Thursday, July 3, 2008

Scaling

We got a croc last night! Here is its mug-shot.
I don't have time to do a full post yet. Plus, we may get another one tonight. The croc was about 8 feet long. Thomas and I think that it was about 80 lbs. Here's a scaling question for my biology majors: Assuming that these crocodiles scale isometrically and all 8-footers are about 80 lbs, about how much should a 16 foot crocodile weigh? (Interesting aside: snails make up much of the diet of many big Morelet's crocodiles caught on the mainland.) The saltwater crocs that live mostly in fresh water in Central America tend to be larger than the saltwater crocs that spend much of their time in salt water. All of the crocs tend to take advantage of hanging out in fresh water when they can. An 8-foot salty that lives in fresh water would weight more, approximately 150lbs. How much, assuming isometry, would a 16-footer living in fresh water weigh? Why might the american crocodiles that live in fresh water be larger than those that live in saltwater?

1 comment:

Dan Da Man said...

Danny O.
Hi Mr. Sevejka
Its my first time on your site and I am just amazed on what all you are doing over in Belize... Im jealous.. But I will give a shot at that croc question tomorrow... its a little late for me to think specially since I shut down after your class..haha.. Well I will keep in touch but just keep taking those pictures for us..
Adios