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Full-Text Articles in Population Biology
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
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 ( …