From a Bird’s Eye View: A Comic on Whooping Crane Migration

 
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. The cranes embark on their migration from Wood Buffalo National Park to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page describes the history of their conservation status in the 1940s, when they were critically endangered.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page describes the history of their conservation status in the 1500s, when they were heavily hunted.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page describes the history of the effects of humans on their habitat.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page describes the history of their conservation status after protections were passed.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page depicts the whooping cranes' recovery from their endangered status.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page mentions various conservation efforts, such as reintroducing cranes and teaching them migration routes using ultralight aircraft.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page describes current migration difficulties such as habitat destruction and climate change.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. On this page, the cranes arrive in their wintering grounds in Aransas National WIldlife Refuge.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page describes current and approaching threats to habitat due to climate change and human influence.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page shows the historic steep decrease and recent recovery of the whooping crane population.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page ends on an optimistic note with a crane chick growing up.
Scientific comic that portrays migration from a whooping crane's perspective. This page shows a whooping crane flying over wetlands, rendered in beautiful colour in stark contrast to the desaturated colours of the rest of the comic.

Client: Professor Shelley Wall
Year: 2021
Media: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator


Comics are a unique approach to scientific communication well-suited for presenting narratives from different points of view and connecting with the audience on a deeper level. This comic looks at migration through a bird’s perspective to show the importance of conserving habitat in their breeding and wintering grounds as well as along their migration route. It also goes through the history of the whooping crane’s conservation status to show how human activity can help or harm.

References

Academic Sources

Austin, J., Hayes, M., & Barzen, J. (2018). Revisiting the Historic Distribution and Habitats of the Whooping Crane. In Nyhus, P. J., French, J. B. Jr., Converse, S. J., Austin, J. E., and Delap, J. H. (Eds.), Whooping Cranes: Biology and Conservation (pp 25-88). Elsevier and Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803555-9.00003-7.
Baasch, D. M., arrell, P. D., Howlin, S., Pearse, A. T., Farnsworth, J. M., & Smith, C. B. (2019). Whooping crane use of riverine stopover sites. PLOS ONE 14(1): e0209612. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209612
Butler, M. J, Metzger, K. L, Harris, G. M. (2017). Are whooping cranes destined for extinction? Climate change imperils recruitment and population growth. Ecol Evol. 7: 2821– 2834. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2892
Chavez-Ramirez, F., Wehtje, W. (2012). Potential Impact of Climate Change Scenarios on Whooping Crane Life History. Wetlands 32: 11-20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-011-0250-z
The Cornell Lab. (2019). Whooping crane: Range map. All About Birds. Retrieved on February 1, 2021, from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whooping_Crane/maps-range
Kauffman, K. (n.d.) Whooping crane: Grus americana. Audubon. Retrieved on February 2, 2021, from https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/whooping-crane
Mueller, T., O’Hara, R. B., Converse, S. J., & Urbanek, R. (2013). Social learning of migratory performance. Science, 341(6149): 999-1002. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1237139
Nyhus, P. J., French, J. B., Converse, S. J., Austin, J. E., & Delap, J. H. (2019). Whooping Cranes: Biology and Conservation. Academic Press. Pages 3-16, 25-88, 90-111, 113-124 ,125-138, and 449-468.
Pearse, A. T., Metzger, K. L., Brandt, D. A., Bidwell, M. T., Harner, M. J., Baasch, D. M., & Harrell, W. (2020). Heterogeneity in migration strategies of Whooping Cranes, The Condor (122)1: 3 February 2020, duz056. https://doi.org/10.1093/condor/duz056
Whooping Crane Conservation Association. (2019). Flock update: December 2019. Whooping Crane Conservation Association. Retrieved on February 1, 2021, from https://whoopingcrane.com/flock-update-december-2019/