Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger

Several data loggers deployed to monitor temperature and humidity of (American crocodile) nests in South Florida could not be located after hatching. One badly damaged data logger was retrieved, providing insight into the possible fate of the others. Using a taphonomic approach, we identified numero...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2020-02, Vol.8, p.e8577-e8577, Article e8577
Main Authors: Drumheller, Stephanie K, Nestler, Jennifer H, Hackett Farris, Caitlin E, Farris, Seth C, Mazzotti, Frank J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
American crocodile
Animal Behavior
Animal bites
Bite force
Classification schemes
Conservation Biology
Crocodiles
Crocodylia
Crocodylus acutus
Eggs
Endangered & extinct species
Fate
Global positioning systems
GPS
Hatching
Humidity
Information storage and retrieval
Nature
Nest monitoring
Nests
Parental care
Polyvinyl chloride
Predation
Predation (Biology)
Researchers
Taphonomy
Tooth mark
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Summary:Several data loggers deployed to monitor temperature and humidity of (American crocodile) nests in South Florida could not be located after hatching. One badly damaged data logger was retrieved, providing insight into the possible fate of the others. Using a taphonomic approach, we identified numerous indentations, consistent with crocodylian bite marks, and inconsistent with potential mammalian or squamate bites. It seems most likely that the data logger was damaged by the nesting rather than during attempted nest predation. Estimated bite forces for reproductive age, female exceed the predicted material properties of the data logger's housing, suggesting that the bites were exploratory in nature. We suggest that data loggers be removed prior to hatching or permit remote data storage.
ISSN:2167-8359
2167-8359
DOI:10.7717/peerj.8577