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31 July 2015 Cohort-Dependent Sex Ratio Biases in the American Crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) of the Tempisque Basin
Christopher M. Murray, Michael Easter, Sergio Padilla, Davinia B. Garrigós, Julia Ann Stone, Juan Bolaños-Montero, Mahmood Sasa, Craig Guyer
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Abstract

A male-biased sex ratio of 3:1 has been reported for a population of American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) in the Tempisque River Basin, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. If confirmed, this would constitute one of the largest male-biased sex ratios reported for any population of a member of the genus Crocodylus. Here, we examine the aforementioned population of C. acutus and report on sex ratios of hatchling, juvenile, and adult age classes within a sample of 474 crocodiles captured in the Tempisque Basin between May 2012 and June 2014. Hatchling sex ratio is exceptionally male biased (3.5:1), an imbalance that is maintained in juveniles but is reduced in adults (1.5:1). Mark–recapture data document that juvenile males disperse from the study site, potentially to avoid competition, a process that reduces male bias in the adult age class. An increased role of males in human–crocodile conflict may be a result of juvenile males dispersing to human-inhabited areas.

© 2015 by the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Christopher M. Murray, Michael Easter, Sergio Padilla, Davinia B. Garrigós, Julia Ann Stone, Juan Bolaños-Montero, Mahmood Sasa, and Craig Guyer "Cohort-Dependent Sex Ratio Biases in the American Crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus) of the Tempisque Basin," Copeia 103(3), 541-545, (31 July 2015). https://doi.org/10.1643/CE-14-186
Received: 3 November 2014; Accepted: 1 April 2015; Published: 31 July 2015
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