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Full-Text Articles in Population Biology
Antipredator Training For Captive-Reared Mississippi Sandhill Crane Chicks, Jerome J. Howard, Richard A. Dunn, Scott G. Hereford
Antipredator Training For Captive-Reared Mississippi Sandhill Crane Chicks, Jerome J. Howard, Richard A. Dunn, Scott G. Hereford
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
Captive-bred Mississippi sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis pulla) suffer from low recruitment in nature, and poor nest defense ability may significantly contribute to the problem. We hypothesized that a lack of opportunities for social learning by young birds prior to release inhibits the development of appropriate nest defense in later life. Here we report the results of preliminary experiments on conditioning of antipredator behavior in young birds prior to release using predator models. Observing agonistic displays by either costumed technicians or parent birds toward a model raccoon (Procyon lotor) promoted aggressive displays to a wild raccoon, but …
Mississippi Sandhill Crane Conservation Update 2014-2016, Scott G. Hereford, Angela J. Dedrickson
Mississippi Sandhill Crane Conservation Update 2014-2016, Scott G. Hereford, Angela J. Dedrickson
Proceedings of the North American Crane Workshop
To manage crane habitat during 2014-2016, 5,826 ha were treated with prescribed burns, 298 ha of woody vegetation were removed, 94 ha of invasive plants were chemically treated, and 8 ha of crops were planted. There were 247 predators removed. We acclimated and released 29 captive-reared juveniles. We began testing drones (unmanned aerial systems [UAS]), to locate nests. We detected an average of 34 nests per year with 6 fledglings each year. The December 2016 population was 129 cranes, up 9% from the previous 3 years.