Habitat Use by Migrant Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska

Krapu, Gary L.; Facey, Douglas E.; Fritzell, Erik K.; Johnson, Douglas H.

doi:10.2307/3801172

Cited by 51 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Roosting densities of cranes and other migratory birds within the central Platte River has increased in recent years as a result of lower flows and habitat degradation caused by drought-driven agricultural management decisions over the last decades (Krapu et al 1984;Faanes and LeValley 1993;Kinzel et al 2005). In addition, loss of wet meadows, which at one time were another prime location for crane roosting, have mostly been drained and cultivated for agricultural production within the last 40-50 years.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) on Microbial Water Quality in the Central Platte River, Nebraska, USA

Vogel

Griffin

et al. 2013

Water Air Soil Pollut

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) on Microbial Water Quality in the Central Platte River, Nebraska, USA

Vogel

Griffin

et al. 2013

Water Air Soil Pollut

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“…and they are rarely seen where the channel is less than 150 ft wide [31]. The same number of cranes in a smaller area results in crowding.…”

Section: Major Issues and Findings In The Central Nebraska Basins Stumentioning

confidence: 99%

Water quality in the central Nebraska basins, Nebraska, 1992-95

Frenzel¹,

Swanson²,

Huntzinger³

et al. 1998

Circular

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“…He also noted that although thousands of sandhill cranes still staged in the Cozad area in 1954, this was the last report of significant crane use west of Lexington on the Platte River. Studies in the 1970s revealed cranes avoided channel widths of <50 m in the CPRV (Krapu et al 1984), suggesting that reduction in channel width was a major cause of cranes abandoning the upper Platte River.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spring migration ecology of the mid‐continent sandhill crane population with an emphasis on use of the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska

Krapu

Brandt

Kinzel

et al. 2014

Wildlife Monographs

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109

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We conducted a 10-year study (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) of the Mid-Continent Population (MCP) of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) to identify spring-migration corridors, locations of major stopovers, and migration chronology by crane breeding affiliation (western Alaska-Siberia [WA-S], northern Canada-Nunavut [NC-N], west-central Canada-Alaska [WC-A], and east-central Canada-Minnesota [EC-M]). In the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) of Nebraska, we evaluated factors influencing staging chronology, food habits, fat storage, and habitat use of sandhill cranes. We compared our findings to results from the Platte River Ecology Study conducted during [1978][1979][1980]. We determined spring migration corridors used by the breeding affiliations (designated subpopulations for management purposes) by monitoring 169 cranes marked with platform transmitter terminals (PTTs). We also marked and monitored 456 cranes in the CPRV with very high frequency (VHF) transmitters to evaluate length and pattern of stay, habitat use, and movements. An estimated 42% and 58% of cranes staging in the CPRV were greater sandhill cranes (G. c. tabida) and lesser sandhill cranes (G. c. canadensis), and they stayed for an average of 20 and 25 days (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007), respectively. Cranes from the WA-S, NC-N, WC-A, and EC-M affiliations spent an average of 72, 77, 52, and 53 days, respectively, in spring migration of which 28, 23, 24, and 18 days occurred in the CPRV. The majority of the WA-S subpopulation settled in the CPRV apparently because of inadequate habitat to support more birds upstream, although WA-S cranes accounted for >90% of birds staging in the North Platte River Valley. Crane staging duration in the CPRV was negatively correlated with arrival dates; 92% of cranes stayed >7 days. A program of annual mechanical removal of mature stands of woody growth and seedlings that began in the early 1980s primarily in the main channel of the Platte River has allowed distribution of crane roosts to remain relatively stable over the past 2 decades. Most cranes returned to nocturnal roost sites used in previous years. Corn residues dominated the diet of sandhill cranes in the CPRV, as in the 1970s, despite a marked decline in standing crop of corn residues. Only 14% (10 of 74) of PTT-marked migrant cranes stayed at stopovers for !5 days before arriving in the CPRV, which limited the contribution of sites south of the CPRV for fat accumulation needed for migration and reproduction. Body masses of cranes (after adjusting for body size [an index of fat]) at arrival in the CPRV varied widely among years (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006), indicating the importance of maintaining productive habitats on the wintering grounds to condition cranes for migration and reproduction. Average rates of fat gain by adult females while in the CPRV remained similar from 1978-1979 to 1998-1999 but declined among males. Distances cranes flew to feeding grounds in the C...

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Habitat Use by Migrant Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska

Cited by 51 publications

References 7 publications

Impacts of Migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) on Microbial Water Quality in the Central Platte River, Nebraska, USA

Impacts of Migratory Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) on Microbial Water Quality in the Central Platte River, Nebraska, USA

Water quality in the central Nebraska basins, Nebraska, 1992-95

Spring migration ecology of the mid‐continent sandhill crane population with an emphasis on use of the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska

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