American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) as restoration bioindicators in the Florida Everglades.

ABSTRACT: The federally threatened American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is a flagship species and ecological indicator of hydrologic restoration in the Florida Everglades. We conducted a long-term capture-recapture study on the South Florida population of American crocodiles from 1978 to 2015 to evaluate the effects of restoration efforts to more historic hydrologic conditions. The study produced 10,040 crocodile capture events of 9,865 individuals and more than 90% of captures were of hatchlings. Body condition and growth rates of crocodiles were highly age-structured with younger crocodiles presenting with the poorest body condition and highest growth rates. Mean crocodile body condition in this study was 2.14±0.35 SD across the South Florida population. Crocodiles exposed to hypersaline conditi

SUBMITTER: Briggs-Gonzalez VS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8133456 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature