Whooping Crane (Grus americana) use patterns in relation to an ecotope classification in the Central Platte River Valley, Nebraska, USA

Flexible migration and habitat use strategies of an endangered waterbird during hydrological drought

“…Impoundments can be managed for a diversity of wildlife, serving as habitat for breeding and nonbreeding birds (Heitmeyer & Vohs, 1984;Lokemoen, 1973;Nelms et al, 2012). Whooping cranes generally use wetlands with low bank slopes, shallow depth profiles, and wide viewscapes (Austin & Richert, 2005;Baasch et al, 2022;Pearse et al, 2017). Impoundment can alter these preferred ecological conditions by increasing bank slopes and, by association, height of visual obstructions (e.g., vegetation) surrounding the wetland basin as well as influencing the food web (Euliss & Mushet, 2004).…”

“…The study area includes complexes of wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, and rivers that attract millions of migratory waterbirds (Laubhan & Fredrickson, 1997). Whooping cranes preferentially select migratory stopover sites with greater wetland density and use different types of surface water as nightly roosts and diurnal foraging sites during migration (Baasch et al, 2019;Ellis et al, 2022;Pearse et al, 2017). We identified 4 regions within our study area for analyses, based on similarity in wetland density, level of land use change, and latitudinal gradient which influences baseline climactic conditions (La Sorte et al, 2014; Figure 1): (1) the Boreal Transition Zone (BTZ); (2) Northern Great Plains (NGP); (3) Central Great Plains (CGP); and (4) Southern Great Plains (SGP).…”