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The Extractive Reserve (Resex) Lake Cuniã, located in Porto Velho, about 130 km from the city’s urban area in Rondônia, celebrates two decades of action as a reference in conservation and sustainable management of crocodilians in the Amazon. To mark the date, the project, unique in the region to practice alligator management of melanosuchus niger (Jacaré-Açu) and Caiman Crocodilus (Jacaretinga), for socioeconomic purposes, published two scientific articles in Reptiles & Amphibians, bringing unpublished contributions on nesting ecology and embryonic development of alligator-Açu.
Since 2004, the National Center for Research and Conservation of Reptiles and Amphibians (RAN/ICMBio), in partnership with NGI Cuniã-Jacundá and under the coordination of researcher Dr. Marcos Eduardo Coutinho, conducts the research and monitoring plan of natural populations of crocodilians at Resex.
Two articles published in 2024 represent important milestones for the conservation of crocodilians/ Photo: Reproduction
The initiative has the collaboration of institutions such as the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and Liverpool John Moores University (United Kingdom), as well as the participation of local researchers and reserve extractive communities.
The two articles published in 2024 represent important landmarks for the conservation of crocodilians. The first study analyzed the embryonic development of alligators, identifying variations in the growth and mass of embryos between different nests, as well as deviations in morphological events in relation to previous studies conducted in the same reserve.
Already the second article explored the thermal ecology of the nests and the trade-offs between the size of the lit and the dimensions of the eggs. The researchers observed that larger litters tend to generate smaller eggs and puppies, indicating an inverse relationship that can directly impact species survival. These findings offer fundamental perceptions to improve sustainable management and ensure the viability of long -term populations.
Throughout the 2024 reproductive station between September and December, the survey continued to use dataLoggers to monitor nest and air temperature variations during the incubation period. At the same time, abundance and distribution studies have completed a historical series of 20 years of data on alligators populations in the reserve.
This long -term monitoring has been essential to understanding population dynamics and adjusting management strategies. The collaboration of local communities, which are part of the project from the beginning, is also a differential, strengthening the connection between science, conservation and traditional practices.
