The American Alligator as a Sentinel for the Environmental Status of Southern Wetlands
Abstract
Alligators are the top aquatic predators of Southern wetlands and, unlike birds, they do not readily migrate. The environmental status of an
area is known to affect reproductive parameters of the alligator population.1,2,3,4,5 Thus, an evaluation of the physiological status of the alligator
population in a lake or area of habitat is also an indication of its environmental status. However, capturing and evaluating a sample of adult alligators from a
lake or area may not be practical or desirable for an area the size of the Everglades National Park (500,000 acres). Yet, determining reproductive potential and
egg parameters for this population can easily be done with a minimum of disturbance. Our laboratory uses reproductive potential,1 egg
parameters,1,4 yolk fatty acid profiles,5 embryonic development,6 teratology6 and hatchling growth
performance1,4 to evaluate the status of an alligator population. For the present study, egg parameters were determined over a 4-year period for the
Everglades National Park, over an 11-year period for Southwest Louisiana (Rockefeller Refuge) and over an 11-year period for Lake Griffin. The Rockefeller Refuge
was considered to be a protected, stable, highly productive control area. Lake Griffin in Central Florida is included in the present study because it underwent
severe environmental changes in 1996 and 1997.1 Evidence is presented that reproductive potential and egg parameters are characteristic and relatively
constant for a lake or area; however, changes in the environmental status, as occurred on Lake Griffin in 1996 and 1997 will cause readily detectable changes in
these values. Data is presented suggesting that the environmental changes on Lake Griffin resulted in the introduction of a hepatic toxin into the alligator
population.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported as a part of the ATLSS project of the Dept. of the Interior (USGS) and the National Park Service. The authors
wish to thank Dr. Ruth Elsey of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Florida alligator farmers, the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission
and especially Mr. Arnold M. Brunell, Mr. Lindsey Hoard and Mr. Allen R. Woodward for providing their information and assistance. Mr. Wayne T. McClellan and Mr.
Joseph P. Cardeilhac provided technical assistance.
References
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