Lisa Arneson
Animal Life
Dr. MacClark
04/02/02
Alligators, the key to the future?
Alligators and their legacy have surpassed any existing creature ever to walk the face of this earth. They were here before, in, and after the age of the dinosaurs. For two hundred million years they have managed to survive apocalyptic, environmental and climatic changes. But less than thirty years ago alligators in America were on the verge of extinction. Thanks to new laws protecting this ancient species they are now again a thriving population and scientists can once again try to begin to unravel their secrets. The question on everyone’s mind is how can the human race even begin to compete with the alligators in the race against time? But it seems the more we discover the more confused we become.
These cold-blooded animals are approximately five million strong in the southeastern states of America. Their habitats are mostly in freshwater swamps and marshes. Although an alligator’s nest may vary in different environments, the same structure takes place. What may appear to be a big hunk of mud, twigs, and trash next to a body of water actually may hold over forty embryonic lives. Like most egg-laying animals alligators leave their offspring to hatch and fend for themselves. "A one week old baby alligator only ten inches long could be a healthy meal to many predators. But, that’s hardly something to be concerned with because within the baby’s first year it will more than triple in size. Only ten percent of alligators hatchlings survive teen hood. A male can grow up to fourteen feet and weigh as much as 1,000 pounds.
But, these little gators have more to worry about more than just a few predators. Chemicals like pesticides can easily kill off an entire population of alligators. These chemicals contain environmental estrogens and can disrupt the endocrine system of a male alligator. This drastic change can make it difficult very difficult to breed. A direct example of this is in 1980, a chemical spill in Lake Apopka of Florida made it impossible for the alligator population to reproduce. The offspring was born with very small gentiles and were unable to mate. And the entire population ceased to exist.
Scientists used to have to kill a gator to find out its sex. But, now with today’s knowledge it is easily determined on living patients. A gator’s sex organ can be found in the cloaca, a vent in its belly. Basically if the organ fills the cloaca, the gator is male. But, if the organ if half the size the gator is a female.
But, it’s a wonder why the alligators still exist when you look at how their sex is determined. It’s been proven that the temperature of an environment controls the sex of the offspring. For instance cold or extremely hot temperatures produce females while intermediate temperatures produce mostly males.
Sometimes the temperature in the nest varies so much that in the center of the nest will be males and in the outlining will be females. The hotter the nest the more stripes the alligator will have. But if the nest gets too hot the alligator can be born with deformations, like a twisted tail. The female vs. male ratio varies greatly every year for scientists. This is suspected to increase the rate of survival for these creatures.
Most animals must feed a certain amount or die. But the alligators have another trick up their sleeves. If the temperature is warm and there is abundance in prey than an alligators metabolism is high.
But, if just the opposite occurs, than an alligator can shut down its energy burning system. It can lie around for months at a time eating nothing.
Another survival fact to add to the already large stack is that female crocodiles are known to live up to thirty to sixty years and nest up to forty-five times. In one theory it is believed that females use the same nesting ground. But, it has been difficult to prove because they need the DNA of the mother in order to compare it to the offspring.
How do you tell the difference between an alligator and it’s little brothers? Well of the twenty-three different kinds of crocodiles they all have a more pointed snout then a gator and its fourth tooth in its lower jaw sets directly in to the top jaw. Caimans often have the similar narrow jaws too. But like the gators their fourth tooth is invisible. But, both caimans and crocodiles are less aggressive and smaller in size than the big alligator.
From looking at the gators’ past it looks like the next creatures should be a piece of cake to them.
What’s global warming to a species that has survived the Ice Age. Whatever happens the alligators are sure to adapt with the changing times and temperatures to survive once again where other species fail.
I personally think that alligators, crocodiles, and caiman have been around for centuries because of ability to adapt and even monitor their metabolism. For now it looks like they’re home free. Right? I mean there are laws protecting them. But, in an industrialist society who is to say what be final. What happens when we lose interest in adding their survival? We the most viral of all species may exterminate the most adaptable of all species. It would definitely not surprise me.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
SOURCE: Discover Magazine
ISSUE: May 2001
TITLE: Everything you need to know about survival you can learn from an ALLIGATOR
AUTHOR : Jack McClintock
PAGES: 52-59
SOURCE: TEXAS MONTHLY
ISSUE: Sept 2000 Vol 28 Issue 9
TITLE: Swamp Thing.
AUTHOR: Morthland, John
PAGES: 100 , 7
SOURCE: Natural History
ISSUE : 3 Vol.110
TITLE: Prepared for the Past.
AUTHOR: Zimmer, Carl
PAGES: 28 ,2