Cannibalism of juveniles may serve to regulate the alligator population on Orange Lake. Vulnerability continued to 140 cm TL (age 6–8 yr). Models relating the probability of tag recovery to the annual probabilities of juvenile survival, cannibalism, tag retention, adult survival, and adult harvest suggested that cannibalism may on average remove 6–7% of the juvenile alligator population annually.
Captive alligators retained 76% of force-fed tags during a 588-d tag-retention trial. Alligator web tags used in mark–recapture studies were found in 12% of 267 stomachs sampled from alligators ≥168 cm TL. Mortality of juvenile (<122 cm total length TL) American Alligators ( Alligator mississippiensis) attributed to cannibalism on Orange Lake, Florida was examined.
0 kommentar(er)
