautier, Mississippi. I aim to identify common nest predators, determine if nest predation rates are higher in certain nesting habitats than others, and if different mammalian predators are more common in certain nesting habitats than others. …


The Response Of Nesting Mississippi Sandhill Cranes To Growing Season Prescribed Fires, Lauren Billodeaux, Scott Hereford, Sami Gray Jan 2010

The Response Of Nesting Mississippi Sandhill Cranes To Growing Season Prescribed Fires, Lauren Billodeaux, Scott Hereford, Sami Gray

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Prescribed burning is the most natural and cost effective method of restoring and maintaining the coastal longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) savannah ecosystem that provides feeding and nesting areas for the critically endangered Mississippi sandhill crane (MSC, Grus canadensis pulla). Though growing season burns have shown the greatest results in controlling encroaching shrubs and pines as compared to dormant season burns, burning in the spring and early summer has the potential to disrupt the nesting activities of the MSC population. In order to address both the short and long term needs of this crane population, we make every …


A Retrospective Of Whooping Cranes In Captivity, Cindi Barrett, Thomas V. Stehn Jan 2010

A Retrospective Of Whooping Cranes In Captivity, Cindi Barrett, Thomas V. Stehn

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Early records of captive whooping cranes (Grus americana) were compiled from historical files kept at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and other literature. Additional early records of captive whooping cranes in Europe were discovered. Annual numbers and location for all captive whooping cranes were tabulated. Starting in 1949, initial attempts at breeding the species in captivity were conducted opportunistically with a few injured birds captured from the wild. Acaptive breeding flock was started in 1966 at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, Maryland, from second eggs collected in Canada from the only remaining wild flock. In 1989, the flock …


Habitat Selection Of Eastern Migratory Whooping Cranes On Their Wintering Grounds, Lara E. A. Fondow, Stanley A. Temple Jan 2010

Habitat Selection Of Eastern Migratory Whooping Cranes On Their Wintering Grounds, Lara E. A. Fondow, Stanley A. Temple

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

As a monitoring technician for the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, I (LEAF) noted that birds in years following release selected wintering habitats that differed greatly from those into which they were initially released. An analysis of the habitat preferences of these birds was needed in order to determine any possible implications to the reintroduction efforts. During the winters of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, I recorded the locations, habitat use, social associations, and behaviors of all migratory whooping cranes (Grus americana) at known locations in Florida. I used compositional analysis to determine whether habitat use was random at the following …


Status Of Non-Migratory Whooping Cranes In Florida, Martin J. Folk, James A. Rodgers Jr., Timothy A. Dellinger, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Jeannette M. Parker, Marilyn G. Spalding, Stephen B. Baynes, M. Kathleen Chappell, Stephen T. Schwikert Jan 2010

Status Of Non-Migratory Whooping Cranes In Florida, Martin J. Folk, James A. Rodgers Jr., Timothy A. Dellinger, Stephen A. Nesbitt, Jeannette M. Parker, Marilyn G. Spalding, Stephen B. Baynes, M. Kathleen Chappell, Stephen T. Schwikert

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We soft-released 289 whooping cranes (Grus americana) into central Florida during 1993-2006 in an effort to establish a non-migratory population. As of September 2008, the population numbered 30 birds (11 pairs), including 12 males and 18 females. Survival and productivity rates have been lower than expected. Males did not survive past 10 years of age, whereas females have lived to at least 15 years of age. Most older males died as a result of predation or from colliding with power lines. We marked power lines and developed a streamlined transmitter to help reduce the number of collisions with …


Impacts Of Global And Regional Climate On Whooping Crane Demography: Trends And Extreme Events, Karine Gil, William Grant, R. Douglas Slack, Enrique Weir Jan 2010

Impacts Of Global And Regional Climate On Whooping Crane Demography: Trends And Extreme Events, Karine Gil, William Grant, R. Douglas Slack, Enrique Weir

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

We analyzed long-term demographic and environmental data to understand the role of large scale climatic factors (the Pacific Decadal Oscillations [PDO]) and environmental factors in 3 regions of North America on natality and mortality of the remnant migratory whooping crane (Grus americana) population. This is an endangered species that spends winters at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Texas, breeds at Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) in Canada and “…uses Nebraska as a primary stopover”. Long term data (27 years) of demography and environmental factors (PDO index, temperature and precipitation at WBNP, Nebraska and ANWR, pond water depth …


Longevity Records Of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes Banded During 1969-1987 In Idaho, Montana, Utah, And Wyoming, Roderick C. Drewien, Wendy M. Brown, Kent R. Clegg Jan 2010

Longevity Records Of Rocky Mountain Greater Sandhill Cranes Banded During 1969-1987 In Idaho, Montana, Utah, And Wyoming, Roderick C. Drewien, Wendy M. Brown, Kent R. Clegg

Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop

Cranes species throughout the world are renowned for their longevity; however, most records are based on individuals in captivity. We compiled longevity records for wild Rocky Mountain greater sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis tabida) banded in Idaho, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming during 1969-1987. Our analysis was based on over 180 band recoveries and over 1,700 visual observations of known-age individually marked birds from 1969 to 2008. We present only those birds of age >20 years for this summary. Our results yielded 56 birds known to be >20 yrs of age when killed or last observed. Of 7 band recoveries, …