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Existen pocos estudios sobre el caimán de anteojos, Caiman crocodilus chiapasius, realizados en México. En el presente estudio evaluamos las características clave de la ecología reproductiva del caimán en México. Se realizó una búsqueda de nidos entre abril y septiembre de 2014, y se observó que la construcción de los mismos tiene lugar en junio y las eclosiones, en septiembre y octubre. La fase lunar influye en la anidación. Asimismo, la altura del nido, la distancia al árbol más cercano y la distancia desde el borde superior del nido al primer huevo están relacionadas con el éxito de eclosión y la temperatura de incubación.

Background and Research Aims: The Urías Coastal Lagoon (UCL) is a heavily modified and polluted lagoon near Mazatlán, in northwestern Mexico. Once abundant in the UCL, the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is now rarely seen in the area. A healthy population of apex predators is essential to maintain the trophic balance of ecosystems. Our research aim was to lay the groundwork for studies of American crocodile population ecology in the UCL. Methods: Traditional boat surveys (day and night) of crocodiles were undertaken in the UCL in May-July 2022. Two exploratory aerial (∼ 30 m altitude) surveys of a small wetland located close to a habitational complex in the vicinity of the UCL were performed in June and December 2022, using a commercial Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). We used images obtained with the UAV to estimate the size of the crocodiles detected in the wetland. Results: This study confirms the presence of American crocodiles in the UCL and presents the first information on individuals of this species for this area. Aerial surveys revealed the presence of 17 individuals in the wetland; the mean size of nine of those individuals was 183.3 ± 60 cm (range: 130-310 cm). Two yearlings (∼37 cm length), possibly born in June 2022, were captured in the same wetland in September 2022. We also surveyed 50.7 km of UCL coastline by boat, but no crocodiles were sighted. Conclusion: The crocodiles seem to avoid the human-impacted UCL and likely use the less impacted surrounding wetlands as a refuge area, which they also use to reproduce. The presence of both yearlings and adults is a good sign for the survival of this vulnerable population. Implications for Conservation: We believe that the surveyed wetland should be closely monitored for conservation purposes because it might be one of the last crocodile breeding refuges in the heavily modified and polluted coastal environment of the UCL. We summarize our results with a series of recommendations for local and federal authorities. These recommendations would likely help the conservation of the American crocodile population in the UCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Regulation of melanin-based pigmentation is complex, involving multiple genes. Because different genes can contribute to the same pigmentation phenotype, the genes identified in model organisms may not necessarily apply to wild species. In the barn owl (Tyto alba), ventral plumage colour ranges from white to rufous, with genetic variation in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene (MC1R) accounting for at least a third of this variation. In the present study, we used transcriptomic data to compare the gene expression profiles of growing feathers from nestlings with different MC1R genotypes. We identified 21 differentially expressed genes, nine of which are involved in melanogenesis, while seven are related to neurotransmitter function or synaptic activity. With the exception of CALB1, all of the differentially expressed genes were upregulated in rufous owls compared to white barn owls. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to link melanin production with neurotransmitter-related genes, and we discuss possible evolutionary explanations for this connection., (© 2025 The Author(s). Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Sex in crocodilians is not determined by chromosomes, but by egg incubation temperature, where different temperatures produce different clutch sex ratios. Two patterns have been proposed to describe these changes in sex ratios: a 100% female proportion at low and high temperatures with male predominance at intermediate ones (FMF) or a simpler pattern with a single female-to-male transition (FM). Over the last three decades, researchers have provided empirical information to support either of these two patterns in different species; however, no consensus has been reached partly because data have not been analysed as a whole. Here, we aimed at gathering the existing data on these patterns to provide models of temperature-dependent sex determination in those crocodilians studied so far. Potentially relevant publications were searched on Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Scielo and Science Direct. Studies that reported results on the sexual identity of crocodilian hatchlings obtained from constant temperature incubation treatments were considered. Using statistical models varying in their underlying assumptions, we evaluated which sex-determination pattern was best supported for the studied crocodilians and constructed species-specific and latitude-specific models. Based on the 8,458 sexed hatchlings studied throughout 31 studies, we show that the evidence supports a shared FMF pattern in all the crocodilian species for which enough data are available. We find that such pattern changes between species and at different latitudes. These results suggest a lability of the FMF crocodilian sex-determination pattern, a key feature under the present climate change scenario., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2019 British Ecological Society.)

Activity patterns in ectotherms rely on the structure of the thermal environment and thermoregulatory opportunities during activity periods. A dichotomy between diurnal and nocturnal ectotherms is not clear in every case, and temperature can directly affect the daily activity period in these organisms during both photophase and scotophase. In the present study we evaluate the thermal ecology of six tropical night lizards (genus Lepidophyma) from Mexico. Our results indicate a thermoconformer strategy in most of the studied species. In these species, thermal tolerances are associated with environmental temperatures to which they are exposed. Furthermore, thermal quality of the environment directly determines the daily activity period. Therefore, we argue that diurnal activity in Lepidophyma species is determined by local thermal conditions., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Paratrichosma spp. are capillarid worms that parasitize the abdominal skin of crocodiles. They are likely not a threat to crocodiles' health, but they affect the skins' commercial value. No successful treatment exists against this parasite, and present knowledge of its life cycle is limited. Herein we report new information on Paratrichosoma recurvum occurrence in wild American crocodiles Crocodylus acutus from Mexican Caribbean islands and its relation to environmental (water salinity, temperature, climatic events) and biological (body condition) factors. The percentage of parasitized crocodiles (30.3%) is among the highest recorded in wild crocodilian populations. Small (<40.8 cm total length [TL]) and large (>270 cm TL) crocodiles are less parasitized, probably due to the characteristics of their skin or of the parasite life cycle. Two individuals appeared to have eliminated worms naturally between their capture and recapture. The thorax-abdomen is the most parasitized area of the body of crocodiles. The risk of infection is not associated with the sex of the crocodile, but there was a difference in the proportion of parasitized crocodiles between sites, which could be related to different environmental conditions. The body condition of a crocodile does not seem to be affected by the parasite. Climatic events and water temperature show no effect on the parasitism of crocodiles, but salinity could have an effect. The infection of crocodiles by P. recurvum could depend more on an individual's behavior than on environmental conditions.

Ticks are common ectoparasites of amphibians and reptiles but very few reports of such parasites on crocodylians exist worldwide. Herein, we report the first detailed observations of Amblyomma dissimile Koch, 1844 on the 3 crocodylian species present in Mexico, with the first report of tick parasitism on Crocodylus acutus and the second on Caiman crocodilus chiapasius. This is also the first report of A. dissimile in the state of Quintana Roo. Proportions of infested individuals found in this study ranged from 0.51 to 1.96%, suggesting that tick parasitism in crocodylians is likely opportunistic and occurs when individuals leave the water for terrestrial activities. Tick parasitism does not represent a major threat to crocodylians. The increasing habitat destruction/fragmentation and cattle expansion in southeastern Mexico, however, could increase tick populations and trigger tick parasitism and tick-borne diseases in herpetofauna and other vertebrates, including humans. Thus, studies are needed to better understand these relationships.

Gene expression levels change as an individual ages and responds to environmental conditions. With the exception of humans, such patterns have principally been studied under controlled conditions, overlooking the array of developmental and environmental influences that organisms encounter under conditions in which natural selection operates. We used high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) of whole blood to assess the relative impacts of social status, age, disease, and sex on gene expression levels in a natural population of gray wolves (Canis lupus). Our findings suggest that age is broadly associated with gene expression levels, whereas other examined factors have minimal effects on gene expression patterns. Further, our results reveal evolutionarily conserved signatures of senescence, such as immunosenescence and metabolic aging, between wolves and humans despite major differences in life history and environment. The effects of aging on gene expression levels in wolves exhibit conservation with humans, but the more rapid expression differences observed in aging wolves is evolutionarily appropriate given the species' high level of extrinsic mortality due to intraspecific aggression. Some expression changes that occur with age can facilitate physical age-related changes that may enhance fitness in older wolves. However, the expression of these ancestral patterns of aging in descendant modern dogs living in highly modified domestic environments may be maladaptive and cause disease. This work provides evolutionary insight into aging patterns observed in domestic dogs and demonstrates the applicability of studying natural populations to investigate the mechanisms of aging., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Dromedaries have been fundamental to the development of human societies in arid landscapes and for long-distance trade across hostile hot terrains for 3,000 y. Today they continue to be an important livestock resource in marginal agro-ecological zones. However, the history of dromedary domestication and the influence of ancient trading networks on their genetic structure have remained elusive. We combined ancient DNA sequences of wild and early-domesticated dromedary samples from arid regions with nuclear microsatellite and mitochondrial genotype information from 1,083 extant animals collected across the species' range. We observe little phylogeographic signal in the modern population, indicative of extensive gene flow and virtually affecting all regions except East Africa, where dromedary populations have remained relatively isolated. In agreement with archaeological findings, we identify wild dromedaries from the southeast Arabian Peninsula among the founders of the domestic dromedary gene pool. Approximate Bayesian computations further support the "restocking from the wild" hypothesis, with an initial domestication followed by introgression from individuals from wild, now-extinct populations. Compared with other livestock, which show a long history of gene flow with their wild ancestors, we find a high initial diversity relative to the native distribution of the wild ancestor on the Arabian Peninsula and to the brief coexistence of early-domesticated and wild individuals. This study also demonstrates the potential to retrieve ancient DNA sequences from osseous remains excavated in hot and dry desert environments.

As niche specialist species, lizards from tropical environments are characterized by a low tolerance and high physiological sensitivity to temperature changes. The extent of vulnerability to thermal changes depends on the lizard's physiological plasticity to adjust the environmental changes. Herein we studied the thermal biology of Anolis allisoni, an endemic arboreal lizard from the tropical islands of the Banco Chinchorro Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, carried out during April and May 2012 and April 2014. We report field body (Tb) and preferred body temperatures in the laboratory (Tpref), operative temperatures (Te) and restriction of hours of activity. Anolis allisoni showed high and identical Tb and Tpref (33°C), not significantly different than the mean Te (32.15°C). The effectiveness of thermoregulation (E=-0.30) and the analysis of hours of restriction suggested that the high temperatures of Te (40-62.5°C) registered at midday (from 12:00 to 15:00) of A. allisoni habitat are hostile and force lizards to take refuge during a period of 3h of their daily time of activity. The scarcity of opportunities to find alternative refuges for thermoregulation in Banco Chinchorro point out the vulnerability of A. allisoni and the risk of local extinction when considering future predictions of increase in global environmental temperatures., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The tradition of animal husbandry in the context of a nomadic lifestyle has been of great significance in the Mongolian society. Both Bactrian camels and horses have been invaluable for the survival and development of human activities in the harsh arid environment of the Mongolian steppe. As camels offer unique and sustainable opportunities for livestock production in marginal agro-ecological zones, we investigated the current genetic diversity of three local Mongolian camel breeds and compared their levels of variation with common native Mongolian camels distributed throughout the country. Based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers, we found levels of genetic diversity in Mongolian populations similar to that reported for Chinese Bactrian camels and for dromedaries. Little differentiation was detected between single breeds, except for a small group originating from the northwestern Mongolian Altai. We found neither high inbreeding levels in the different breeds nor evidence for a population decline. Although the Mongolian camel census size has severely declined over the past 20 years, our analyses suggest that there still exists a stable population with adequate genetic variation for continued sustainable utilization., (© 2014 The Authors. Animal Genetics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.)

Congenital defects in crocodilians have received little interest. In the context of global change and increasing threats to biodiversity, data on birth defects occurring in wildlife could be of importance for estimating the health of species populations and their ecosystems. Herein, we report the first case of amelia (i.e. absence of limbs) in Morelet's crocodiles Crocodylus moreletii from Mexico and the third on the southern Yucatan Peninsula. The crocodile in question was a juvenile (41 cm total length) captured in July 2012 in the Río Hondo, the river that forms the border between Mexico and Belize south of the state of Quintana Roo. The prevalence of this malformation in the C. moreletii population of Río Hondo (0.35%) is similar to that reported in 2 previous cases in Belize. Several causes of birth defects in crocodilians have previously been cited in the literature. Although we do not have relevant information to elucidate this case, we discuss some plausible explanations for this birth defect.