Foraging Behavior And Diet Profile Of White-naped Crane In The Incubation Period Of Qixinghe Wetlands

From April to September in2011, a preliminary analysis of the incubation period of White-naped Crane (Grus vipio) in Qixinghe National Nature Reservation, Heilongjiang Province, foraging behavior and food habits has been made which takes the method of Focal Animal Sampling and Fecal Microscopic Analysis, fixing point-observation, sampling and identifying the feeding plant species. The results showed that during the incubation period, the frequency of white-naped cranes’accumulation of foraging per day is averagely lower than those male cranes, and higher than those female cranes. The frequency of average accumulation of male crane per day is27.57±4.99, and the frequency of average accumulation of male crane per day is25.65±4.85. as the time changes, the frequency of daily accumulation becomes less and less. And there is some divergence between the male and female cranes in the daily accumulation, but not very prominent. Different habitats have different frequency of daily accumulation. The frequencies of daily accumulation in farmland, meadow, reed and burning habitat are respectively29.6±11.65,5.17±1.51,46.07±9.55and25.6±6.57. The frequencies of farmland and burning habitats have statistic significance.(T-Test:t=1.639, df=58, sig=0.107).Microscopic analysis showed that during the incubation period, white-naped cranes have feeding21Family and41species of plants, but the ratios of the three stages differ. Gramineae (76.85%) is as the main food. from the categorization of feeding plants, in the incubation period Ⅰ, Gramineae (76.85%) is as the main food, Rosaceae (12.31%) as the main food; in the incubation period Ⅱ, Gramineae (35.72%), Gentianaceae (11.58%) and Cyperaceae (10.14%) are the main food; in the incubation period Ⅲ, Gramineae (33.26%), Gentianaceae (13.84%) and Cyperaceae (9.67%) is the main food. From the species of feeding plants, Zea mays and Phragmites australis are the major source of food in three different stages of the incubation period, in the incubation period Ⅰ, Zea mays (39.84%), Phragmites australis (15.97%), Lepidium ruderale (12.31%) are as their main foods; In the incubation period Ⅱ, Zea mays (8.79%), Phragmites cohlmunis,(9.75%), Gentiana scabra (5.60%) and Balanophora japonica (5.21%) are as the main foods; in the incubation period Ⅲ, Phragmites australis (6.45), Zea mays (5.58%), Menyantehes trifolia (4.87%) and Gentiana scabra (4.80%) are as the main foods.The experiments showed that in the incubation period of three stages, the cranes prefer corn, reeds, etc. as their primary food, but the main nutritional content of food in the incubation period of three stages showed a certain regular pattern. The more frequency of the plants are taken, the higher density of the crude protein and crude fat content are. Through the Analysis of trophic niche in the incubation period of three stages, the result is that the plant species and the number will be increased as the temperature changes, and there will be more rich and wide range of food resources. The research of Foraging behavior and food habits have an important significance to protect the white-naped cranes better, which provides a basis for theoretical suppor to protect the crane and other rare birds in the protected areas and provides scientific guidance for the balance of the ecosystem in Qixinghe Nature Reservation.