Population assessment of the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus (Crocodilia: Crocodylidae) on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica Laurie A. Mauger1,6, Elizabeth Velez2, Michael S. Cherkiss3, Matthew L. Brien4, Michael Boston5, Frank J. Mazzotti3 & James R. Spotila6 1. Department of Biology, Southern Utah University, 351 West University Boulevard, Cedar City, UT 84720, USA;
[email protected] 2. Kelonian Conservation Society, P.O. Box 473-3000, Heredia, Costa Rica;
[email protected] 3. University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, 3205 College Ave, Davie, FL 33314, USA;
[email protected],
[email protected] 4. Charles Darwin University, Casuarina 0810, Australia;
[email protected] 5. Casa Verde, 100 meters east of the Catholic Church, Puerto Jimenez, Puntarenas 8203, Costa Rica;
[email protected] 6. Department of Biology, Drexel University, 3141 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA;
[email protected],
[email protected] Received 11-X-2011. Corrected 30-IV-2012. Accepted 29-V-2012. Abstract: The American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, is widely distributed in the American neotropics. It is endangered throughout most of its range and is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Natural Fauna and Flora (IUCN) and on Appendix I of the Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Despite this listing, there are few published reports on population status throughout most of its range. We investigated the status of the C. acutus, at several locations along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. We carried out spotlight and nesting surveys from 2007-2009 along the Costa Rican Pacific coast in four distinct areas, coastal areas of Las Baulas (N=40) and Santa Rosa (N=9) National Parks and the Osa Conservation Area (N=13), and upriver in Palo Verde National Park (N=11).