Ecological studies on the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) on the Savannah River Plant

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is the largest vertebrate of the Savannah River Plant (SRP), reaching a maximum length of 3.7 meters (12 feet) and weighing up to 175 kg (385 pounds). Currently, populations in coastal South Carolina are considered Threatened, whereas populations in inland areas (such as the SRP) are still Endangered. Because of their legal status and economic and ecological importance, it is important to determine the environmental impacts of SRP operations on the local alligator population. The major objectives under the Endangered Species Program of the Comprehensive Cooling Water Study (CCWS) were as follows: (1) document and compare the present status and distribution of alligators on the SRP to previous surveys, in order to determine long-term changes in population abundance; (2) establish baseline population and ecological parameters of the Steel Creek population so that the ecological effects of L-Reactor operations can be determined, and (3) conduct ecological research on the immediate impacts of thermal effluents on American alligators. Gladden et al., (1985) summarized data on previous population surveys, temporal changes in the Par Pond population, preliminary results of the Steel Creek surveys and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL) research on the effects of thermal effluents. This report summarizes the current status of the SRP population, presents data on the abundance, movement patterns and activity cycles of the Steel Creek population, and presents additional data on the effect of cooling water releases on alligator ecology and behavior

An empirical test of evolutionary theories for reproductive senescence and reproductive effort in the garter snake Thamnophis elegans

Evolutionary theory predicts that differential reproductive effort and rate of reproductive senescence will evolve under different rates of external mortality. We examine the evolutionary divergence of age-specific reproduction in two life-history ecotypes of the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. We test for the signature of reproductive senescence (decreasing fecundity with age) and increasing reproductive effort with age (increasing reproductive productivity per gram female) in replicate populations of two life-history ecotypes: snakes that grow fast, mature young and have shorter lifespans, and snakes that grow slow, mature late and have long lives. The difference between life-history ecotypes is due to genetic divergence in growth rate. We find (i) reproductive success (live litter mass) increases with age in both ecotypes, but does so more rapidly in the fast-growth ecotype, (ii) reproductive failure increases with age in both ecotypes, but the proportion of reproductive failure to total reproductive output remains invariant, and (iii) reproductive effort remains constant in fast-growth individuals with age, but declines in slow-growth individuals. This illustration of increasing fecundity with age, even at the latest ages, deviates from standard expectations for reproductive senescence, as does the lack of increases in reproductive effort. We discuss our findings in light of recent theories regarding the phenomenon of increased reproduction throughout life in organisms with indeterminate growth and its potential to offset theoretical expectations for the ubiquity of senescence

Does body volume constrain reproductive output in lizards?

The numbers and sizes of eggs produced by adult females ultimately determine the viability of populations, as well as the evolutionary fitness of the females themselves. Despite an enormous amount of literature on the adaptive significance of fecundity variation within and among populations, simpler questions—such as the proximate mechanisms by which a female determines her clutch size—have attracted less attention. Our surgical manipulations show that the amount of space available to hold eggs within a female's abdomen influences her total reproductive allocation, enabling her to flexibly modify her reproductive output as she grows larger

Optimal annual routines: behaviour in the context of physiology and ecology

Organisms in a seasonal environment often schedule activities in a regular way over the year. If we assume that such annual routines have been shaped by natural selection then life-history theory should provide a basis for explaining them. We argue that many life-history trade-offs are mediated by underlying physiological variables that act on various time scales. The dynamics of these variables often preclude considering one period of the year in isolation. In order to capture the essence of annual routines, and many life-history traits, a detailed model of changes in physiological state over the annual cycle is required. We outline a modelling approach based on suitable physiological and ecological state variables that can capture this underlying biology, and describe how models based on this approach can be used to generate a range of insights and predictions