16 – Why, what, how much, and is it worth it?^215Box 16.2. Learning to improve the management of the North
American whooping crane: an application of value of
information theory
The North American whooping crane Grus americana is an iconic species that
dwindled to just 21 birds in the early 1900s. A high-profile reintroduction program
reinstated a migrating whooping crane population that moves annually between
Necedeh National Wildlife Refuge (NWR, Wisconsin) and Chassahowitzka NWR
(Florida) (Runge et al. 2011). However, breeding failure in Wisconsin arising from nest
(a)(b)Fig. 16.2. (a) The North American whooping crane (Grus americana). Photo: K. Nigge
of USA Fish and Wildlife Service. (b) The proportion of the total value of information
achieved by using monitoring to discern between each of the hypotheses. Figure
modified from Runge et al. (2011) with permission of authors.