Population dynamics of Morelet's crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) using data of national monitoring in Mexico

Morelet's crocodile populations have limited distribution along the coast of Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala, and have been greatly affected by human activities. Morelet's crocodile is a species with high ecological and economic value. From an ecological perspective, it is an apex predator in the ecosystems in which it lives. Because of their vulnerable status is essential to have updated information on its populations over time to know their current conservation status. We analyze with a population model the vital rates of importance for the management and conservation of this species. Population growth with the Nocturnal Visual Detection model showed growth (lambda = 1.027) over a 100 years, as in modeling Marking and Recapture of Specimens model (lambda = 1.026). The largest reproductive value (v) was observed in the Adult stage (0.458). The sensitivity matrix indicated that the most sensitivity was offspring production by Adults (5.59). The data presented here show that the main factors impacting adult survival and the transition from Subadult to Adult stages alter population growth. Using the results of this model to quantitatively compare the conservation strategy can prove extremely useful to discern the parameters that must be taken into consideration and their potential effect on the population.