Effects of Environmental Temperature on the Onset and the Duration of Oviposition Period of Caiman latirostris

Abstract

Reproductive biology of Broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) may be affected by climatic variables. however, it remains unknown which are the specific climatic variables that affect the onset of oviposition, as well as its duration. in this study, we use a series of climatic data corresponding to the preceding four weeks to oviposition to know which of them influence these reproductive characteristics, and we observed that weather conditions of the immediate week prior to oviposition was the most important factor. We found a delay in the onset of oviposition positively associated to the number of days with temperatures below 20° c in the previous weeks. conversely, we found that oviposition starts earlier with the increase of the number of days with temperatures above 33° c during the previous week. additionally, the duration of the oviposition period is longer when the number of days with temperatures above 33° c increases. no relationship was found between the onset of oviposition and the number of storms or the amount of rainfall in the four preceding weeks. We also noted that in seasons when the start of oviposition is delayed, the duration of oviposition of this period is shorter. the onset of oviposition of female C. latirostris may vary by up to three weeks among years. the information obtained here is a useful tool for managing strategies for its predictive power of the timing and duration of oviposition based on climatic information.