Title

Food Habits of American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in East Texas (Abstract)

Authors

David Saalfeld, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State Universtiy, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962
Warren C. Conway, Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State Universtiy, Nacogdoches, Texas 75962Follow
Gary E. Calkins, District 6 Wildlife Division Field Office, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) food habit data are important when establishing management strategies, as diet can directly influence growth rates, body condition, behavior, and reproduction. Diets of American Alligators are hypothesized to vary among habitats as well as geographically; however, few diet studies have been conducted outside of Florida and Louisiana. To address this information gap, 62 diet samples were obtained from alligators ranging in size from 94.7 cm to 386.0 cm (total length) from June 2006–September 2008 in inland freshwater wetlands in East Texas. A total of 33 different prey items (comprising 670 individual prey items) and 1 parasite were identified. Irrespective of size, class, sex, and study site, >85% of individual prey items were invertebrates. Nearly all diet samples contained some sort of organic by-catch and/or non-food items (i.e., woody debris, aquatic plants, seeds, rocks, fishing tackle, etc.). Although alligator diets were similar between sexes, non-breeding (

Comments

Authorized users may access full text at:

http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.107

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.107

Repository Citation

Saalfeld, David; Conway, Warren C.; and Calkins, Gary E., "Food Habits of American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in East Texas (Abstract)" (2011). Faculty Publications. 411.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/forestry/411

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-164.1.107