Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females
In this work, we calculated the body condition indices, K-Fulton and scaled mass index (SMI), of reproductive and non-reproductive <i>Caiman latirostris</i> adult females as an indication of stored energy. We considered 87 adult females captured from 2001 to 2018, both reproductive and n...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/1/1 |
| _version_ | 1827385038602240000 |
|---|---|
| author | Evangelina V. Viotto Pamela M. L. Leiva Sofía E. Pierini Melina S. Simoncini Joaquín L. Navarro Carlos I. Piña |
| author_facet | Evangelina V. Viotto Pamela M. L. Leiva Sofía E. Pierini Melina S. Simoncini Joaquín L. Navarro Carlos I. Piña |
| author_sort | Evangelina V. Viotto |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this work, we calculated the body condition indices, K-Fulton and scaled mass index (SMI), of reproductive and non-reproductive <i>Caiman latirostris</i> adult females as an indication of stored energy. We considered 87 adult females captured from 2001 to 2018, both reproductive and non-reproductive. The body condition was calculated considering two scenarios: (a) only the weight of the female, and (b) the sum of the weight of the female and the average dry weight of her nest. We tested the difference in body condition between reproductive and non-reproductive females. We also evaluated the minimal body condition required to guarantee that females above it are reproductive by drawing a line that separated the body condition of strictly reproductive individuals from those that may or may not be reproductive. Reproductive females had better body condition than non-reproductive ones. Our SMI.S line separated almost 70% of the reproductive females. Based on our results, we can guarantee that a female whose body condition is above the line will reproduce, although not all those females below the line are non-reproductive, as a few of those under the line will nest. With this information, we have one more biological indicator to take into account when making management and conservation decisions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:13:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f913825d5510499683a18cf67fdb87b7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T15:13:52Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f913825d5510499683a18cf67fdb87b72024-01-10T14:49:49ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-12-01141110.3390/ani14010001Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman FemalesEvangelina V. Viotto0Pamela M. L. Leiva1Sofía E. Pierini2Melina S. Simoncini3Joaquín L. Navarro4Carlos I. Piña5Centro de Investigación Científica y de Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Provincia de Entre Ríos-Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, España 149, Diamante CP 3105, ArgentinaCentro de Investigación Científica y de Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Provincia de Entre Ríos-Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, España 149, Diamante CP 3105, ArgentinaCentro de Investigación Científica y de Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Provincia de Entre Ríos-Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, España 149, Diamante CP 3105, ArgentinaCentro de Investigación Científica y de Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Provincia de Entre Ríos-Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, España 149, Diamante CP 3105, ArgentinaCentro de Zoología Aplicada, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Rondeau 798, Córdoba CP 5000, ArgentinaCentro de Investigación Científica y de Transferencia Tecnológica a la Producción, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Provincia de Entre Ríos-Universidad Autónoma de Entre Ríos, España 149, Diamante CP 3105, ArgentinaIn this work, we calculated the body condition indices, K-Fulton and scaled mass index (SMI), of reproductive and non-reproductive <i>Caiman latirostris</i> adult females as an indication of stored energy. We considered 87 adult females captured from 2001 to 2018, both reproductive and non-reproductive. The body condition was calculated considering two scenarios: (a) only the weight of the female, and (b) the sum of the weight of the female and the average dry weight of her nest. We tested the difference in body condition between reproductive and non-reproductive females. We also evaluated the minimal body condition required to guarantee that females above it are reproductive by drawing a line that separated the body condition of strictly reproductive individuals from those that may or may not be reproductive. Reproductive females had better body condition than non-reproductive ones. Our SMI.S line separated almost 70% of the reproductive females. Based on our results, we can guarantee that a female whose body condition is above the line will reproduce, although not all those females below the line are non-reproductive, as a few of those under the line will nest. With this information, we have one more biological indicator to take into account when making management and conservation decisions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/1/1body condition index<i>Caiman latirostris</i>crocodilereproductionK-Fultonscaled mass index (SMI) |
| spellingShingle | Evangelina V. Viotto Pamela M. L. Leiva Sofía E. Pierini Melina S. Simoncini Joaquín L. Navarro Carlos I. Piña Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females Animals body condition index <i>Caiman latirostris</i> crocodile reproduction K-Fulton scaled mass index (SMI) |
| title | Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females |
| title_full | Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females |
| title_fullStr | Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females |
| title_full_unstemmed | Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females |
| title_short | Body Condition of Reproductive and Non-Reproductive Broad-Snouted Caiman Females |
| title_sort | body condition of reproductive and non reproductive broad snouted caiman females |
| topic | body condition index <i>Caiman latirostris</i> crocodile reproduction K-Fulton scaled mass index (SMI) |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/1/1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT evangelinavviotto bodyconditionofreproductiveandnonreproductivebroadsnoutedcaimanfemales AT pamelamlleiva bodyconditionofreproductiveandnonreproductivebroadsnoutedcaimanfemales AT sofiaepierini bodyconditionofreproductiveandnonreproductivebroadsnoutedcaimanfemales AT melinassimoncini bodyconditionofreproductiveandnonreproductivebroadsnoutedcaimanfemales AT joaquinlnavarro bodyconditionofreproductiveandnonreproductivebroadsnoutedcaimanfemales AT carlosipina bodyconditionofreproductiveandnonreproductivebroadsnoutedcaimanfemales |