Joe Duff Co-founder and CEO Operation Migration History Aransas - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Mar 19, 2023 427 likes •533 views

Joe Duff Co-founder and CEO Operation Migration History Aransas Wood Buffalo Population Down to 15 in the 1940's (pop = 329) Grays Lake Cross Fostering program 1975 to 1989 (pop= 0) Florida Non-Migratory Population 1993 to 2005 (pop = 14)

SLIDE 1

Joe Duff

Co-founder and CEO Operation Migration

SLIDE 2

Aransas Wood Buffalo Population Down to 15 in the 1940's (pop = 329) Grays Lake Cross Fostering program 1975 to 1989 (pop= 0) Florida Non-Migratory Population 1993 to 2005 (pop = 14) Eastern Migratory Population Began in 2001 (pop = 101) Louisiana Non-Migratory Population Began in 2010 (pop = 57)

History

SLIDE 3

Threats to Critical Habitat

Aransas National Wildlife Refuge

Sea level rise
Land subsidence
Human encroachment
Reduced blue crab populations
Reduced fresh water inflows from the

Guadalupe River

Invasive species (black mangrove)
Chemical spills
Avian Disease
Catastrophic weather events

SLIDE 4

Eastern Migratory Population

There are now 100 migratory Whooping cranes in the eastern flyway The first in over 100 years

SLIDE 5

One More Challenge

Successes:

High survival rate
Proper migration behavior
Human avoidance
Appropriate habitat selection
Pairing and mating with conspecifics
Produce healthy, fertile eggs

Challenges:

Nest abandonment due to blackflies
High-post hatch / pre-fledge mortality

SLIDE 6

Causes of Low Reproduction

SLIDE 7

Education and Outreach

First, live streaming camera

f nesting Whooping cranes

Second, live streaming camera

f the costume-reared cohort

SLIDE 8

A Busy Season

Parent Rearing up to 15 young-of-year chicks Costume Rearing up to 8 young-of-year chicks Investigating the cause of pre-fledge mortality at Necedah NWR Monitoring nesting pairs and adoptions from the air and the ground Providing the first live coverage of nesting Whooping cranes

SLIDE 9