Relationship between body condition and reproduction

VIOTTO, E.; LEIVA, P. M. L.; SIMONCINI, M. S.; PIÑA, C.I.

Chetumal

Congreso; XXVI Working Meeting Crocodiles Specialist Group - UICN; 2022

Crocodiles Specialist Group - UICN

To know patternsof energy destined to reproduction is necessary to understand reproductiveecology of species. In this work we calculated body condition (BC) index ofreproductive and non-reproductive Caimanlatirostris adult females, as an indication of stored energy. We havecalculated FULTON and Scaled Mass Index (SMI) of 96 adult females, captured since 2001to 2018 (except 2009). Females were considered reproductive (R) if they werecaptured defending a nest or were gravid (n= 75) and non-reproductive (NR) confirmedby echography (n= 21). We tested difference in BC between R and NR females withT test. We also evaluated minimal BC to guaranteed that females beyond thatline are reproductive. Reproductive females had better BCthan non-reproductive ones (in both FULTON and SMI). Our line separate 70% ofthe nesting females. Based on our results we could guarantee that a female willreproduce if her BC is beyond the line, but not all the females under the lineare non-reproductive, indeed a few females under the line nests.