A CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DIETS OF WILD AND REINTRODUCED WHOOPING CRANES (GRUS AMERICANA) ...
Grus americana, the Whooping Crane, is an endangered species of crane residing solely within North America. As the result of indiscriminate shooting prior to the 1920s and habitat destruction, population numbers for the Whooping Crane dropped to 21-22 individuals in 1941. Captive breeding began at t...
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | unknown |
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Maryland Shared Open Access Repository
2020
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.13016/m2t4jr-ofnl http://mdsoar.org/handle/11603/18389 |
| Summary: | Grus americana, the Whooping Crane, is an endangered species of crane residing solely within North America. As the result of indiscriminate shooting prior to the 1920s and habitat destruction, population numbers for the Whooping Crane dropped to 21-22 individuals in 1941. Captive breeding began at the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in 1967. In 2001, a second wild migratory population was established using captive-bred Whooping Cranes. These birds breed in Wisconsin and winter in Florida and other southern states. Using proventriculus and ventriculus contents from dead birds collected from the both the new Wisconsin-Florida population – also called the Eastern Migratory Population – and the wild Wood Buffalo-Aransas population, the diets were compared. The wild population consumed beetles, crabs/crayfish, vegetation, seeds, mollusks and unidentified vertebrates. The new population consumed benthic invertebrates, beetles, crabs/crayfish, vegetation, seeds, mollusks and unidentifiable vertebrates. Both ... |
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