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Whooping crane stopover site use intensity within the Great Plains

Open-File Report 2015-1166
Prepared in collaboration with the Canadian Wildlife Service, Crane Trust, Platte River Recovery Implementation Program, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
By: , , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151166

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Abstract

Whooping cranes (Grus americana) of the Aransas-Wood Buffalo population migrate twice each year through the Great Plains in North America. Recovery activities for this endangered species include providing adequate places to stop and rest during migration, which are generally referred to as stopover sites. To assist in recovery efforts, initial estimates of stopover site use intensity are presented, which provide opportunity to identify areas across the migration range used more intensively by whooping cranes. We used location data acquired from 58 unique individuals fitted with platform transmitting terminals that collected global position system locations. Radio-tagged birds provided 2,158 stopover sites over 10 migrations and 5 years (2010–14). Using a grid-based approach, we identified 1,095 20-square-kilometer grid cells that contained stopover sites. We categorized occupied grid cells based on density of stopover sites and the amount of time cranes spent in the area. This assessment resulted in four categories of stopover site use: unoccupied, low intensity, core intensity, and extended-use core intensity. Although provisional, this evaluation of stopover site use intensity offers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and partners a tool to identify landscapes that may be of greater conservation significance to migrating whooping cranes. Initially, the tool will be used by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other interested parties in evaluating the Great Plains Wind Energy Habitat Conservation Plan.

Suggested Citation

Pearse, A.T., Brandt, D.A., Harrell, W.C., Metzger, K.L., Baasch, D.M., and Hefley, T.J., 2015, Whooping crane stopover site use intensity within the Great Plains: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1166, 12 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151166.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Summary
  • References Cited
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Whooping crane stopover site use intensity within the Great Plains
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2015-1166
DOI 10.3133/ofr20151166
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
Description v, 12 p.
Time Range Start 2010-01-01
Time Range End 2014-12-31
Country Canada, United States
State Alberta, Iowa, Kansas, Manitoba, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Northwest Territories, Oklahoma, Saskatchewan, South Dakota, Texas
Other Geospatial Great Plains
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details