Open AccessEffects of relative humidity and elevated oxygen concentrations on egg‐hatching success of American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis
Author(s) -
Reigh Robert C.,
Williams Millie B.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the world aquaculture society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.655
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1749-7345
pISSN - 0893-8849
DOI - 10.1111/jwas.12719
Subject(s) - hatching , hatchling , alligator , biology , zoology , american alligator , oxygen , relative humidity , ecology , chemistry , physics , thermodynamics , organic chemistry
Two experiments were conducted to determine effects of relative humidity (RH) and atmospheric oxygen concentration on hatching success of artificially incubated alligator eggs. In one study, 216 eggs were subjected to one of four treatments involving two levels of RH (80 or 93% RH) and two atmospheric oxygen concentrations (21 or 28% O 2 ). Hatching success of eggs in the 80/21 and 80/28 treatments, combined, totaled only 1.8% (one hatchling produced in each treatment), while hatching success of eggs in the 93/21 and 93/28 treatments averaged 83.3% in both groups, with no significant difference ( p > .05) between treatments. In a second study, 300 alligator eggs were incubated at 93% RH and one of three atmospheric oxygen concentrations (21, 25, or 28% O 2 ). Hatching success averaged 66.3, 56.3, and 62.5% in the 21, 25, and 28% oxygen treatments, respectively, with no significant difference ( p > .05) among treatments. Results of the two experiments indicated that 80% RH reduced egg‐hatching success to nearly zero, regardless of atmospheric oxygen concentration, while 93% RH produced good hatching success. Elevated atmospheric oxygen concentrations up to one‐third higher than ambient air had no effect on egg‐hatching success under the conditions of either study.