The Relationship between Nesting Habitat and Hatching Success in Caima latirostris

JUAN PABLO MONTINI, CARLOS I. PIÑA, ALEJANDRO LARRIERA, PABLO SIROSKI, LUCIANO M. VERDADE

PHYLLOMEDUSA

University of São Paulo, Brasil

Lugar: São Paulo, Brasil; Año: 2006 vol. 5 p. 91 - 96

1519-1397

Survivorship of crocodilian hatchlings is not only related with body-size, but also with habitat quality. The Broad-snouted caiman has the ability to use different habitats for nesting in the wild; it has temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) and nesting habitat selection by females can affect sex and other hatchlings characteristics. Here we evaluated reproductive parameters in three nesting habitats: forest, savanna, and floating vegetation. We collected 154 caiman nests during the summer of 2001–2002. Once found by local people, during the first few days after ovoposition, nests were transferred to artificial incubators at Proyecto Yacaré in Santa Fe city, where they were incubated until hatching.  Since natural incubation could masquerade a possible clutch-effect, eggs were collected soon after oviposition and artificially incubated. We found that eggs laid in forest were wider than those laid in savanna, hatching success varied, decreasing from floating vegetation to forest; hatchlings from floating vegetation were the longest in snout vent length but tail length was similar in all the habitats. The present results suggest that female body size could be related to nesting habitat use in crocodilians.