Space use and social interactions of Central African slender‐snouted crocodiles Mecistops leptorhynchus (Bennett, 1835) in Loango National Park, Gabon

Abstract

AbstractMecistops leptorhynchus (Bennett, 1935) is among the least studied crocodylians worldwide, and little information exists on its movement patterns and habitat use. Using VHF radio tracking, we determined home range, core use areas and spatio‐temporal interactions for 30 individual M. leptorhynchus (14 females and 16 males), as well as providing a preliminary assessment of their habitat preferences and emergence dynamics in the Echira and Ngové Rivers, Loango National Park (Gabon). During two periods in 2010 (March to June–106 days, and October to November–49 days) we recorded 447 relocations of all tagged individuals (mean of 15 relocations/crocodile). Individual home range varied from 3.03 to 164.83 ha (median = 17.91 ha) and core use area from 0.25 to 25.37 ha (median = 1.50 ha). Males exhibited the largest home ranges whereas females recorded the largest core areas. Subadults covered the largest areas at both spatial scale. These difference were not statistically significant. Interestingly, M. leptorhynchus showed more space sharing than other crocodylian species, though with significant temporal avoidance—likely an adaptive behaviour used to reduce risks of conflict in high density environments. Our emergence assessment, though potentially confounded by transmitter placement, indicated limited basking behaviour in this species with unknown effect on its detection probability. All individuals, irrespective of size and sex, principally used main water courses. Ultimately our findings provide the first data on M. leptorhynchus home range and social organisation, which may help direct targeted management strategies for this species.