Use of opportunistic sightings and expert knowledge to predict and compare Whooping Crane stopover habitat

摘要: Predicting a species' distribution can be helpful for evaluating management actions such as critical habitat designations under the U.S. Endangered Species Act or acquisition and rehabilitation. Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) are one of rarest birds in world, conservation is required to ensure their survival. We developed species model (SDM) that could used inform within state Nebraska (U.S.A.). collated 407 opportunistic Crane group records reported from 1988 2012. Most were contributed by public; therefore, developing an SDM accounted sampling bias was essential because observations at some migration stopover locations may represented. An auxiliary data set, explore influence bias, derived with expert elicitation. Using our SDM, we compared intensively managed area Central Platte River Valley Niobrara National Scenic northern Nebraska. Our results suggest, during peak migration, abundance 262.2 (90% CI 40.2-3144.2) times higher per unit relative River. Although only 2 areas, evaluate any region Furthermore, expert-informed modeling approach applied presence-only when concern knowledge available.