Red-Crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) Reproduction Was Improved by Inhibiting Mycotoxins with Montmorillonite in Feed

Abstract

The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is a vulnerable bird species. Mycotoxins are toxic substances produced by filamentous fungi and are considered as naturally unavoidable contaminants in animal feed. Our recent survey indicated that feeds designed for captive red-crowned cranes were contaminated with mycotoxins. This study was conducted to investigate the protective effects of the mycotoxin binder montmorillonite on the reproductive behavior, sex hormone levels, and egg quality of red-crowned cranes. Twelve pairs of G. japonensis were divided into four groups, and each group was fed one of the following: a selected diet (with extra low levels of mycotoxins), a regular diet, a selected diet with 0.5% montmorillonite added, or a regular diet with 0.5% montmorillonite added. Consumption of the regular diet decreased courtship and mating behaviors, testosterone concentration, egg weight, and shell thickness. However, feed supplementation with montmorillonite increased the courtship, mating behaviors and testosterone concentration during the pre-breeding period, as well as egg weight and shell thickness. These findings suggest that the addition of dietary montmorillonite is effective for controlling mycotoxins in the feed, resulting in improvements in reproductive behaviors, testosterone concentrations, and some egg quality parameters of the red-crowned crane.

Retraction of invasiveSpartina alternifloraand its effect on the habitat loss of endangered migratory bird species and their decline in YNNR using remote sensing technology

“…Suaeda salsa vegetation provides a good view of the terrain, without igniting the fear to engage in frequent head‐up vigilance, but has shrunk to a little space of 10 km 2 . Red‐crowned cranes need to continually have to maintain and increase their intake capacity to meet their energy budget (Liu et al., 2020; Li & Ge, 2013). This is important because of their minimal temporal window of foraging opportunities.…”