Black Caiman
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Science Concept & Application
Black caimans originated from the Amazon River basin. They are the largest type of alligator. On average, they can weigh up to 300 kg, and be 2.8 meters long. Black caimans are the most dangerous alligator species in South America. They co-existed with dinosaurs. Black caimans are very useful though. They help keep the population on average. They eat a lot of fish and sometimes animals like birds, larger mammals, and turtles. They are also sadly used for their skin and meat due to trade.
There are a few reasons why black caimans are important to study. They are not endangered, but are about to be as they are ranked on the list of threatened species. They are a vital species of the Amazon River basin due to them keeping population on some animals low. Because of that, they are studied in order to try to keep them all alive. Recently, their excrement has been studied as it helps to feed fish hatchlings. The excrements feed zooplankton and phytoplankton and in return, the hatchlings eat the zooplankton and phytoplankton. Studying black caimans has helped us understand how delicate the Amazon River basin environment is, and how vital the black caiman alligator is to its environment. Conservatives have saved a lot of black caimans recently which has also boosted the fish population of the Amazon River basin. With the decline of black caiman population, fish also started declining and dying because the black caiman excrement would help to make their food. |
Career
Black caiman alligators are in another science other than zoology. The study of black caiman alligators and reptiles is herpetology. The purpose of herpetology is to provide significant insight into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Someone who is into herpetology is known as a herpetologist. A herpetologist makes 10$ to 48$ an hour or 33,000$ to 100,000$ a year.
Scientist
A famous herpetologist is Louis Agassiz. Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was born on May 28th, 1807 in Motier, Switzerland. He lived to be 66 years old. He passed away on December 14th, 1873. Louis went to Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Louis is known for observational data gathering and analysis. Louis Agassiz discovered that the ice age happened and he also adopted a new classification that separated fish into four groups based on the way they were made.
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