TABLE OF CONTENTS IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • 20(4):172

IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•20(4):172–183•DEC2013

Chinese Alligators: Observations at Changxing Nature Reserve & Breeding Center

VictorH.Liu

TheBransonSchool,Ross,California94957,USA([email protected])

Abstract.—IpresentpreviouslyunpublisheddataonthebreedinghabitsandrelatedconservationeffortsonbehalfoftheendangeredendemicChineseAlligator(Alligator sinensis)collectedthroughinterviewsandobservationsconductedattheChangxingNatureReserve&BreedingCenterforChineseAlligators.TheobjectiveofthisstudywastoprovideadditionalmaterialtosupplementthatpresentedinthemostcurrentandcomprehensiveEnglish-languageliteratureonthespecies.ConservationeffortsonbehalfoftheChineseAlligatorarehinderedbyheavilypollutingindustries,suchascoal-firedpowerplantsandbatteryplants,whichaffectalllocalfauna.Inaddition,captivepopulationstatisticsatChangxingandXuanchengbreedingcentershavechangedsince2010.AdditionalobservationsoftheChineseAlligatorincludenestingbehaviors,ovipositioning,andtemperatureandhumidityconditionsinnests.Iobservedexperimentscomparingtemperature-dependentsexdeterminationtothatinthecloselyrelatedAmericanAlligator(Alligator missis-sippiensis).IprovideinformationonreintroductioneffortsbybothChinesecaptivebreedingcentersindifferentwildzonesanddiscussdefinitionsof“wild,”withwhichChineseAlligatorreintroductioneffortsdonotconform.Furtherspeciesconservationeffortsshouldbefacilitatedbyamasterplanandstudbook,implementedtomaximizegeneticvariationandminimizetheeffectsofinbreedingdepressionincaptivepopulationswithfewfounders.

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IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190

The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198

R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S

The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida

.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212

C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T

World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225

H U S B A N D R Y

Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226

P R O F I L E

Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234

C O M M E N T A R Y

The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238

B O O K R E V I E W

Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243

CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.

Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo

estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus

aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque

moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as

IRC

F

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y

Copyright©2013.VictorH.Liu.Allrightsreserved.

WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL

Fig. 1.Ovipositioningwasobservedatdawn.

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The lack of recently published data on the ChineseAlligator(Alligator sinensis)istheresultofthreemajor

factors:(1)ThetwoleadingChineseresearchinstitutesarecompetitorsforgovernmentfundingandshareneithertheirresourcesnortheirfindings.(2)Withfewerthan130indi-vidualslivinginthewild,theChineseAlligatorisanelusive,little-knownspecies,andcrucialfieldworkandconservationeffortsoftenhavebeenovershadowedbymammal-orientedbreedingendeavors,particularlyinChina,wheretheGiantPanda(Ailuropoda melanoleuca)hasbecomethefaceoftheglobalmovementtopreventwildlifeextinction.(3)ThefiercenatureoftheChineseAlligatorcombinedwithitsshrinkingnaturalhabitat inthewetlandsaroundtheYangtzeRiverhavegreatlylimitedtheacquisitionofdataaboutthespecies,resultingingaps,conjecture,anderroneousreports. TheChineseAlligatorisendemictoChinaandoneofonlytwoextantspeciesinthegenusAlligator.TheChineseAlligatororiginallyinhabitedmuchofChina’sviablewet-lands,butthespecieshasbeenreducedtofewerthan130individualsalongthelowerYangtzeRiver.ThedeclineofwildChineseAlligatorpopulationscanbeattributedtohabi-tatloss,aswetlandsareincreasinglyconvertedtoricepaddies,andover-huntingresultingfromalocalbeliefinthecurative

propertiesofalligatormeat,aswellasthespecies’reputationasamenacetolivestock. Thorbjarnarson and Wang (2010) is currently themost expansively detailed English-language source onthe IUCN-listedcritically endangered species (CrocodileSpecialistGroup1996).However,inthepastthreeyears,Thorbjarnarsonpassedaway,andco-authorWangbecamevice-headmasteratEastChinaNormalUniversity(ECNU2013),anadministrativelyheavypositionthatallowshimnotimeforresearch.Consequently,avoidinrelevantscholar-shiphasprecludedanyupdatesontheChineseAlligatorsincethebook’spublication.

MethodsThisreportisderivedfromon-sitefieldwork,interviewswithkeepersandscientists,andmyresearchofrelevantsourcesinChineseduringmyinternshipattheChangxingNatureReserveandBreedingCenterforChineseAlligators(CNRBRCCA)from June through August 2013, under the guidance ofProfessorFangSheng-GuooftheCollegeofLifeSciencesofZhejiangUniversityinHangzhou,ZhejiangProvince,China.ProfessorFangalsoservesasDirectoroftheStateConservationCenterforGeneResourcesofEndangeredWildlife.

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Fig. 2.Analligatornestisamassofvegetationabout1mindiameter.

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ResultsLocal Environment.—Human development (e.g., damsalongtheYangtzeRiver,humanoccupationofwetlands)istheprimarycontributingfactortothedeclineofthewildpopulationof theChineseAlligator; thus, takingnoteofhumanfactorsinreintroductionandcaptivebreedingeffortsisofconsiderableimportance.VariousformsofpollutioncausedbyChineseindustryhaveledtowidespreadhealthandenvironmentalproblems. The environmental conditions at Changxing werenot mentioned by Thorbjarnarson and Wang (2010).CNRBRCCAislocated25kmwestofChangxingCountyinthecityofHuzhou.Duringtheweeksofmyinternship,IobservedthattheskyinChangxingwasmoreoftenthannotcastinsmog.IfurtherlearnedthatChangxinghasseveralpol-lutingindustries:Twohugepowerplantswithexcesspowersoldtoothercitiesandtwoenormousbatteryplants,includ-ingthelargestautobatteryplantinChina.InJune2005,morethan700childrenwerediagnosedwithleadpoisoninginMeishan,atownwithinChangxingCounty,wheretheTiannengbatteryplantislocated.Meishanis35kmnorthofCNRBRCCA(Wang2012).Moreover,RenDabin,headkeeperatCNRBRCCA,revealedthatthelocalChangxingpondssuffer frompesticidepollutionfromnearbyfarms.Rodentcarcassesoftenarefoundintheponds,andalliga-torsthateatthecarcassesoftenarestrickenwithsevereill-nesses,severalofwhichendedindeath.Fortunately,ChineseAlligatorshaveverystrongimmunesystems,andthussuch

casualtieshavebeenrelativelyfew.Statisticsnotwithstanding,pollution-relateddeathissignificantgiventheseverelylimitedwildpopulationoftheChineseAlligator,andiscitedbystaffatCNRBRCCAasoneoftheleadingcausesofpopulationdecline.

Captive Population Statistics.—Thorbjarnarson andWang(2010)reportedthatthecaptivepopulationoftheChineseAlligatoratCNRBRCCA in2007 stoodat300individuals, including the100adultspurchased in2006fromtheXuanchengbreedingcenter,Anhui Research Center of Chinese Alligator Reproduction (ARCCAR)at a costof50,000Yuaneach(FangSheng-Guo,pers.comm.,13June2013).However,accordingtoXu(2005),thepopulationwasreportedtohave459individuals,includingsevenfounders,214F1generationindividuals,and238F2generationindi-viduals.FurthersupportingXu’sassertion,ChangxingNews(2008a)reportedthecaptivepopulationoftheChinesealliga-torat700+individuals,including175bredin2007and85in2006.Inthepastfewyears,thepopulationhasincreasedsubstantially.PRC(2013)reportedthatthecurrentpopula-tioncountofcaptiveindividualsatCNRBRCCAwas3,923alligators,including2,089young(1–3yearsold),1,568juve-niles(4–12yearsold),and248adults(13+yearsold).

Nesting/Ovipostioning.—AsofAugust2013,600+eggsfrom24nestswereproducedduringthecaptiveChineseAlligator breeding season. The exact number cannot be

Fig. 3.Alligatorfecesdepositedonthemoundafterlayingeggsmightfacilitatenestidentification.

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deducedduetothefactthattheeggsarelaidinnestscoveredbymoundsoflocalvegetation.The2012breedingseasonyielded1,000+eggsfrom42nests.Theyieldin2013islowerthanthatof2012duetothecomparativelycoolerweatherinJune,thebeginningofthebreedingseason. AtARCCAR,eggsarecollectedandincubatedatabout30°Ctoproduceafemale-biasedsexratio(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010).Havingmorefemalesresultedinthecapac-itytoproducemoreoffspring.AsofDecember2011,the10,500animalsatARCCARhadanannualbreedingcapacityof1,500to2,000(XuanchengNews2011).

Behavioral Observations.—Ovipositioningwasobservedatdawn(Fig.1).Femalesareusuallyaggressive,renderingdetailedobservationsimpossible;however,thisfemalewasblind.Althoughovipositioningwasfilmed,theexactnumberofeggsintheclutchisunknownbecausethenestmoundobscuredtheview.Usually,eachnestholds20–40eggsbur-iedabout30–40cmbelowthenest,whichisabout1mindiameter(Fig.2). Despitebeingblind,thefemaleeffectivelyguardedhereggs,andeasilyreturnedtothenestaftercoolingoffinthepond.Themotherexcretedfecesontothemoundaftershefinishedlayinghereggs(Fig.3);pheromonesinthefecesmightfacilitatenestidentification.Eggsareinitiallytranslu-cent,butfertilizedeggscontainawhitespotthatspreadsuntiltheentireeggshellisanopaquewhite.

Femalesguardnestsfiercely(Fig.4).Asaresult,scientistsusealightbamboosticktohitthealligator’seyelidandcom-pelretreat,therebyallowingtimefortheretrievalofeggs.Toidentifyeachfemalepriortotakinghereggs,anRFICreader(DestronFearingPortableTransceiverSystemFS2001F)istiedtoalongbamboocatchpoleinordertoscanidentifyingdetailsfromapreviouslyinsertedtrackingchip. Femalesfrequentlyreturnedtoguardtheirnestsalthoughthe eggshadbeen removed.Thisongoingnest-guardinginstinctlikelyresultsfromthefactthatlaideggsareusuallyundetectablewhenhiddeninthenestmound.

Temperature Conditions.—Temperatureandhumiditydataarerelevanttonestingandbreedingduetotemperature-dependentsexdetermination(TSD), inwhich incubation temperaturedetermines thesexofthehatchling.Thesedatawerecapturedbydatalog-gers(ZDR-11fromHangzhouZedaInstruments)ateachofthe24nests(Fig.5).Loggerswereinsulatedinplasticbagswhenplacedinthenestsorunderwater.Eachloggerhasthecapacitytocollect34daysofdataatfive-minuteintervals.Nesttemperatureswerealwaysabout30°C,despite40°Cambientairtemperatures;nestsmaintainedthelowertem-peratureasaresultofshadefromnearbytrees.Temperaturesmustbebetween27°Cand36°C,astemperaturesoutsidethisnarrowrangewouldleadtofetaldeath(Chen,1990).Whentheambienttemperaturedroppedto26°Catnight,

Fig. 4.Femalealligatordefendinghernest.

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nesttemperaturesremainedconstant.Apparently,microor-ganismsinthemound,aproductofdecomposingorganicmaterials,produceheatthatmaintainstheidealtemperature

range.Temperaturesalsoweremeasuredatvariouspointsineachpond.Thetemperaturewas36°Catthesurfaceand28°C1mbelowthesurface.

Fig. 5.Eachdataloggerhadthecapacitytocollect34daysoftemperatureandhumiditydataatfive-minuteintervals.

Fig. 6.TheauthorwiththeartificialincubatorsattheStateConservationCenterforGeneResourcesofEndangeredWildlife.

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Despitetherelativetemperaturestabilityofthenestsdur-ingthesummermatingandhatchingseason,outsidecondi-tionscanhaveasubstantiveeffectonsexdetermination.5August2013markedthethirty-fourthdayofhightempera-turesinHangzhou,China(120kmsouthofChangxing),witharecord-setting40.4°Con24July(China.com2013).Similarly high temperatures produced more males thanfemalesinthesummerof2012;thesamemayapplyforthe2013hatchingseason.

Artificial Incubation.—EachyearatCNRBRCCA,aselectnumberofeggsareincubatedaspartofaresearchprojecttostudyTSDinChineseAlligators.Duringtheincubationperiod,incubationtemperaturesof30°Corbelowproducefemalehatchlings,temperaturesof34°Coraboveproducemales,andtemperaturesof~32°Cresultineithermalesorfemales. Fifty eggs fromthe2013breeding seasonwere incu-batedattheStateConservationCenterforGeneResourcesofEndangeredWildlifeatZhejiangUniversitywiththemoundbroughtfromtheirrespectivenests(Fig.6).TeneggswereplacedinseparateR-com20ProDigitalIncubators.Thetem-peratureinitiallywassetat34°Cinfourincubatorsand28°Cinanother;thehumiditywassetat99%inallofthem.Theexperimentwastodetermineifthegenderofhatchlingswouldshiftduringtheeggs’thermallysensitiveperiodifthetemper-atureoftheincubatorwasdecreasedfrom34°Cto28°C.Asimilarexperimentconductedusingeggsfromtheclosely

Fig. 7.Remnantsoftheyolksacvisibleonthehatchling’sbellyserveasthemainsourceofnourishmentforthefirsttwoweeksoflife.

Fig. 8.“Wild”zoneatCNRBRCCAwherealligatorswouldbereleased.

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relatedAmericanAlligator(Alligator mississippiensis),revealedthatincubationtemperatureshiftsduringthethermallysensi-tiveperiodwouldresultinachangeinsex.However,despite

thetwospecies’closephylogeneticrelationship,experimentsonChineseAlligatoreggspersistinordertoconfirmthatthesameconditionswouldhavesimilareffectsinbothspecies.

Fig. 9.Usingabamboocatchpoletocatchanalligator.

Fig. 10.InsertinganRFIDchipundertheskinonthetail.

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Rearing the Young.—YoungChineseAlligatorsbegintofeedattwoweeksofage.Priortothattime,remnantsoftheyolksacvisibleonthehatchlings’bellies(Fig.7)serveasthemainsourceofnourishment.Analligatorhatchlingmustdigestalloftheyolkremaininginitsbody.Feedingahatchlingprematurelycancausedigestivedifficultiesandinduration.Althoughfeedingdoesoftencommenceafter14days,waiting18–20daysisadvisedforidealresults(FangSheng-Guo,pers.comm.,13June2013). PondsatCNRBRCCAarepopulatedwithyoungalliga-torsofsimilarsizesandages.Forexample,onepondcontainsone-year-oldalligatorswhileanothercontainseight-year-oldalligators.Veryyoungalligatorsareparticularlydocileandsensitivetonoise,quicklydashingintothewaterassoonastheyhearhumansapproaching. At CNRBRCCA, alligators one year or younger aremovedtoheatedroomsduringthewinter.Olderalligatorsremainintheponds.AtARCCAR,thehatchlingsstayinheatedroomsinthewinteralongwitholderanimals;AnhuiNews(2008)reportedthat8,000animalswerekeptinasmallheatedroomwithasmallpond(3m2and80cmdeep)forthewinter.

CNRBRCCA Reintroduction Site.—The originalCNRBRCCAconsistedof0.67hectares,and60adjacenthectaresoflandwaspurchasedin2007(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010).ChangxingNews(2008b)reportedthetotalareaofCNRBRCCAtobeapproximately67acresintheir

2008 report.Twenty-fivehectaresweredesignated as anexperimental“wild”zonewherealligatorswouldbereleased(Fig.8).InApril2012,120individualsthathadhatchedin2003through2005werereleasedintothefenced“wild”zone(XinhuaNews2012).InJuly2013,140alligatorshatchedin2006through2007werereleased(YangHai-Qiong,pers.comm.,20August2013).Morefemalesthanmaleswerereleasedandafewreleasedanimalswereblind,thelatterpos-siblycausedbytheinbreedinginherentinpopulationswithlownumbersoffounders.

Release Procedures.—Iparticipatedinthereintroductionof140individualsintothe“wild”zoneinJune2013.Abam-boocatchpolewasusedtocatchandsubduealligators(Fig.9),andanRFIDchipfromDestronFearingwasimplantedundertheskinonthetail(Fig.10).ThisRFIDchipcontainsrelevantdataaboutthealligator,suchasitsheight,weight,andlineageinformation.AnRFIDreaderisusedtocheckifaviableRFIDchipisineveryindividual(Fig.11).Abloodsampleistakenfromthetailveinusingadisposablesyringe.ThesampleissenttothelabatZhejiangUniversityforfutureuse(Fig.12). Alligatorsweretransportedbyboattothemiddleoftheexperimental“wild”zone,wherethetapewasremovedfromtheirjaws.Withonehandsqueezingthemouthshutandanotherholdingthebody,eachalligatorisreleasedintothe“wild”(Fig.13).Shortlyafterrelease,individualshadnotyetadaptedtothewildenvironment.Inthe“wild”zone,alliga-

Fig. 11.AnRFIDreaderisusedtocheckifaviablechipisineveryindividualbeforeitisreleased.

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torswerenotfeddirectly;instead,fishhadbeencultivatedinthearea.However,severalalligatorsstillrespondedtosticksthrownintothewaterbyareaworkers.

ARCCAR Reintroduction Sites.—ARCCARalsohasrein-troducedindividualsintowildzones.AsofJanuary2013,ARCCARhascarriedoutnineseparatereintroductionefforts

Fig. 12.AbloodsampleistakenfromthetailandsenttothelabatZhejiangUniversity.

Fig. 13.Releasingalligatorsintothewild.

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(AnhuiForestryBureau2013).Figure14showsthelocationsof theCNRBRCCAandARCCARbreedingcentersandtheirreintroductionsites. In2003,ARCCAR’sfirstalligatorreintroductioneffortoccurredinHongxin,30kmsouthofARCCAR.ThiswasajointeffortbetweentheWildlifeConservationSociety,basedattheBronxZoo,andtwoChinesenationalentities, theAnhuiForestryBureauandEastChinaNormalUniversity(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010). Eight subsequent reintroductions occurred inGaojingmiao, 54 km northeast of ARCCAR. TheGaojingmiaoreserveconsistsof30hectares,12hectaresofwhichwerewetlandsthatcontained17ponds.Fish,shrimp,

snails,mussels,andloachesweresuppliedbyARCCARannu-ally(XinhuaNews2009,AnhuiPhotographers’Net2009).ReleasedatesareshowninTable1. Athirdreintroductionsite,ChongmingDongtanNatureReserve,isattheeasternendofChongmingIsland,Shanghai.ThreeChinesealligatorsbornatCNRBRCCAandthreeU.S.-bornanimalsdonatedtoCNRBRCCAwerereleasedthereinJune2007.ThiswasajointeffortbetweentheUnitedStatesandChina,whichinvolvedtheWildlifeConservationSocietyandtheSt.AugustineAlligatorFarm,bothbasedintheUnitedStates,andCNRBRCCAandtheShanghaigov-ernment(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010).

Wild Population.—Conductingapopulationsurveyisdif-ficultandcaneasilyyieldinaccurateresults.Inadditiontoalltheproblemsassociatedwithlocatinganddiscriminatingindividualsinthewild,ChineseAlligatorshavetheabilitytodepressmetaboliclevels,whichallowsthemtosubmergethemselvesinwaterformorethanthreehours(FangSheng-Guo,pers.comm.,13June2013). A1999report suggestedthat the totalpopulationofChineseAlligatorsinthewildwaslessthan130individuals,withanannualdeclinerateof4–6%(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010).Aseparateteam,in2005,carriedoutanothersurveyofthewildpopulation.AccordingtoWangChao-Lin,deputydirectorofARCCAR,moresurveyswerecon-ductedin2009and2011(AnhuiNews2012).Thelatest

Table 1.ReleasesofChineseAlligatorsatARCCAR.

Releases (reference) Date Number

Firstrelease(AnhuiForestryBureau2013) 2003 3

Secondrelease(AnhuiForestryBureau2013) April2006 6

Thirdrelease(Anhui News2007) June2007 6

Fourthrelease(Langxi News2009b) June2009 6

Fifthrelease(XinhuaNews2009) June2009 6

Sixthrelease(Anhui News2010) June2010 6

Seventhrelease(Xinhua News2011) May2011 6

Eighthrelease(AnhuiNews2012) June2012 6

Ninthrelease(AnhuiForestryBureau2013) May2013 6

Fig. 14.LocationoftheCNRBRCCAandARCCARbreedingcentersandtheirreintroductionsites.

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ARCCARsurveyin2011showedthewildpopulationat150individualsand200ifthe50reintroducedindividualswereincluded(ChinaNews2013).However,thereintroducedindividualsatCNRBRCCAwerenotincludedinthesurvey.Nevertheless,researchersatZhejiangUniversitycontinuetoquoteThorbjarnarson’s1999report(<130individuals)intheirresearchpapers.Thetruewildpopulationcountremainsunclear,butevenseniorresearchersdoubttheoutdatedoffi-cialnumber. Thorbjarnarsonandthebreedingcentersdiffervastlyintheirdefinitionsofa“wildalligator.”Thorbjarnarsonstatedthatwildalligators“wereborninnestsbywildfemalesliv-inginponds;theyarenotsurroundedbyfencesnoraretheyfed”(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010).However,the260alligatorsatCNRBRCCA’swildzonearefencedandfishwerecultivated(Fig.15).The48alligatorsatARCCAR’sfencedGaojingmiaositeareresuppliedwithseafoodannually(LangxiNews2009a).

Inbreeding Depression.—As a result of the ChineseAlligator’slowgeneticdiversityandfewfoundingmembers,theforcedmatingofcloserelativeshascausedinbreedingdepression,therebyreducingfertilityandincreasingmortal-ityandtherateofdeformities.Thelatterincludekyphosis,S-shapedbodies,curvedtails,sideways-pointingtails,blind-ness,orbeingbornwithouteyes.Keeperspreventindividualswithdeformitiesfrombreeding.Theseindividualsareisolatedintheirownpens,wheretheyarefedregularly,assomecan-

notswim.DeformitiescausedbyinbreedingdepressionweresevereatCNRBRCCA,buthavedecreasedfrom10%to0.25%afterthekeeperscarefullymatchedthealligatorsthatwereseveralgenerationsaparttomaximizegeneticvariance(FangSheng-Guo,pers.comm.,13June2013). Thorbjarnarson emphasized that futurework shouldfocusongeneticscreeningofalladultanimalsinARCCARandCNRBRCCAandshouldincludethedevelopmentofabreedingprogramtomaximizegeneticdiversityofprogeny(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010).IntheUnitedStates,theAssociationofZoosandAquariums(AZA)hasdevelopedaSpeciesSurvivalPlan(SSP)pertainingtoendangeredspeciesthatadvisesontechniquesformanagingbreedingandreintro-ductionefforts.Individualsaretransportedamongnetworksofzoosforbreedingaccordingtoamasterplandevelopedtominimizethelossofgeneticdiversity(ThorbjarnarsonandWang2010). NomasterplanfortheChineseAlligatoriscurrentlyavailable,nordoesastudbookcomprehensivelydocumentandmake available informationon the variousbreedingeffortsinChina.Infact,ARCCARandCNRBRCCAoper-ateasseparateentities;theymustengageinjointbreedingeffortstomaximizegeneticvariationandshareanydataorresourcespertainingtotheirownpopulations.

AcknowledgmentsIthankProfessorFangSheng-GuoofZhejiangUniversityforacceptingmeasaresearchinternandprovidingmewiththe

Fig. 15.ThealligatorsatCNRBRCCA’s“wild”reintroductionsiteareenclosedbyfencesandfisharecultivated.

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opportunitytostudyChineseAlligatorsattheCNRBRCCA.ManythanksgotoZhejiangUniversitygraduatestudent,YangHai-Qiong,andheadkeeper,RenDabin, for theirvaluableinsightsandmentorship.IalsothankCarlMaofTheBransonSchool,myadvisorandteacherofBiologyandBiotechnology,forhisadviceonthisreport.

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