Expansion of sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) in east Asia during the non-breeding period

AIM: Historically, the distribution of Sandhill Cranes included much of North America and extending in summer into northeast Russia. In recent years, observations of sandhill cranes in Asia during the non-breeding period have been frequently reported. However, the distribution and abundance of sandhill cranes during the non-breeding period in Asia have rarely been summarized and studied. Our study aimed to analyze the status of sandhill cranes that have spread south into East Asia during the non-breeding period and to assess the possible impacts of their potential spread. METHODS: Based on opportunistic data collected in the field and occurrence data collected online over the past half century, we used Geographic Information System to visualize the spatial distribution changes and regression analysis to analyze and visualize the changes in the amount of individuals over time. RESULTS: In the last 50 years, the distribution of sandhill cranes during the non-breeding season in Asia spanned 31 degrees in longitude to the west and 15 degrees in latitude to the south. Their distribution in Asia has expanded to 17 provinces and municipalities in China, Japan and South Korea. The amount of cranes in the non-breeding period in Asia increased significantly from 1963 to 2017. According to the historical records in East Asia, sandhill cranes were mixed with five other species of crane groups. MAIN CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the range and amount of sandhill cranes have expanded. Sandhill cranes were mixed with five other crane species, which indicate their adaptability to a range of habitat types and food resources. The implications of these trends in sandhill cranes in East Asia for this and other crane species warrants further research.