Molt Timing And Habitat Distribution Of White-Naped Crane (Grus Vipio) Based On Field Observation And GPS-GSM Tracking

Molt,breeding,and migration are the three main events in the yearly cycles of migrant birds.Comparing with the study of breeding and migration,the exact molting time and sites of most birds still lack records.This study tracked 40 White-naped Cranes(Grus vipio)(21 adult birds during the molting period,19 juveniles born in 2018)in the wetland along the Kerulen and Ulz rivers in the Dornod Province of Mongolia from May to August 2018,and recorded the feathers of each individual.Using the time series clustering method to analyze the 2018-2019 satellite tracking data,we obtained the molting end time of 2018 adult individuals,the molting period and sites of 2019 adult and sub-adults(Juvenile in 2018),and calculated the daily activity area and distance during the molting period and non-molting period.Combined with the 27 environmental variables from the public open data platform,this study establishes species distribution models for the White-naped Crane.Based on the field survey,this study found that the White-naped Crane completely lost its primaries and secondaries during the molt.The molting mode was complete molt,adult females molt earlier than males.Breeding individuals will molt after the chick is born,the breeding and molting periods overlap.Based on the analysis of satellite tracking data,the molting period of White-naped Crane is from July to August.The sub-adult,female,and male have different molting times,and the average molting time period is 17 days.There was a significant difference between the average daily activity area and distance during the molting period and the non-molting period(P<0.05).The results of the species distribution model show that the model performs well(AUC=0.991).The White-naped Crane mainly molt in Khan Khentii Strictly Protected Area in Mongolia;Dauria on the border of Mongolia and China;the wetlands along the Kerulen River and Ulz River;the southeastern shore of Baikal Lake in Russia;Xilin Gol League in Inner Mongolia,China.Landcover,bio?12,and bio?2 was the most significant factor in determining White-naped Crane molting habitat selection.This study showed an effective method for determination the molting period of White-naped Crane,which can be applied to other satellite tracking crane molting studies.