Alligator Nesting Ecology in Two Habitats in Southern Georgia
Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) nest characteristics from 2 different habitats in southern Georgia were compared. Nest and egg measurements varied somewhat between Silver Lake, an open freshwater habitat, and Rhetts Island, a brackish marsh habitat. However, except for the distance nests were found from water, none of the differences between study areas were significant. Mean clutch size for the Silver Lake study area was 38.0 while that of Rhetts Island was 40.7. Fertility rate of eggs on Silver Lake was 92.1 %. Of 29 nests containing eggs on the Silver Lake area, 14 (48.3%) were...
