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58<br />
discovered (Figur€s 2 and 3). I.he Oclober 1991 increasc in lhe percentage of eyeshinc counts<br />
in the West Arm contrasls with the tindings of Murphy (1977) who found the percentage o[<br />
alligators in the West Arm to alecrease from Septcmberhrough October of 1972-19?3. In the<br />
ht6r case, however, lhis rcsponse was shown lo be relaled to the increasing uso of Par Pond's<br />
Hot Arm, through the tall and wint€r months, in response to the introduction therc of heated<br />
reactor effluents. The distribution of alligators tkoughout Par Pond in 1991 also contrasted<br />
sh ply wilh the findings of Brandt (1989) whose ddn showed a concertration of :mimals in rh€<br />
Mai; L*e in 1987 and relativcly low use of the reservoi/s arms. ln l99l however' the ltrms<br />
wcre preferrcd and use of the Main Lakc was disproportionally low (l'able l)<br />
Reproduclion:<br />
Three nests were localed nt P^r Pond during 1991. All were in close proximily to if not<br />
exactly xt nest sites from previous years. By lhe end of August all of these nests were al least<br />
100m from the lowercd shoreline of the reservoir- In each case, the lemales r€mained in<br />
attendance md all nests hatched even though in one cllse the female had to move the halchlings<br />
l50m to the water. A tot ot 44 hatchlings was matked from two nests- No hatchlings were<br />
marked from the third nest, bul a! lcast eight were later observed , ong the shorsline.<br />
h one case the halchlings were found in a shallow pool adjacento what may have bccn<br />
a alen. Thcse animals may have soNived the wintcr because of the shelter provided by such a<br />
den. In the othcr two cases, the halchlings were found along the shoreline in areas with no<br />
vegetalion and v€ry little cover. It is unlikely thal many of these animals survived. As yet<br />
unpublished sludies o{ the avian communiry of par Pond havc shown markcd increases in the<br />
numbers of wading birds at the rese oir since the drNdown (Keilh Bildstein, pers comm.)' and<br />
these birds along with larger alligators ^nd large-mouthed bass (Micloptetu salmoidesr' th^t ^te<br />
also abundanl in Par Pond (Gibbons and Sharilz 1974), would rcPresenl significmt sources ot<br />
predation upor hatchling alligators inhabiting such exposed shorelines.<br />
Movements and Distribulion:<br />
The inilial capture locations and subsequent movements of the nine male and five<br />
femalc :rdult alligators equipped with radio trllnsmitlers are shown in Figures 2 and 3,<br />
respectivoly. The dislributions of lhe sexes differed markedly throughout the reservoir rn<br />
September/October when initial captures were made. All alligators caplurcd by trip snares in<br />
th; reservoir's North Arm were males, while fou. oul of the five females captured were taken in<br />
the West Arm. Later in Octobcr, the males th:tt had been captured in tbe Norlh Arm showed<br />
considerable movemert, with two moving as far as the West Arm and two leaving the reservoir<br />
itself. However, only one of the females showed .Dy movement between regions ot the<br />
reservoir. This female was captured near the west end of lhe retaining dam in the wesr Arm<br />
and later moved the entire length of the reservoir to the upper reaches of the North A-rm where<br />
it later spent the winter. By Oclober, thc tkee females thrt had been caPlured in the West<br />
Arm began 1o concentrate, along with a radio{elemetered male from the North Arm, in a<br />
limited portion of the Wesl Arm where they would later spend the wintcr.<br />
With tbe onset of colder wcather in DecemberJanuary, all long-distance movements of the<br />
radiolelemetered allig:rtors ceased, and their distribulion