Fat Deposition and Usage by Arctic-Nesting Sandhill Cranes during Spring

Krapu, Gary L.; Iverson, George C.; Reinecke, Kenneth J.

doi:10.2307/4086780

Cited by 49 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Cranes allocate fewer nutrients to clutch formation than do northern-nesting geese, which gives cranes an advantage in successfully coping with highly variable and often extreme weather conditions encountered on arctic-breeding grounds (Krapu et al 1985: Table 2). Cranes allocate more nutrients than geese toward helping young survive; both crane parents feed their offspring starting at hatch (Walkinshaw 1973) and continue sporadically until independence the following spring.…”

Section: Role Of Staging Areas To Mcpmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the 1970s, fat reserves of MCP sandhill cranes in the CPRV have been synthesized mostly from corn (Reinecke and Krapu 1986) and have served a key role in meeting crane nutrient needs during spring migration and reproduction (Krapu et al 1985). Research showing that corn residues in the CPRV have declined at the time cranes arrive and are scarce when they depart (Pearse et al 2010) suggested cranes may no longer be able to rely exclusively on corn residues for fat synthesis.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We compared crane diets and fat accumulation in the CPRV during springs 1998-1999 and 1978-1979 to evaluate potential effects of declining corn residues on crane nutrition. Also, because a major segment of MCP cranes in the 1970s acquired a significant part of their fat reserves after departing from the CPRV (Krapu et al 1985), we investigated whether the amount of fat cranes accumulated before departing Saskatchewan en route to their breeding grounds had changed since the 1970s. The preference of radio-marked cranes for grasslands relative to other habitats and the disproportionate amount of time spent foraging on macro-invertebrates in grasslands during 1978-1979(Sparling and Krapu 1994 prompted us to evaluate whether cranes continued to exhibit a preference for grassland, and if adult and juvenile sandhill cranes stored protein during their stay.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ecotourism associated with wildlife watching, and particularly the crane spectacle, contributes an estimated $25.1-$53.1 million annually to the economy of Nebraska (Eubanks et al 1998). Studies conducted in the late 1970s documented that MCP cranes staged in the CPRV for about 4 weeks in late winter and early spring (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1981), and fed primarily on corn residues to accumulate large fat reserves, which the birds used during migration to the breeding grounds and reproduction (Krapu et al 1985, Reinecke andKrapu 1986). These studies established the key role of the CPRV in meeting the needs of the MCP during migration and reproduction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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Section: Role Of Staging Areas To Mcpmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

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

Self Cite

109

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This region is an important staging site for sandhill cranes as they amass fat reserves to aid in travelling from their wintering grounds in Texas and Mexico to their breeding grounds in Canada, Alaska and Siberia (Krapu et al, 1985). Waste corn available on agricultural lands adjacent to the Platte River satisfies crane energy and fat storage requirements and invertebrates consumed in grasslands and wet meadows adjacent to the river channel provide for protein and calcium needs (Reinecke and Krapu, 1986).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response of sandhill crane (Grus canadensis) riverine roosting habitat to changes in stage and sandbar morphology

Kinzel

Nelson

Heckman

2009

River Research & Apps

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Over the past century, flow regulation and vegetation encroachment have reduced active channel widths along the central Platte River, Nebraska. During the last two decades, an annual program of in-channel vegetation management has been implemented to stabilize or expand active channel widths. Vegetation management practices are intended to enhance riverine habitats which include nocturnal roosting habitat for sandhill cranes. Evaluating the success of other management treatments such as streamflow modification requires an understanding of how flow shapes the sandbars in the river and how sandbar morphology interacts with flow to create crane habitat. These linkages were investigated along a 1-km managed river reach by comparing the spatial pattern of riverine roosts and emergent sandbars identified with aerial infrared imagery to variables computed with a two-dimensional hydraulic model. Nocturnal observations made multiple years showed that the area and patterns of riverine roosts and emergent sandbars and the densities of cranes within roosts changed with stage. Despite sandbar vegetation management, low flows were concentrated into incised channels rather than spread out over broad sandbars. The flow model was used to compute hydraulic variables for identical streamflows through two sandbar morphologies; one following a period of relatively high flow and the other following the low-flow period. Compared with the simulation using the morphology from the antecedent high flow, the simulation using the morphology from the antecedent low flow produced a smaller quantity of available wetted area. These remote-sensing observations and hydraulic simulations illustrate the importance of considering flow history when designing streamflows to manage in-channel habitat for cranes. Published in

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