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

Several data loggers deployed to monitor temperature and humidity of Crocodylus acutus (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...

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Main Authors:	Stephanie K. Drumheller, Jennifer H. Nestler, Caitlin E. Hackett Farris, Seth C. Farris, Frank J. Mazzotti
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	PeerJ Inc. 2020-02-01
Series:	PeerJ
Subjects:	Crocodylia Parental care Bite force Tooth mark Nest monitoring
Online Access:	https://peerj.com/articles/8577.pdf

id	doaj-d4083ef1a00e44bcbe220fff172d8336
record_format	Article
spelling	doaj-d4083ef1a00e44bcbe220fff172d83362020-11-25T00:33:37ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592020-02-018e857710.7717/peerj.8577Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data loggerStephanie K. Drumheller0Jennifer H. Nestler1Caitlin E. Hackett Farris2Seth C. Farris3Frank J. Mazzotti4Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States of AmericaDepartment of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States of AmericaDepartment of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States of AmericaDepartment of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States of AmericaDepartment of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Fort Lauderdale, FL, United States of AmericaSeveral data loggers deployed to monitor temperature and humidity of Crocodylus acutus (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 C. acutus rather than during attempted nest predation. Estimated bite forces for reproductive age, female C. acutus 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.https://peerj.com/articles/8577.pdfCrocodyliaParental careBite forceTooth markNest monitoring
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Stephanie K. Drumheller Jennifer H. Nestler Caitlin E. Hackett Farris Seth C. Farris Frank J. Mazzotti
spellingShingle	Stephanie K. Drumheller Jennifer H. Nestler Caitlin E. Hackett Farris Seth C. Farris Frank J. Mazzotti Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger PeerJ Crocodylia Parental care Bite force Tooth mark Nest monitoring
author_facet	Stephanie K. Drumheller Jennifer H. Nestler Caitlin E. Hackett Farris Seth C. Farris Frank J. Mazzotti
author_sort	Stephanie K. Drumheller
title	Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger
title_short	Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger
title_full	Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger
title_fullStr	Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger
title_full_unstemmed	Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger
title_sort	crocodylus acutus (american crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger
publisher	PeerJ Inc.
series	PeerJ
issn	2167-8359
publishDate	2020-02-01
description	Several data loggers deployed to monitor temperature and humidity of Crocodylus acutus (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 C. acutus rather than during attempted nest predation. Estimated bite forces for reproductive age, female C. acutus 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.
topic	Crocodylia Parental care Bite force Tooth mark Nest monitoring
url	https://peerj.com/articles/8577.pdf
work_keys_str_mv	AT stephaniekdrumheller crocodylusacutusamericancrocodilebitemarksonanestdatalogger AT jenniferhnestler crocodylusacutusamericancrocodilebitemarksonanestdatalogger AT caitlinehackettfarris crocodylusacutusamericancrocodilebitemarksonanestdatalogger AT sethcfarris crocodylusacutusamericancrocodilebitemarksonanestdatalogger AT frankjmazzotti crocodylusacutusamericancrocodilebitemarksonanestdatalogger
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Crocodylus acutus (American crocodile) bite marks on a nest data logger

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