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Nocturnal basking and deep diving may not be enough to keep crocodiles cool in a warming world1.19 MB
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Magazine article
Nocturnal basking and deep diving may not be enough to keep crocodiles cool in a warming world
The Conversation, Vol.13 February 2025
2025
Appears in The Conversation
Abstract
Crocodiles are hardy creatures, capable of adjusting their behaviour to cope with the heat of the tropics. But there’s a limit to their endurance.
Our new research shows the average body temperature of estuarine (saltwater) crocodiles in Far North Queensland has risen steadily over the past 15 years. The peaks align with heatwaves during El Niño events.
We tagged and tracked 203 crocodiles in the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve on Cape York Peninsula, to find out how they respond to rising temperatures. We know from our previous research that crocodiles can change their behaviour to quickly cool down, and might do this by diving deeper, seeking shade or hauling themselves out onto the riverbank at night.
Details
- Title
- Nocturnal basking and deep diving may not be enough to keep crocodiles cool in a warming world
- Authors
- Kaitlin E. Barham - The University of QueenslandCraig E Franklin - The University of QueenslandRoss G Dwyer - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Publication details
- The Conversation, Vol.13 February 2025
- Publisher
- Conversation Media Group
- Date published
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.64628/AA.ryhdhj6v4
- ISSN
- 2201-5639
- Copyright note
- © The Conversation Media Group. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991109545902621
- Output Type
- Magazine article
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