Nesting behavior of the broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) during two reproductive seasons

PIERINI, SOFÍA EVELYN; IMHOF, ALBA; PIÑA, CARLOS IGNACIO; LARRIERA, ALEJANDRO

Santa Fe

Congreso; 25th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of IUCN - The International Union for Conservation of Nature; 2018

Crocodile Specialist Group (CSG)-IUCN

Crocodiles show behaviors associated with environmental temperature, includingnesting and parental care. To evaluate nest behavior of the broad-snouted caimanfemales, a video camera was installed in an enclosure with similar conditions to thenatural habitat, at Granja La Esmeralda Experimental Breeding Station in Santa Fe,Argentina. Activities in a nest were recorded 24 hours a day during two reproductiveseasons, between December and March 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 for a total of 4320hours. An ethogram was made and the frequency of each activity was analyzed. Theeffect of environmental variables, time of the day and weekly period on the presence offemales in the nests were analyzed. The observed behaviors were laying, maintenance(digging nest, adding material to the nest, compaction of material), vigilance (aroundand over the nest), aggressive social behaviors (confrontations, persecutions,aggressions) and collaboration in the nesting site. Females attended the nest morefrequently during early morning and night, which corresponds to the lower temperaturesof the day. Visits to the nest were more frequent before the posture and the weekfollowing the event. The appropriate periods by the local people involved in the harvestof eggs corresponds to the period between 11 and 16 h. during the two weeks afterclutch. The described behaviors corresponded with what was observed by other authorsfor other species in the wild.