Ontogenetic shifts in the nesting behaviour of female crocodiles

Cameron J Baker; Craig E Franklin; Hamish A Campbell; Terri R Irwin; Ross G Dwyer

doi:10.1007/s00442-019-04382-4

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Ontogenetic shifts in the nesting behaviour of female crocodiles

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Ontogenetic shifts in the nesting behaviour of female crocodiles

Cameron J Baker, Craig E Franklin, Hamish A Campbell, Terri R Irwin and Ross G Dwyer

Oecologia, Vol.189(4), pp.891-904

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04382-4

PMID: 30868373

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https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04382-4View

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Abstract

Nest-site selection

Parental investment

Telemetry

Hidden Markov modelling

Estuarine crocodile

Body size and age are crucial factors influencing reproductive capacity and success. As females grow, their reproductive investment and success often increase due to improved overall physiological condition and experience gained through successive reproductive events. While much of this work has been conducted on birds and mammals, surprisingly little is known on how body size affects nesting decisions in other long-lived vertebrates. We monitored the movements and nesting behaviour of 57 wild female estuarine crocodiles Crocodylus porosus over a 10-year period (and across consecutive nesting seasons) using externally mounted satellite tags, implanted acoustic transmitters and a network of submerged acoustic receivers. Applying Hidden Markov models to the telemetry-derived location data revealed that female nesting behaviours could be split into three distinct states: (i) ranging movements within home ranges and at nesting sites; (ii) migrations to and from nesting sites; (iii) and nesting/nest guarding. We found that during migration events, larger females migrated further and remained away from dry season territories for longer periods than smaller individuals. Furthermore, not only were migratory movements stimulated by increases in rainfall, larger females migrated to nest sites at lower rainfall thresholds than smaller females. We provide some of the first evidence of body size influencing nesting decisions in an ectothermic vertebrate, with shifts likely resulting from an increased willingness to invest in nest protection among larger and more experienced females.

Details

Title: Ontogenetic shifts in the nesting behaviour of female crocodiles
Authors: Cameron J Baker (Author) - University of Queensland
Craig E Franklin (Author) - University of Queensland
Hamish A Campbell (Author) - Charles Darwin University
Terri R Irwin (Author) - Australia Zoo
Ross G Dwyer (Corresponding Author) - University of Queensland
Publication details: Oecologia, Vol.189(4), pp.891-904
Publisher: Springer
Date published: 2019
DOI: 10.1007/s00442-019-04382-4
ISSN: 1432-1939
PMID: 30868373
Grants: Investigating movement, distribution, abundance and diet to support management objectives for threatened riverine predators in Northern Australia, LP140100222, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering; School of Science and Engineering - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99471408102621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Ecology

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