Project Update: May 2008

The present abundance of C. c. yacare, has been held responsible for declining fish stocks, therefore sustainable harvesting of the species remains a hot topic. Results from our study found that in fact C. c. yacare fed predominantly during the wet season, when they inhabit the flooded grasslands and entered fed very little on fish when their numbers became crowded within ponds.

So far we have found the overwhelming importance in surface ground water in influencing the population size and structure of C.c. yacare in the Pantanal, and future study is to focus on exactly what size of C.c. yacare population a discrete area of Pantanal wetland can sustain. In depth details of the research carried out with the Rufford small grant can be found at :

Campbell, H.A., Micheli, M., & Abe, A. (2008) A seasonally dependant shift in the distribution and physiological condition of Caiman crocodilus yacare in the Paraguay River Basin. Wildlife Research 35, 150-157.