Lake Griffin alligator diet study

Funded by revenues from the "Conserve Wildlife" license plate.

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Alligators are caught at night when they most actively feed.  Noninjurious capture techniques are used.


Dr. J. Perran Ross of the Florida Museum of Natural History is conducting research into the possibility that thiamin deficiency has caused the alligator mortality on Lake Griffin. Ms. Amanda Rice, a graduate student at the University of Florida, is assisting Dr. Ross with a comparative study of alligator diets on Lakes Griffin, Apopka, and Woodruff in central Florida.

This study will help determine if gizzard shad comprise a greater proportion of the diet of alligators from Lake Griffin in comparison to the diets of alligators from Lakes Woodruff and Apopka. Additionally, information on alligator diet and condition may help to explain variations in alligator reproductive success and growth rates.