Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico
Laguna de las Ilusiones is an isolated urban lake in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco in México that retains a population of Morelet´s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii ). During the years 2007 and 2008 we studied 22 natural nests of this species. Most of the nests (53%) were built with vegetal mater...
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| Formáid: | Online |
| Teanga: | spa |
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Instituto de Ecología, A.C.
2011
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| Rochtain ar líne: | https://azm.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/azm/article/view/730 |
| _version_ | 1799770083955834880 |
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| author | López-Luna, Marco A. Hidalgo-Mihart, Mircea G. Aguirre-León, Gustavo |
| author_facet | López-Luna, Marco A. Hidalgo-Mihart, Mircea G. Aguirre-León, Gustavo |
| author_sort | López-Luna, Marco A. |
| collection | AZM |
| description | Laguna de las Ilusiones is an isolated urban lake in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco in México that retains a population of Morelet´s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii ). During the years 2007 and 2008 we studied 22 natural nests of this species. Most of the nests (53%) were built with vegetal material (leaf-litter, stems and thin branches). Also, we recorded human waste as part of the materialsfor nest construction. Mean clutch size was 30.4 ± 10. 8 eggs by nest (nests n = 19, eggs n = 578). Mean egg volume is significantly different among nests, an indication of size differences between the nesting females. Physical characteristics of the nests in 2007-2008 were compared with nests found at the same area during 1991-1994. We found that nest diameter, shore distance and clutch size were significantly higher in 2007-2008. Hatching in Laguna de las Ilusiones was low during 2007-2008 (33.9% ± 31.21) compared with other crocodilians. All new born crocodiles in 2007 and 2008 were males. We discuss how the city may affect the nesting of Morelet´s crocodiles, influencing different aspects such as, theuse of new materials for nest construction, increasing the size of the basal area of the nests, or promoting the search for a nesting site away from the shore. We recommend a management of the crocodiles with female reintroduction and artificial incubation in the Laguna de las Ilusiones to facilitate conservation of this population. |
| format | Online |
| id | azm-article-730 |
| institution | Acta Zoológica Mexicana |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2011 |
| publisher | Instituto de Ecología, A.C. |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | azm-article-7302022-07-11T23:06:44Z Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico Descripción de los nidos del Cocodrilo de pantano Crocodylus moreletii en un paisaje urbanizado en el sureste de México López-Luna, Marco A. Hidalgo-Mihart, Mircea G. Aguirre-León, Gustavo clutch size egg size hatching success neonate sex ratio nesting habitat éxito de eclosión hábitat de anidación tamaño de nidada tamaño de huevo proporción de sexos de neonatos Laguna de las Ilusiones is an isolated urban lake in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco in México that retains a population of Morelet´s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii ). During the years 2007 and 2008 we studied 22 natural nests of this species. Most of the nests (53%) were built with vegetal material (leaf-litter, stems and thin branches). Also, we recorded human waste as part of the materialsfor nest construction. Mean clutch size was 30.4 ± 10. 8 eggs by nest (nests n = 19, eggs n = 578). Mean egg volume is significantly different among nests, an indication of size differences between the nesting females. Physical characteristics of the nests in 2007-2008 were compared with nests found at the same area during 1991-1994. We found that nest diameter, shore distance and clutch size were significantly higher in 2007-2008. Hatching in Laguna de las Ilusiones was low during 2007-2008 (33.9% ± 31.21) compared with other crocodilians. All new born crocodiles in 2007 and 2008 were males. We discuss how the city may affect the nesting of Morelet´s crocodiles, influencing different aspects such as, theuse of new materials for nest construction, increasing the size of the basal area of the nests, or promoting the search for a nesting site away from the shore. We recommend a management of the crocodiles with female reintroduction and artificial incubation in the Laguna de las Ilusiones to facilitate conservation of this population. La Laguna de las Ilusiones es un lago urbano aislado en la ciudad de Villahermosa, Tabasco que mantiene una población de cocodrilo de pantano (Crocodylus moreletii). Durante los años 2007 y 2008 se estudiaron 22 nidos silvestres de esta especie. En la mayoría de los nidos (53%) además de estar construidos con material vegetal (hojas, tallos y ramas delgadas) se registran productos de desechohumano como parte de los materiales para construcción de los nidos, el resto de los nidos está construido como lo descrito en otros trabajos. El tamaño promedio de la nidada es de 30.4 ± 10.8 huevos por nido (nidos n = 19, huevos n = 578). El tamaño y volumen promedio de los huevos es significativamente diferente entre nidos, lo que indica que existen diferencias en los tamaños de las hembras nidificantes. Las características físicas de los nidos en 2007-2008 fueron comparadas con las de otros nidos encontrados en la misma área de estudio en el periodo 1991-1994, encontrando que el diámetro de los nidos, la distancia a la orilla y el tamaño de la nidada son significativamente mayores en 2007-2008. El porcentajede eclosión en 2007-2008 en la Laguna de las Ilusiones es bajo (33.9 ± 31.21) comparado con otras especies de cocodrilianos. El 100% de los neonatos en 2007 y 2008 fueron machos. El efecto de la ciudad posiblemente puede afectar la ecología de la anidación en el cocodrilo de pantano, influyendo en nuevos materiales para la construcción de los nidos, aumentando el tamaño del área basal de los nidos y promoviendo la búsqueda de lugares más alejados de la orilla para la anidación. Debido al fuerte sesgo que existe hacia los machos en los nacimientos, se recomienda un manejo de la de la población de cocodrilos que incluya la reintroducción de hembras e incubación artificial en la Laguna de las Ilusiones que coadyuve a la conservación de esta población en esa área. Instituto de Ecología, A.C. 2011-04-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Original articles Artículos originales application/pdf https://azm.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/azm/article/view/730 10.21829/azm.2011.271730 ACTA ZOOLÓGICA MEXICANA (N.S.); Vol. 27 No. 1 (2011); 1-16 ACTA ZOOLÓGICA MEXICANA (N.S.); Vol. 27 Núm. 1 (2011); 1-16 2448-8445 0065-1737 spa https://azm.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/azm/article/view/730/897 Derechos de autor 2011 ACTA ZOOLÓGICA MEXICANA (N.S.) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | López-Luna, Marco A. Hidalgo-Mihart, Mircea G. Aguirre-León, Gustavo Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico |
| title | Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico |
| title_full | Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico |
| title_fullStr | Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico |
| title_full_unstemmed | Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico |
| title_short | Description of Morelet´s crocodile Crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern Mexico |
| title_sort | description of morelet´s crocodile crocodylus moreletii nests from an urban landscape in southeastern mexico |
| url | https://azm.ojs.inecol.mx/index.php/azm/article/view/730 |
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