Water Level Regulation Regime Shifts Drive Divergent Foraging Habitat Use by Wintering Hooded Cranes ( Grus monacha ) in Shallow Gate‐controlled Lakes of the Yangtze Floodplain

ABSTRACT Habitat use is fundamental for animal survival at key life history stages. Understanding how changes in foraging habitat conditions modulate habitat‐use patterns is critical in wildlife conservation. For wintering waterbirds, habitat use is tightly coupled with food abundance and availability, both of which are highly sensitive to water‐level fluctuations. The Hooded Crane ( Grus monacha ) is a flagship wintering wader species found in shallow lakes of the middle‐lower Yangtze River floodplain. However, hydraulic gate‐driven artificial water level regulation has modified food available in foraging habitats, prompting urgent research on species‐specific adaptive habitat utilization strategies. From November 2024 to March 2025, we surveyed the foraging population size and distribution dynamics of Hooded Cranes at Shengjin and Caizi lakes, which are two shallow lakes with contrasting water management regimes. We quantified the relationship between water levels and available habitat area for Hooded Crane, analyzed habitat‐use patterns and preferences, and used Generalized Linear Mixed Models to assess environmental drivers of foraging abundance. The results showed that water level fluctuations influenced natural habitat availability. Habitat use patterns diverged markedly between lakes: At Shengjin Lake, cranes strongly preferred mudflats (75.47% of foraging observations), with abundance driven by food biomass and sediment penetrability ( p < 0.001), supporting the predictions of Optimal Foraging Theory. Conversely, cranes at Caizi Lake relied predominantly on paddy fields (75.97%). Their abundance was co‐determined by food biomass and road proximity. Such patterns align with Risk‐Sensitive Foraging Theory, revealing that cranes accept greater human interference to fulfill energy needs as natural habitats shrink. While temporarily buffering food shortages, this habitat shift increases potential survival costs. This study provides a mechanistic basis for adaptive management trade‐offs in gate‐controlled wetlands and offers critical guidance for conserving endangered wintering waterbirds in the gate‐controlled lakes in Yangtze floodplain.