Asset Details
Do you wish to reserve the book?
Whooping Crane Chick Survival in the Reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population
Hey, we have placed the reservation for you!
By the way, why not check out events that you can attend while you pick your title.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place the reservation. Kindly try again later.
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
Whooping Crane Chick Survival in the Reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population
Do you wish to request the book?
Whooping Crane Chick Survival in the Reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population
Please be aware that the book you have requested cannot be checked out. If you would like to checkout this book, you can reserve another copy
We have requested the book for you!
Your request is successful and it will be processed during the Library working hours. Please check the status of your request in My Requests.
Oops! Something went wrong.
Looks like we were not able to place your request. Kindly try again later.
Journal Article
Whooping Crane Chick Survival in the Reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population
2025
Overview
The reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) has exhibited appropriate breeding behavior, including pair formation, territory defense, nest building, and fertile egg production. However, recruitment has been lower than what is needed for a self‐sustaining population due to high chick mortality. During 2006–2023, 194 chicks hatched in the EMP, with only 36 surviving to fledging. For the population to succeed without continued releases of captive‐reared individuals, we must develop management strategies that increase recruitment to a level above mortality rates. We examined apparent weekly survival data of wild‐hatched Whooping Crane chicks collected via aerial and ground surveys using radio telemetry from 2006 to 2023. In this study, we explored relationships between chick survival and a host of potentially impactful predictor variables including parental experience, parental life history, habitat, ecoregion, weather, and climate, as well as nest and clutch characteristics using Cox Proportional Hazard Regression Models. Our results indicate that a chick without a sibling has an increased probability of survival. Survival probability also increased with collective parental experience and warm days (> 32°C) during the first 4 weeks after hatch. Our data indicate that parental experience is a reliable predictor of recruitment. Adult survival may therefore be indirectly linked with low chick survival as experienced adults are too often lost from this population. Additionally, our results suggest that efforts to collect a single egg from two‐egg nests may improve weekly survival of Whooping Crane chicks. The reintroduced Eastern Migratory Population (EMP) of Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) has experienced recruitment rates lower than what is needed for a self‐sustaining population due to high colt mortality. We examined weekly survival data of wild‐hatched Whooping Crane colts from 2006 to 2023 and explored relationships with predictor variables including parental experience, habitat, ecoregion, weather, and nest or clutch characteristics. Whether a colt had a sibling, if parents had more experience raising young, and warm days during the first 4 weeks after hatch were reliable predictors of crane colt survival.
