Feeding across the food web: The interaction between diet, movement and body size in estuarine crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus)

The estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is an apex predator across freshwater, estuarine and coastal environments. The impact of a changing C. porosus population upon the ecosystem is unknown, but due to large ontogenetic changes in body mass (>1000‐fold) their impact may be wide reaching an...

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Veröffentlicht in:Austral ecology 2015-05, Vol.40 (3), p.275-286
Hauptverfasser: Hanson, Jeffrey O., Salisbury, Steven W., Campbell, Hamish A., Dwyer, Ross G., Jardine, Timothy D., Franklin, Craig E.
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Sprache:eng
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Zusammenfassung:The estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is an apex predator across freshwater, estuarine and coastal environments. The impact of a changing C. porosus population upon the ecosystem is unknown, but due to large ontogenetic changes in body mass (>1000‐fold) their impact may be wide reaching and substantial. Here we investigated the relationship between diet, movement and body size in a population of C. porosus inhabiting a tidal river in northern Australia. Subcutaneous acoustic transmitters and fixed underwater receivers were used to determine the activity space and movement patterns of 42 individuals (202–451 cm in total length). There was no size‐related spatial partitioning among different sized crocodiles. Large individuals (snout–vent length (SVL): 160 cm 
ISSN:1442-9985
1442-9993
DOI:10.1111/aec.12212