Proceedings of the 18th Working Meeting of the Crocodile Specialist ...

The proposal places an emphasis on the need for status congruence with the IUCN
Red List and the Mexican NOM-059-SEMARNAT-2001, which rank it as of Lower
Risk conservation dependent (LRcd), and Under Special Protection (Pr), respectively.
A tri-national workshop held in Mexico fostered the development of a regional
strategy to ensure cooperation for the conservation of the species in the long term,
along its whole distribution range.
1. Introduction
After a field survey (2002-2004) developed by a group of Mexican experts (COPAN
Project) a first national evaluation of wild populations status for Crocodylus moreletii
in Mexico was developed. In December 2004, the COPAN report was reviewed
during a specialized workshop convened by Mexico’s National Commission for the
Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) to reassess the species status in the
IUCN Red List, NOM-059 (national red list) and the U.S. Endangered Species Act
(ESA), including the newly collected data. The field survey gathered information on
the presence, abundance, and habitat for Crocodylus moreletii from 10 states,
summing up information for 63 localities. The COPAN Project, for a current total of
145, recorded 40 new localities for the species in Mexico; the species was recorded in
all of 21.9% of historic localities visited. Based on these recent field data virtually
covering all the species' range in Mexico, a general index of abundance (total
individuals/total Km surveyed) was calculated for Mexico. Estimations for Guatemala
and Belize’s wild populations sizes were carried out, based on published information,
in order to produce a total estimation for the species throughout its range.
Furthermore, a dynamic population simulation was carried out to evaluate its
probability of extinction.
2. Background
Morelet’s crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii) lives in low-elevation water bodies
(usually