Source:Central Ornithology Publication Office
This is it, kids: official permission to stop listening to what your parents tell you--but only if you're a bird. Many animal parents spend time teaching their young about how to find food and avoid danger, and this usually gives a big boost to their offspring. In a Commentary forthcoming in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, however, Vladimir Dinets of Louisiana State University makes the case that when environmental conditions change, relying on their parents' way of doing things can actually hinder, not help, young cranes.
Only one remaining population of Whooping Cranes is completely descended from wild birds raised by their parents. On both their breeding grounds in Canada and their wintering grounds in Texas, they're very picky about what habitat they use, sticking to a certain type of wetland, and each generation teaches its young to do the same; historically, this type of habitat must be where they've had the most success. However, when captive-reared Whooping Cranes, free of their parents' hang-ups, were released in Louisiana, they moved into a wide variety of human-modified habitats like agricultural fields and suburban ponds, and their flexibility has helped them succeed.
Continued ...
This is it, kids: official permission to stop listening to what your parents tell you--but only if you're a bird. Many animal parents spend time teaching their young about how to find food and avoid danger, and this usually gives a big boost to their offspring. In a Commentary forthcoming in The Condor: Ornithological Applications, however, Vladimir Dinets of Louisiana State University makes the case that when environmental conditions change, relying on their parents' way of doing things can actually hinder, not help, young cranes.
Only one remaining population of Whooping Cranes is completely descended from wild birds raised by their parents. On both their breeding grounds in Canada and their wintering grounds in Texas, they're very picky about what habitat they use, sticking to a certain type of wetland, and each generation teaches its young to do the same; historically, this type of habitat must be where they've had the most success. However, when captive-reared Whooping Cranes, free of their parents' hang-ups, were released in Louisiana, they moved into a wide variety of human-modified habitats like agricultural fields and suburban ponds, and their flexibility has helped them succeed.
Continued ...
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