CERP Central Everglades Planning Project CEPP - Alligator monitoring in WCA3A and ENP

The short-term objective of this project is to obtain “baseline” documentation and an understanding of alligator abundance and body condition for long-term assessment by sampling new and historic sites. Long-term objectives include quantifying changes in alligator abundance and body condition in relation to changes in water delivery and prey abundance, assessing long-term patterns of alligator nesting and relationship to hydrologic conditions, and linking trends in alligator abundance, body condition, and nesting. In this context, this project monitored and assessed the ecological response of alligators (abundance and body condition) to changing hydrology within Water Conservation Area 3 (WCA 3) and Everglades National Park (ENP), providing resource managers with results that are directly applicable and necessary to effectively assess CERP project objectives and effects of hydrology on estimated alligator abundance and body condition in WCA 3 and ENP. This project is part of the CERP Monitoring and Assessment Plan implemented by RECOVER. Data leveraged from this project are used to inform and assess CEPP project-level benefits.