Nest-site selection and nest size influence the incubation temperature of Morelet's crocodiles.

In oviparous tetrapods, the nesting-site selection by females is related to the habitat characteristics, which influences nest incubation temperature. Females can directly influence the incubation temperature by choosing certain construction materials or by building nests of different sizes. There are few studies focusing on these aspects in crocodilians that build mound nests. The aim of this study was to determine whether the nest size, its exposure to solar radiation, and the environmental temperature influence the incubation temperature of Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) nests. Artificial nests of two sizes (small and large) were constructed with similar characteristics to natural nests and placed in two locations differing in exposure to solar radiation (shaded and sunny). We used temperature and relative humidity data loggers to record the incubation temperature inside each nest every hour during the species' natural nesting period. Likewise, we recorded the ambient temperature every hour where the experiments were set up with temperature data loggers. We found that nest size and its exposure to solar radiation affected the incubation temperature, with smaller nests in shaded locations having lower incubation temperatures than larger nests in sunny locations. We discuss the importance of nest-site selection and maintenance behaviour of the mound nest by female crocodiles on the incubation temperature of the nest.

Development and Validation of a New Method for Determination of Pb and Cr in Marine Organisms by Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (TXRF) Spectroscopy.

Lead and chromium contamination represents one of the most serious problems in the aquatic environments. The aim of this work was to develop and validate an accurate, sensitivity, and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of Pb and Cr at trace levels in tissues and fat of marine organisms such as turtle (Chelonia mydas), shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae), and dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), utilizing the total reflection X-Ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy. Working solutions were prepared in 10 mL of a solution 0.005 mol·L-1 EDTA and 1 mol·L-1 HNO3. In order to correct possible instrument drifts, 20 µg·L-1 of gallium was used as internal standard (IS). The results showed that TXRF method was linear over the concentration ranges of 5.242-100 µg·L-1 for Pb and 2.363-100 µg·L-1 for Cr. Limits of detection (LOD) achieved were 1.573 and 0.709 µg·L-1 for Pb and Cr, respectively, while limits of quantification achieved were 5.242 µg·L-1 for Pb and 2.363 µg·L-1 for Cr. The validated method was accurate and precise enough for determination of these heavy metals in samples of marine organisms as indicated by acceptable values of recovery between 90-101%. In addition, a certified reference material (BCR-279, sea lettuce) and a Centrum tablet were satisfactory analyzed, and the T-test for comparison of means revealed that there were no significant differences at the 95% confidence level between the values obtained with the proposed TXRF method and the certificated values. The repeatability of the method, expressed as relative standard deviation (RSD), was 5.1% and 4%, for Pb and Cr, respectively. In addition, other features of the developed method were a low sample volume of 10 µL, and the sample frequency achieved was 20 h-1.