Identifying the migratory strategy of the Lower Colorado River Valley population of Greater Sandhill Cranes

Conring, Courtenay M.; Brautigam, Kathryn; Grisham, Blake A.; Collins, Daniel P.; Conway, Warren C.

doi:10.5751/ace-01352-140111

Cited by 6 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Stopover sites identified in this manner were used consistently with >98% of locations occupied over multiple migrations. Overall stopover distribution and use were consistent with a hopping migration strategy observed in LCRV sandhill cranes (Conring et al 2019) where birds tend to travel relatively short distances before stopping due to availability of predictable food resources and/or loafing and roost locations (Warnock 2010). We acknowledge that stochastic events such as weather or hunting had the potential to influence stopover durations; however, the consistency of stopover reuse suggests these factors were limited in structuring broader network movements.…”

Section: Movement Classificationsupporting

confidence: 69%

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Migration efficiency sustains connectivity across agroecological networks supporting sandhill crane migration

et al. 2021

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Preserving avian flyway connectivity has long been challenged by our capacity to meaningfully quantify continental habitat dynamics and bird movements at temporal and spatial scales underlying long-distance migrations. Waterbirds migrating hundreds or thousands of kilometers depend on networks of wetland stopover sites to rest and refuel. Entire populations may rely on discrete wetland habitats, particularly in arid landscapes where the loss of limited stopover options can have disproportionately high impacts on migratory cost. Here, we examine flyway connectivity in water-limited ecosystems of western North America using 108 GPS tagged greater sandhill cranes. Bird movements were used to reconstruct wetland stopover networks across three geographically unique sub-populations spanning 12 U.S.-Mexican states and Canadian provinces. Networks were monitored with remote sensing to identify long-term trends in wetland and agricultural resources supporting migration and evaluated using network theory and centrality metrics as a measure of stopover site importance to flyway connectivity. Sandhill crane space use was analyzed in stopover locations to identify important ownership and landscape factors structuring bird distributions. Migratory efficiency was the primary mechanism underpinning network function. A small number of key stopover sites important to minimizing movement cost between summering and wintering locations were essential to preserving flyway connectivity. Localized efficiencies were apparent in stopover landscapes given prioritization of space use by birds where the proximity of agricultural food resources and flooded wetlands minimized daily movements. Model depictions showing wetland declines from 16% to 18% likely reflect a new normal in landscape drying that could decouple agriculture-waterbird relationships as water scarcity intensifies. Sustaining network resilience will require conservation strategies to balance water allocations preserving agricultural and wetlands on private lands that accounted for 67-96% of habitat use. Study outcomes provide new perspectives of agroecological relationships supporting continental waterbird migration needed to prioritize conservation of landscapes vital to maintaining flyway connectivity.

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Section: Movement Classificationsupporting

confidence: 69%

“…S3) suggested our network encompassed the majority of stopover locations. Stopover sites identified were predictive of all previously known stopover locations within the study area (Drewien and Bizeau 1974, Nowak et al 2018, Thorpe et al 2018, Conring et al 2019.…”

Section: Movement Classificationmentioning

confidence: 88%

Migration efficiency sustains connectivity across agroecological networks supporting sandhill crane migration

et al. 2021

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“…This analysis is one piece of a project that has looked at different variables throughout the entire annual cycle of LCRVP cranes: winter home range and resource use, migration strategy and timing, and discovered new summering areas of LCRVP cranes (Collins et. al 2015;Conring 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…It allows managers to identify geographic ranges, conserve critical resources, understand the consequences of management actions, and map current and potential distributions of animals on the basis of resource selection model outputs and predictions (Fielding and Bell 1997;McClean et al 1998;McDonald and McDonald 2002;Millspaugh et al 2006). For most bird species, resource selection varies seasonally on the basis of shifts in habitat availability and quality, behavior, and nutritional needs to support energetically costly behaviors (e.g., reproduction, molting, or migration;Cody 1985;McLoughlin et al 2010;Conring 2016). Resource use and selection studies of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) have mainly been conducted in staging areas such as the Platte River in Nebraska, overwintering areas such as the Texas Southern High Plains, Texas Coast, Southern California, and Arizona, or on breeding ranges in Oregon and the Arctic (Krapu et al 1984;Iverson et al 1985;Norling et al 1992;Baker et al 1995;Littlefield 1995;Conring 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For most bird species, resource selection varies seasonally on the basis of shifts in habitat availability and quality, behavior, and nutritional needs to support energetically costly behaviors (e.g., reproduction, molting, or migration;Cody 1985;McLoughlin et al 2010;Conring 2016). Resource use and selection studies of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) have mainly been conducted in staging areas such as the Platte River in Nebraska, overwintering areas such as the Texas Southern High Plains, Texas Coast, Southern California, and Arizona, or on breeding ranges in Oregon and the Arctic (Krapu et al 1984;Iverson et al 1985;Norling et al 1992;Baker et al 1995;Littlefield 1995;Conring 2016). However, little research has been conducted on greater sandhill cranes (A. c. tabida; hereafter crane[s]), particularly on their summer areas in the Intermountain West (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) (Tacha et al 1992;August 2011;Collins et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Summer Habitat Selection of the Lower Colorado River Valley Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes

Kruse

Collins

Conring

et al. 2017

Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management

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Identifying habitat selection and use is important to understand in wildlife management because it informs habitat manipulations, conservation efforts, and species distribution. Habitat selection by sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) has been studied primarily on overwintering areas and a few summering locations. Summer habitat selection by the Lower Colorado River Valley Population of greater sandhill cranes (A. c. tabida) in the Intermountain West is not widely known, but has been identified as an information need by many wildlife management agencies. We captured and attached satellite platform transmitter terminals to 21 adult sandhill cranes on Cibola and Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuges in Arizona and California, and private lands in California and Idaho. Home ranges of all marked cranes (50% core area: x̄ = 525.4 ha, SE = 155.6; 99% isopleth: x̄ = 6,476.5 ha, SE = 1,637.5) were similar to other studies on summering grounds. Resource analysis indicated that marked sandhill cranes used wetland habitats in greater proportion than their availability for both nocturnal and diurnal locations at the population level, by individuals within the entire landscape, and by individuals within their core area. Wetland habitats consist of ∼7% of the available habitat. Within the Wetland category, the Temperate Flooded and Swamp Forest level (a Formation level in the National Vegetation Classification system) was the most important to summering Lower Colorado River Population sandhill cranes. Wetland managers can concentrate their efforts for conservation, enhancement, and restoration on these type of wetlands to ensure the sustainability of this small population of sandhill cranes.

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Flood‐irrigated agriculture mediates climate‐induced wetland scarcity for summering sandhill cranes in western North America

Donnelly,

Collins,

Knetter

et al. 2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Information about species distributions is lacking in many regions of the world, forcing resource managers to answer complex ecological questions with incomplete data. Information gaps are compounded by climate change, driving ecological bottlenecks that can act as new demographic constraints on fauna. Here, we construct greater sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis tabida) summering range in western North America using movement data from 120 GPS‐tagged individuals to determine how landscape composition shaped their distributions. Landscape variables developed from remotely sensed data were combined with bird locations to model distribution probabilities. Additionally, land‐use and ownership were summarized within summer range as a measure of general bird use. Wetland variables identified as important predictors of bird distributions were evaluated in a post hoc analysis to measure long‐term (1984–2022) effects of climate‐driven surface water drying. Wetlands and associated agricultural practices accounted for 1.2% of summer range but were key predictors of occurrence. Bird distributions were structured by riparian floodplains that concentrated wetlands, and flood‐irrigated agriculture in otherwise arid and semi‐arid landscapes. Findings highlighted the role of private lands in greater sandhill crane ecology as they accounted for 78% of predicted distributions. Wetland drying observed in portions of the range from 1984 to 2022 represented an emerging ecological bottleneck that could limit future greater sandhill crane summer range. Study outcomes provide novel insight into the significance of ecosystem services provided by flood‐irrigated agriculture that supported nearly 60% of wetland resources used by birds. Findings suggest greater sandhill cranes function as a surrogate species for agroecology and climate change adaptation strategies seeking to reduce agricultural water use through improved efficiency while also maintaining distinct flood‐irrigation practices supporting greater sandhill cranes and other wetland‐dependent wildlife. We make our wetland and sandhill crane summering distributions available as interactive web‐based mapping tools to inform conservation design.

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Identifying the migratory strategy of the Lower Colorado River Valley population of Greater Sandhill Cranes

Cited by 6 publications

References 24 publications

Migration efficiency sustains connectivity across agroecological networks supporting sandhill crane migration

Migration efficiency sustains connectivity across agroecological networks supporting sandhill crane migration

Summer Habitat Selection of the Lower Colorado River Valley Population of Greater Sandhill Cranes

Flood‐irrigated agriculture mediates climate‐induced wetland scarcity for summering sandhill cranes in western North America

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