Survival and Growth of American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) hatchlings after artificial incubation and repatriation
2006
Temsiripong, Yosapong | Woodward, Allan R. | Ross, J. Perran | Kubilis, Paul S. | Percival, H. Franklin
Hatchling American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) produced from artificially incubatedwild eggs were returned to their natal areas (repatriated). We compared artificially incubated andrepatriated hatchlings released within and outside the maternal alligator’s home range with naturallyincubated hatchlings captured and released within the maternal alligator’s home range on Lake Apopka,Lake Griffin, and Orange Lake in Florida. We used probability of recapture and total length at approximatelynine months after hatching as indices of survival and growth rates. Artificially incubated hatchlings releasedoutside of the maternal alligator’s home range had lower recapture probabilities than either naturallyincubated hatchlings or artificially incubated hatchlings released near the original nest site. Recaptureprobabilities of other treatments did not differ significantly. Artificially incubated hatchlings wereapproximately 6% shorter than naturally incubated hatchlings at approximately nine months after hatching.We concluded that repatriation of hatchlings probably would not have long-term effects on populationsbecause of the resiliency of alligator populations to alterations of early age-class survival and growth rates ofthe magnitude that we observed. Repatriation of hatchlings may be an economical alternative to repatriationof older juveniles for population restoration. However, the location of release may affect subsequent survivaland growth.
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