Ecology on the Making Nest and Laying Eggs of Chinese Alligator (Alligator sinensis) under Artificial Feeding Conditions
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Abstract
Nest-making and egg-laying behaviors of the Chinese alligator (Alligator sinensis) under captive-breeding conditions were studied during a 3-year period field work from 2003 to 2005 using the infrared video camera. And for the first time, a behavior of digging a hole for the hind legs before the eggs were laid was observed. The eggs were not covered all at once, but were covered as the eggs were laid towards the late part of the egg-laying period. To understand the connection between climate and nest-making time, an analysis was conducted based on the theory of linear regression, which showed that the mean temperature of April had the strongest effect upon nest-making time: the higher the mean temperature of April, the earlier the nest-making time started. Principal Components Analysis was also conducted to ascertain the effect of surrounding environment factors upon the choice of nesting sites, which indicated that the level of vegetation canopy and the distance to the water sources were among the principal components.
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