Predicted relative habitat selection for migrating whooping cranes in the United States Great Plains, non-drought

The whooping crane (Grus americana) is a listed, endangered species in North America, protected under federal legislation in the United States and Canada. The only self-sustaining and wild population of Whooping Cranes nests at and near Wood Buffalo National Park near the provincial border of Northwest Territories and Alberta, Canada. Birds from this population migrate through the Great Plains of North America and spend a nonbreeding period along the Gulf Coast of Texas at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding lands. These data represent predictions from a resource selection function using GPS locations between 2010 and 2016 during migration. This surface is a composite of drought and non-drought conditions calculated using the average drought occurrence at each pixel during our study period. Pixel values can be used to represent the relative probability of whooping crane use during migration, based on landscape conditions in 2020. These values should not be interpreted as absolute values of probability of use. See additional information about resource selection functions and interpretation of output as needed.