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1 June 2007 Effects of Incubation Temperature on the Size of Caiman Latirostris (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) at Hatching and after One Year
Carlos I. Piña, Alejandro Larriera, MarlÍn Medina, Grahame J. W. Webb
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Abstract

We investigated the effects of incubation temperature (29°C, 31°C, and 33°C) on total length (TL) and body mass (BM) of Caiman latirostris, a crocodilian with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), at hatching (N  =  180) and in a sample of hatchlings (N  =  40) after one year of raising. Size at hatching was strongly clutch-specific. Animals incubated at 31°C (100% females) were larger than at 29°C (100% female) and 33°C (100% males). Absolute growth to one year was higher for females (eggs incubated at 29°C and 31°C) than for males (eggs incubated at 33°C). The possibility that constant 33°C incubation temperature had compromised embryological development cannot be rejected. If so, it confirms that high incubation temperatures can have long-lasting effects on posthatching growth. If not, possible advantages of females growing more rapidly than males are discussed.

Carlos I. Piña, Alejandro Larriera, MarlÍn Medina, and Grahame J. W. Webb "Effects of Incubation Temperature on the Size of Caiman Latirostris (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae) at Hatching and after One Year," Journal of Herpetology 41(2), 205-210, (1 June 2007). https://doi.org/10.1670/0022-1511(2007)41[205:EOITOT]2.0.CO;2
Accepted: 1 November 2006; Published: 1 June 2007
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