Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>)
Historically, there has been little success with the captive breeding of American alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) for both commercial and conservative purposes. This study, conducted at Golden Ranch in Gheens, LA, between 2016 and 2022, utilized a newly formulated commerci...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3797 |
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| author | Ted Joanen Ashley P. Mikolajczyk Mark Staton Josh Kaplan William E. Holmes Mark E. Zappi |
| author_facet | Ted Joanen Ashley P. Mikolajczyk Mark Staton Josh Kaplan William E. Holmes Mark E. Zappi |
| author_sort | Ted Joanen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Historically, there has been little success with the captive breeding of American alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) for both commercial and conservative purposes. This study, conducted at Golden Ranch in Gheens, LA, between 2016 and 2022, utilized a newly formulated commercial feed and practical dietary supplementation (crawfish waste products) to enhance egg production, fertility, and hatch rates. The primary focus of this study was to compare the outcome of this captive breeding program at Golden Ranch with a program conducted at Rockefeller Refuge (RR) between 1979 and 1984. Notable success was achieved in terms of reproductive performance in comparison to the captive breeding program conducted at Rockefeller Refuge. In this study, 16.1 hatchlings were produced per nest on Golden Ranch from captive breeders. Additionally, when wild nests from Golden Ranch were incubated in the same controlled environmental chambers, they produced an average of 16.3 hatchlings per nest. This comparison emphasizes the similarity in egg production between captive-bred <i>A. mississippiensis</i> and their wild counterparts. The findings of this study suggest that a closed farming system for <i>A. mississippiensis</i> can be established by employing captive breeders derived from artificially incubated wild eggs. Furthermore, American alligators raised in controlled environmental chambers during their initial three years of life demonstrated adaptability to captive conditions and tolerated stocking rates associated with farming conditions and served as breeding stock. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:04:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f1bf1973282d4b3cbb0247baa8a5e07c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T21:04:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f1bf1973282d4b3cbb0247baa8a5e07c2023-12-22T13:47:24ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-12-011324379710.3390/ani13243797Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>)Ted Joanen0Ashley P. Mikolajczyk1Mark Staton2Josh Kaplan3William E. Holmes4Mark E. Zappi5Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Grand Chenier, LA 70643, USADepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USAMark Staton, LLC, Lafayette, LA 70506, USAGolden Ranch Farms, LLC, Gheens, LA 70355, USADepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USADepartment of Chemical Engineering, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette, LA 70504, USAHistorically, there has been little success with the captive breeding of American alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) for both commercial and conservative purposes. This study, conducted at Golden Ranch in Gheens, LA, between 2016 and 2022, utilized a newly formulated commercial feed and practical dietary supplementation (crawfish waste products) to enhance egg production, fertility, and hatch rates. The primary focus of this study was to compare the outcome of this captive breeding program at Golden Ranch with a program conducted at Rockefeller Refuge (RR) between 1979 and 1984. Notable success was achieved in terms of reproductive performance in comparison to the captive breeding program conducted at Rockefeller Refuge. In this study, 16.1 hatchlings were produced per nest on Golden Ranch from captive breeders. Additionally, when wild nests from Golden Ranch were incubated in the same controlled environmental chambers, they produced an average of 16.3 hatchlings per nest. This comparison emphasizes the similarity in egg production between captive-bred <i>A. mississippiensis</i> and their wild counterparts. The findings of this study suggest that a closed farming system for <i>A. mississippiensis</i> can be established by employing captive breeders derived from artificially incubated wild eggs. Furthermore, American alligators raised in controlled environmental chambers during their initial three years of life demonstrated adaptability to captive conditions and tolerated stocking rates associated with farming conditions and served as breeding stock.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3797<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>alligatorcaptive breedingnutritionfertilityhatch rates |
| spellingShingle | Ted Joanen Ashley P. Mikolajczyk Mark Staton Josh Kaplan William E. Holmes Mark E. Zappi Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) Animals <i>Alligator mississippiensis</i> alligator captive breeding nutrition fertility hatch rates |
| title | Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) |
| title_full | Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) |
| title_short | Impacts of Diet on Reproductive Performance of Captive American Alligators (<i>Alligator mississippiensis</i>) |
| title_sort | impacts of diet on reproductive performance of captive american alligators i alligator mississippiensis i |
| topic | <i>Alligator mississippiensis</i> alligator captive breeding nutrition fertility hatch rates |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/24/3797 |
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