Ricg K. G. 1996. D''namics Ofexploitation on the Amedcan
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Ricg K. G. 1996.D''namics ofexploitation on the Amedcanalligator: envionmental contarninantsand harvest. PhD Diss. Univ. ofE. 165pp. Rice, K. G. andH. F. Percival,eds. 1996.Etrects ofenvironmental contaminants on the demographicsand reproduction oflake Apopka's alligatorsand other taxa.Fla. Coop.Fish and Wildl. Res. Unit, U.S. Biol. Serv.Tech. Rep. 53. 85 pp. SAS Institute Inc. 1988.SAS/STAT user's guidg release6.03 edition. SAS Institute Inc.,Cary, NC. 1028pp. U.S.E.P.A.1994. Biological assessment: Tower Chemical Superfund Site. United States EPA Region4, Atlanta, GA. 21 pp. Webb,G. J. W., S. C. Manolis,and P. J. Whitehead.1987. Crocodile manag€mert in the Northem Terdtory ofAustalia. Pages107-124. tz G.J.W.Webb, S.C.Ir{anolis, and P.J.Whitehead, eds. Wildlife manag€ment- crocodilesand alligators.Chipping Nortor\ New SouthWales. Australia. woodward, A. R., M. L. Jennings,and H. F. Percival. 1989.Egg collectingand hatch ratesofAmerican alligator eggsin Flodda.Wildl. Soc.Bull. l'l . 124-130. Woodward,A. R. andw. R. Marion. 1978.An evaluationofnight-light aountsof alligators. Proc. Annu. Conf Southeast.Assoc. Fish andWildl. Agencies 32. 291-302. woodward, A. R., and C. T. Moore. 1990.Statewide alligator surveys.Bureau Wildl. Res.,Fla. Gameand FreshWater Fish Comm.,Tallahassee. Final Rep. 24 pp. Woodward,A. R., H. F. Percival,M. L. Jenningsand C. T. Moore.1993. Low clutch viability ofAmerican alligatorson Lake Apopka. Fl. Scient.56:52-64. 201 --1 E 099 EI s<- -oolcr.o* ': \o 6 : S !- le.rY -i;: "sl lI1qi .- .i ol Orct6 $5ee 9=3 ? {l ;l -o -ot @ .\ co qn 91 -.r 6i *l ohi{' ,i:I o c.r ri *r oiri^ *vi,{ F6TY/ .Et :- >l 00 o -,i .o-P \oo.= 9vt: oo:/ SE ooo9! -34 Z6A e 9? -ii <c .! b !v t< < i -t: dod b B 202 Table2. Mean densities,trcnds, and regressionresults for lakesApopka andWoodrufffrom 1980-1995.All trendsadjusted for waterlevel effects. Year Studyarca Density Est.pop. Sizeclass (cm) (#/km) Change(%) Trendlyr Ridj Woodruff (n=26) 30-121 6.19 +183 0.108 0.001 0.717 122-182 1.59 +140 0.086 0.001 0.677 9.88 +l2l 0.081 0.001 0.609 183b 2.10 +44 0.033 0.003 0.347 Apopka (n=26) 30-121" 4.30 +480 0.291 0.010 0.780 122-182 1.00 +4 -0.007 0.780 0.004 7.18 +160 0.159 0.010 0.868 183 1.89 +20 0.006 0."134 0.005 'Representsthe total population. h.epresentstotal adults. cResultsreoresent most recent trend. 1989-1995- 203 : 0.0l6dbe\ - 0 644{rid.r' 69.309ifFr \ 1939 P<0.01 : 7&,t19 + 0.r1(tiac+&9!rr) ifFr > 1939 <5 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 t9m 1992 r994 1996 Year Figure l. Population trends for 0.3-1.2malligalors basedon night-light srrn eys conducted on Lake Apopka fiom 1980-1995. Counts adjustedfor water level. h(Mr)= -3.20+ 0.r1(Fe) 13 <5 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 r994 1996 Year Figure2. Populationtrends for 0.3-1.2malligaon basedon nightJightsurveys conducted on I-akeWoodrufffrom 1981-1995.Cornts adiustgd for q,aterlevel. 0.8 T 0.018(t'oe)- 0.Itqrirc) + 0.753ifFr < 1933 0.7 P= 0.05 1,..203+ O,074rirrc+4,98nif}€r > r9d8 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 (J 0.2 0.1 0 1982 Figure 3. Trendsfor clutch viabilit basedo! alligator egg collectionsfrom L€ke Apopka from 1983-1995.IIr fomul4 clutch viability ratesare arcsine squareroottrarsfomed. 0-9 0.8 I 0.7 I 06 t- 0.5 0.4 0_3 02 t- 0.t 0 t9a2 Figure 4. Trendsfur proportionofclutches which produc€no ha&hlingsbased on alligator egg colleclionsfiom l-ake Apopkafiom 1983-1995.In formul4 proportion is arcsinesouareroot transfomgd. 205 A Population Study of Morelet,s crocodite (qlglgdylg! moreletii) in the New Riyer Watershed ofNorthern Belize ThomasR. Rainwaterl,Steven G. platt2,and Scoft T. McMurryl tThe Institute of Environmentaland HumanHealth, Deparhnent of Biological Scrences, TexasTech University, 1207 cilbert 'Wildlife. Dr., Lubbock,TX, 79416,USA. ConservationSociety, Lamanai Field ResearchCenter, hdian ChurchVillage, OrangeWalk Disrdc! Belize ABSTRACT Recentstudi€s suggest that in the absenceof commercialover-exploitation and habitatloss, Morelet's crocodileG. moFletiil populationsin northemBelize faceno imnediate threats.However, Q. morelaii eggscollected ftom a lagoonin northem Belize werefound to contain the insecticideDDT, suggestinga potentialhealth threat to crocodilesinhabiting the lagoon. A study was initiated in 1996to examinethe populationstatus ofg. moreletii in northemBelize andto assessexpostue and effectsof environmentalconlaminants, particularly pesticides,on crocodileswithin the study area. The New River watershedwas selectedas a referencesite and variousecological and toxicological endpointsare cunently being examined.The purpose ofthis paperis to presentpopulation data generatgd on e. moreletii in the New River watershedand to discussfutule researchdilections corceming exposureand response of crocodilesto environmentalcontaminants in northem Belize. Sizeclass distribution for C. moreletii variedamong years and no hatchlingswere observed in 1997and fe9e. Unusualyhllfr water levels in 1997may haveprcvented females ftom oestingor flooded existing nesls. A]l overall populationsex ratio of 1:3 (femalesto males)was observed,but the reason for this male-biasedratio is urlclear. A rotal of 199crocodiles was observedalong 395.25km (0.50 crocodileslkm)of shorelineduring spotlight surveysin 1997and 1998. Highestdensities were observedduiing drier months,suggesting that qocodiles disperseinlo flooded woodlandsand savannasduring wetterpedods. Efforts are currentlyrmderway to examineexposure ofe. moreletii to environmentalcont2minants in northernBelize and assessrcsulting effectsat both the individual andpopulation levels. INTRODUCTION Morelet's crocodile(Crocodvlus moreletii) is a medium-sized,freshwater crocodilefound in the Atlantic lowlandsof Belize. Guatemala-and Mexico (Croombridge,1 987)- I! Belize, it is commonlyconfused with the American crocodile G, @U$ wherethe two occur slmpatrically in coastalhabitats (Platt and Thorbjamarson,1997). Both C. moreletii atd C. acutusare curcndy listed as endangeredunder the United StatesEndangered Species Act and includedon Appendix 206 I ofthe CITES (Conventionon IntematiotralTrade in EndangeredSpecies ofFlora and Fauna)treaty (Thorbjama$on, 1992). Commercialcrocodile hunting began in Belize in the late 1930'sand 1940'sas the importanceof forcst prcductsin the local economydeclined (Hope and Abercrombie,1986). Subsequentover-harvesting led to the depletionofboth Q. moreletii and C. acutuspopulations (Chamock-Wilson, 1970). Crocodileskins werc sold to buyersin villages and larger towns, and after progressingthrough a chain of middlemeq exportedto Europefor processing(Abercrombie et al., 1982;Hope and Abercrombie,1986). Unfoftunately,quantitative survey data ftom this period are lacking andthe practiceof categorizingboth spottedcat and clocodile skins as simply "hides and skins" in governrnenttrade statisticsmakes it difficult to determinepast levels ofexploitation (Frost, 1974;Abercrombie et a1.,1982; Hope and Abercrombie, 1986). Furthermore,a cbnsidenblenumber of crocodileswere shotby sport hunters and memben of the British milit ry garrison,and an unknownnunber of skins were expodedillegally ( Chamock-Wilson,1970). By the 1960's,both Q. moreletii and C. acutuswere neady extirpatedftom Belize (Chamock-Wilson,1970; Neill, 1971).However, e. moreletii was affordedlegal protectionunder the Wildlife Protectior Act of 1981(Marin, 1981)and subsequendy, substantialpopulation increases have occurred in nor0rcmBelize suggestingrecovery &om pastover-exploitation (Platt, 1996). Curently, in the absenceof organized commercialhunting and habitatdestuction (MyeN, 1993),there appearsto be no immediatethreat to the continuedsurvival Q. Se!919!i in noithem Belize @latt I 996). Although C. morcletii populationsin northemBelize seeminglyface no iimediate tbreats,exposure to environmentalcontaminants, padicularly pesticides, may presetrta subdeyet significantlong-term threat to populationsin celtain ateas. Although most industrializedcounuies impose restrictions on the useand disposalof pesticidesand other toxic substances,regulations goveming the production"distributioq and useof chemicalsin many developingcotmtries are scant or inadequatelyenforced (Munay, 1994).Laxge quadities ofchemicals areroutinely usedin the tropics for agriculture,mining, crop storage,alld vector control (Incher and Goldstein,1997) at comparableor higherrutes thatr those in developedcountries (Castillo et al., 1997). In addition,many compoundsbamed in most industrializedcountries are cod[nonly used in topical areas. DDT is readily availablein many SouthAsian countries(Mengech et a1.,1995) aud is reportedlyused for pestcotrtrol in sollle coudries in CentxalAmenca. ln CentralAmeric4 no training or certifiaationis requiredfor a personto buy or apply pesticidcs(Castillo et al., 1997).Over 300 pesticidesare curently rcgisteredwith the PesticideConhol Board for usein Belize (Hagert, 1997). Although aot officially regisler€d,DDT is still usedin homesand businessesfor malariacontrol (Hagert,pers comm) andillegal useofDDT and other chemicalsfor agriculturalpurposes may also occur. we found contaminants,including DDT and/orits breakdow! products,DDE and DDD, in C. moreletii eggsfrom threelagoons in northemBelize (Rainwateret al , unpubl data). ExposureofAmerican alligators(Allieator mississiopiensis)to theseand other organochlorine(OC) chemicalsin Lake Apopk4 Flodda (Heinz et al.' 1991)is thoughtto be at leastpartly responsiblefor numeiousrcproductive effects including low egg viability (Guillette et al., 1994;Woodward e1al., 1993),reduced n€onatal survival (Guillette et al., 1994),altercd steroid hormone