Dark gray or black in color with a fully armored body, the Chinese alligator grows to 1.5–2.1 metres (5–7 ft) in length and weighs 36–45 kilograms (80–100 lb) as an adult. It brumates in burrows in winter and is nocturnal in summer.[1]
Why Is The American Alligator Considered A Keystone Species
Alligators are considered “keystone species”, a species that helps to fashion its environment and influence the types of species that live there. Alligators perform necessary services like providing fresh water for other wildlife to drink during droughts by digging “gator holes” that bring groundwater to the surface.[2]
Why Is The American Alligator Considered A Keystone Species Quizlet?
The American alligator is a keystone species because of the many roles it plays in its ecosystem. Nesting mounds created by the alligators are used by birds to provide nesting materials and feeding sites, and red belly turtles lay their eggs in the depressions.[3]
Why Is The American Alligator Important To The Ecosystem?
As alligators move from gator holes to nesting mounds, they help keep areas of open water free of invading vegetation. Without these ecosystem services, freshwater ponds and shrubs and trees would fill in coastal wetlands in the alligator’s habitat, and dozens of species would disappear.[4]
Is The American Alligator An Indicator Species?
The alligator is an indicator of ecosystem responses to Everglades restoration because it is sensitive to hydrol- ogy, salinity, and system productivity, all factors that are expected to change as a result of restoration. Alligators are highly responsive to changes in their environ- ment.[5]
Why Are Crocodiles Keystone Species?
By preying on the most common fish, they balance the fish population; any species which suddenly becomes dominant is put back in its proper proportion. Crocodile droppings are nutritious for the fish and contain critically important chemicals.”[6]
When Was The American Alligator Given Endangered Status
These alligators can live to be 50 years old. American alligators were once threatened by extinction, but after being placed on the endangered species list in 1967, their population increased. This species is now classified as least concern.[7]
When Was The American Alligator Listed As Endangered?
In 1967, the alligator was listed as an endangered species, and was considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 prohibited alligator hunting, allowing the species to rebound in many areas where it had been depleted.[8]
Why Was The American Alligator Declared Endangered In 1967?
The American alligator was first listed as endangered in 1967, due to poorly regulated hunting and habitat loss. It was among the landmark “Class of ’67,” the first class of 78 species to warrant federal protection under the precursor to the existing endangered species law.[9]
Is The American Alligator A Protected Species?
The American alligator first received protection under Federal law in 1967 when it was listed as endangered throughout its range under the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 (32 FR 4001, March 11, 1967), a predecessor to the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (16 U.S.C.[10]
Why Does The American Alligator Lay In The Sun??Trackid=Sp-006
American Alligator | National Wildlife Federationwww.nwf.org › Educational-Resources › Wildlife-Guide › Reptiles › Amer…[11]
Why Do Alligators Lay Out In The Sun?
Alligators are “cold-blooded,” meaning that they are ectothermic animals that cannot regulate their own body temperature, but assume the temperatures of their surrounding environment. To warm themselves, alligators bask in the sun, which is when they are frequently observed on the banks of water bodies.[12]
Do Alligators Bask In The Sun?
Alligators are ectothermic — they rely on external sources of heat to regulate their body temperature. Alligators control their body temperature by basking in the sun, or moving to areas with warmer or cooler air or water temperatures.[13]
Do Alligators Get Energy From Sun?
The aim of basking is to raise the body temperature up to their preferred level. Alligators are ‘cold blooded’ – a rather inaccurate term for their physiology, because a basking alligator has very warm blood indeed. The term ‘ectothermic’ is a better description, because they obtain their body heat from the sun.[14]
Do Alligators Like Hot Weather?
While they enjoy the Florida warmth, but get too hot over 92 degrees, alligators may lay in the sun with their mouths open in order to allow heat to escape, much like the way a dog pants to cool down. If the heat is too extreme, alligators will move very little during the say and instead become active at night.[15]
What Was The Primary Reason The American Alligator Become An Endangered Species
The American alligator and its importance to the Florida Evergladeswww.esa.org › esablog › 2012/06/04 › the-american-alligator-and-its-impo…[16]
Why Was The American Alligator Endangered?
This large-scale hunting and poaching, along with loss of habitat, reduced the alligator population so dramatically that it was on the brink of extinction. In 1967, the alligator was listed as an endangered species, and was considered in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range.[17]
When Was The American Alligator Taken Off The Endangered Species List?
The reptiles were hunted close to extinction. After they were listed under the Endangered Species Act, hunting was prohibited and their habitat was protected. The species has made a dramatic recovery and was removed from the endangered species list in 1987.[18]
What Threatens The American Alligator?
The main threat facing the American alligator is the destruction and degradation of wetland habitat. Destruction of wetlands frequently occurs in association with human development.[19]
What Caused The American Alligator Numbers To Decline?
Dwindling populations of alligators were the result of hunting and loss of habitat, and the American alligator was listed as an endangered species in 1967 under a law that preceded the Endangered Species Act of 1973.Oct 14, 2020[20]
What Is The Relationships American Alligator & Burmese Python
Alligators and their relatives are the last of the living reptiles that were closely related to dinosaurs, and their closest modern kin are birds. There is only one other alligator species, the Chinese alligator. Alligators and crocodiles are related.[21]
What Symbiotic Relationships Do Alligators Have?
An alligator and a birds symbiotic relationship is mutualism. The alligator gets its teeth cleaned by the bird. The bird gets its food from the alligators teeth. An example of commensalism is when a bird flies in an alligators mouth and gets food from the alligators mouth.[22]
What Is The Relationship Between Crocodile And Alligator?
Alligators and crocodiles are from the same scientific order, but from different families. They are both members of the Crocodylia, but crocodiles are from the Crocodylidae family, while alligators come from the Alligatordae family.[23]
What Is The Relationship Between Alligators And Birds?
Alligators and birds are part of the same larger group, called archosaurs, which has existed for 250 million years and which has given rise not only to birds and crocodilians, but also to dinosaurs.[24]
Do American Alligators And Crocodiles Live Together?
Crocodiles are native to North, Central, and South America, Africa, Australia, and part of Asia. Interestingly, the Florida Everglades is the only place in the world where both alligators and crocodiles live together.[25]
What Is The Color Of An American Alligator
Adult alligators are primarily dark gray in color with a lighter color underside, although juvenile alligators will have light colored stripes on their sides for camouflage. American crocodiles are a brownish gray color, and are generally paler colored than alligators.[26]
What Does The American Alligator Look Like?
Alligators have a long, rounded snout that has upward facing nostrils at the end; this allows breathing to occur while the rest of the body is underwater. The young have bright yellow stripes on the tail; adults have dark stripes on the tail. It’s easy to distinguish an alligator from a crocodile by the teeth.[27]
Is There An American Alligator?
American alligators are large crocodilians found only in the United States. They can grow to be more than 12 feet (3.6 meters) in length and weigh as much as 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms), with males being slightly larger than females on average. The animal’s dark skin is armored with small, bony scales called scutes.[28]
Are Some Alligators Black?
Color. Dorsally, adult American alligators may be olive, brown, gray, or black.[29]
Are Alligators Yellow?
Young alligators are black with bright yellow blotches and stripes. Adults are a uniform dark color. Alligators and crocodiles are similar in appearance, but exhibit a number of differences. Alligators are dark colored with a broad, rounded snout and are usually found in fresh water.[30]
Resources
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_alligator
[2]http://www.shipyardhhi.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Alligator-tent-card.pdf
[3]https://quizlet.com/327367842/apes-chapter-4-flash-cards/
[4]http://www.brookfield.k12.oh.us/Downloads/Reinsel%2520Go%2520Green%2520Day%25202.pdf
[5]https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/UW/UW35800.pdf
[6]https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1943815X.2011.610804
[7]https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/American-Alligator
[8]https://www.captainjacksairboattours.com/7-are-alligators-endangered/
[9]https://www.esa.org/esablog/2012/06/04/the-american-alligator-and-its-importance-to-the-florida-everglades/
[10]https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/19/2021-01012/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-regulations-pertaining-to-the-american-alligator
[11]https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/American-Alligator
[12]http://srelherp.uga.edu/alligators/allmis.htm
[13]https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/wildlife/alligator/facts/
[14]https://crocodilian.com/cnhc/potm-jul00.html
[15]https://wentzelheatingandair.com/how-alligators-keep-warm/
[16]https://www.esa.org/esablog/2012/06/04/the-american-alligator-and-its-importance-to-the-florida-everglades/
[17]https://www.captainjacksairboattours.com/7-are-alligators-endangered/
[18]https://www.endangered.org/animals/american-alligator/
[19]https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/alligator/
[20]https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/alligator.htm
[21]https://srelherp.uga.edu/alligators/allmis.htm
[22]https://sites.google.com/a/westcta.ccsd.net/everglades-national-park-1/symbiotic-relationships%3Fscrlybrkr%3Dbf2ca267
[23]https://www.evergladesholidaypark.com/blog/difference-gators-crocodiles/
[24]https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/11/bird-meet-cousin-alligator/
[25]https://www.evergladesholidaypark.com/blog/alligators-and-crocodiles/
[26]https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/alligator/
[27]https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/american-alligator%23:~:text%3DAlligators%2520have%2520a%2520long%252C%2520rounded,a%2520crocodile%2520by%2520the%2520teeth.
[28]https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/American-Alligator%23:~:text%3DAmerican%2520alligators%2520are%2520large%2520crocodilians,small%252C%2520bony%2520scales%2520called%2520scutes.
[29]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_alligator%23:~:text%3Dare%2520typically%2520seen.-,Color,brown%252C%2520gray%252C%2520or%2520black.
[30]https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/reptiles/american-alligator/%23:~:text%3DYoung%2520alligators%2520are%2520black%2520with,usually%2520found%2520in%2520fresh%2520water.