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Variation in Nest Temperatures of the American Alligator Found on the Kennedy Space Center Merritt Island National Wildlife RefugeInformation on nest temperatures of the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) constructed in the wild is limited. Nesting temperatures during a critical thermal sensitive period determine the sex of alligators and are therefore critical in establishing the sex biases in recruitment efforts of alligators within a given community. Nest components, varying environmental conditions, and global warming could have a significant impact on nest temperatures, thus affecting future generations of a given population. One hundred and seventy four programmable thermistors were inserted into fifty eight nests from 2010 through 2015 nesting cycles. Three thermistors were placed inside each nest cavity (one on top of the eggs, one in the middle of the eggs, and one at the bottom of the clutch of the eggs) to collect temperature profiles in the incubation chamber and throughout the entire incubation period. One thermistor was also placed near or above these nests to obtain an ambient air temperature profile. Once retrieved, data from these thermistors were downloaded to examine temperature profiles throughout the incubation period as well as during the period of sexual determination. These data would help establish survival rates related to nest temperature and predict sex ratio of recruited neonates at the Kennedy Space Center. Over three million temperatures have been recorded since 2010 for the alligator thermistor study giving us insight to the recruitment efforts found here. Precipitation was the largest influence on nesting temperatures outside of daily photoperiod, with immediate changes of up to eight degrees Celsius.
Document ID
20160006597
Acquisition Source
Kennedy Space Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Lowers, Russell
(Integrated Mission Support Services, LLC Merritt Island, FL, United States)
Guillette, Louis J.
(Medical Univ. of South Carolina Charleston, SC, United States)
Weiss, Stephanie
(Integrated Mission Support Services, LLC Merritt Island, FL, United States)
Date Acquired
May 25, 2016
Publication Date
May 23, 2016
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Report/Patent Number
KSC-E-DAA-TN31423
Meeting Information
Meeting: Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist Group
Location: Sakuza
Country: South Africa
Start Date: May 23, 2016
End Date: May 27, 2016
Sponsors: International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNK16OB01C
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
Alligator
sex biases
Temperature
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