Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Evaluating Survival Of Released Ranched American Alligator In Coastal Louisiana, Kristy Durham Capelle

LSU Master's Theses

Since 1986, Louisiana’s American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) ranching program has required the release of alligators produced from eggs collected from wild nests to maintain wild populations. This project assessed long-term harvest data (1991-2010s) to estimate survival of released alligators. First, wildlife and fishery harvest models and general inter-disciplinary survival models were evaluated to determine best fit to the data. Second, once the best fitting model was selected, release length, precipitation and temperature from release sites, and an index of hunter effort were added to investigate influences on survival estimates. Release length was included because over time the proportion and size …