Sexual maturity of farm-released Caiman latirosis (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in the wild

Published source details Larriera A., Siroski P., Pina C.I. & Imhof A. (2006) Sexual maturity of farm-released Caiman latirosis (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) in the wild. Herpetological Review, 37, 26-28.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Relocate nests/eggs for artificial incubation: Crocodilians Action Link
	Head-start wild-caught reptiles for release: Crocodilians Action Link

Relocate nests/eggs for artificial incubation: Crocodilians

A replicated study in 2001–2002 in a laboratory in Santa Fe province, Argentina (Larriera et al. 2006) found that artificially incubated broad-snouted caiman Caiman latirostris eggs hatched in captivity. Hatching success of artificially incubated broad-snouted caiman eggs taken from the wild ranged from 43–100% (hatching success of seven caiman nests: 30 of 36 eggs hatched; 18 of 37 eggs hatched; 35 of 41 eggs hatched; 20 of 30 eggs hatched; 13 of 30 eggs hatched; 18 of 26 eggs hatched; 35 of 35 eggs hatched). Between 1990 and 2002, a head-starting programme collected caiman eggs from wild nests (December–January), artificially incubated the eggs and reared hatchlings for up to nine months before releasing caiman (with individual scale markings) back into the collection site (see original paper for details). In austral summer 2001–2002, clutches from seven head-started female broad-snouted caiman were collected from the wild (26–41 eggs/nest) and artificially incubated (at 31.5°C and 95% relative humidity) until hatching.

(Summarised by: Katie Sainsbury)
Head-start wild-caught reptiles for release: Crocodilians

A replicated study in 2001–2002 in Santa Fe province, Argentina (Larriera et al. 2006) found that some released head-started female broad-snouted caiman Caiman latirostris survived at least 9–10 years and bred in the wild. Seven released head-started female caiman (Five 9-year-olds and two 10-year-olds) nested within 1 km of their release sites. Clutch size and hatching success of wild-collected caiman nests was similar to wild nests left in situ (wild-collected clutch size: 26–41 eggs/nest and hatching success: 43–100%; wild in situ nests: no data provided). Since 1990, a head-starting programme collected caiman eggs from wild nests in December–January and artificially incubated the eggs. Hatchlings were head-started for up to nine months and then released back into the wild at the collection site (see original paper for details). In austral summer 2001–2002, seven head-started female caiman were captured while guarding their nests. Eggs were collected from the nests and artificially incubated. Head-starter clutch size and hatching success data were compared with nests (clutch size comparison was with 31 nests; hatching success comparison was with 11 nests).

(Summarised by: Katie Sainsbury)