Egg Production, Egg Development, and Mortality of Zoo-Bred Ozark Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi).

Abstract

Populations of Ozark hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis bishopi, Grobman 1943) in Missouri and Arkansas are federally listed as endangered. The Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute's Ron and Karen Goellner Center for Hellbender Conservation, in collaboration with the Missouri Department of Conservation and US Fish and Wildlife Service, has developed a sustainable conservation breeding and head-starting program, a priority for species recovery. Using 9 years of program data, we examined various egg production, egg development, and mortality responses of Zoo-bred Ozark hellbenders. Our results identified river of origin and breeding location as important predictors of egg production responses including average breeding female total lengths as well as brooding male clutch size, total egg count, and the estimated number of female clutches, respectively. We found that breeding group generation was a significant predictor of Zoo-bred hellbender egg development responses with hellbenders from the first breeding group generation ovipositing later and producing eggs that hatch later and develop longer than hellbenders from the second-generation breeding group. These responses are consistent with females from the first breeding group generation being larger at the time of reproduction. Breeding group generation was also a significant predictor of proportional egg and total mortality, while the proportion of hatchling mortality was best predicted by breeding location, and the proportion of larval mortality was best predicted by river of origin. Ultimately, our results provide baseline metrics for the program and identify areas for further inquiry to maximize the success of future conservation breeding and head-starting efforts at the Zoo.