SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST 2008 7(3):541–550 Growth and Condition of American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) in an Inland Wetland of East Texas David T. Saalfeld 1,* , Kevin K. Webb 1,2 , Warren C. Conway 1 , Gary E. Calkins 3 , and Jeffrey P. Duguay 1,4 Abstract - Since removal from the endangered species list, Alligator mississippi- ensis (American Alligator) populations have recovered to allow regulated harvest throughout most of their range. However, harvest/population management is com- plicated since alligators are long-lived, reach sexual maturity at a minimum size rather than age, and experience differential growth rates depending on geographic location, growing season length, local environmental conditions, habitat, and popu- lation density. To date, few data exist on age, sex, growth, and size structure of inland alligator populations. In this study, alligator growth rate and condition were quanti- fied through an intensive mark-recapture study conducted at Angelina-Neches/Dam B Wildlife Management Area. Between May 2003 and October 2004, 279 alligators ranging in size from 29.7 cm to 348.0 cm (total length [TL]) were captured, and 48 subadult alligators were recaptured (<125 cm TL). As recaptured individuals were biased towards smaller individuals, recaptured subadult alligators were divided into two size classes: size class 1 (<50 cm) and size class 2 (50–125 cm). Mean growth rates for size class 1 were 32.4 cm/year and for size class 2 were 27.6 cm/year. For both size classes, mean body condition was 1.8. Overall, subadult alligators within our inland study area exhibited faster growth rates and lower body condition than most other populations studied throughout their range. Introduction Alligator mississippiensis Daudin (American Alligators) were listed as endangered in 1967 under the US Endangered Species Preservation Act; however, populations have recovered sufficiently to allow regulated harvest throughout most of their range (Groombridge 1987). Despite a tremendous volume of research on American Alligators, few long-term data exist on age and sex structure, growth rates, and size throughout their range (see Wilkinson and Rhodes 1997). Additionally, American Alligators are long- lived (i.e., up to 80 years), reach sexual maturity at a minimum size rather than age, and experience differential growth rates (Brandt 1991, Dalrymple 1996, Deitz 1979, Hines et al. 1968, Wilkinson and Rhodes 1997). Although current alligator management strategies are suitable on short time scales, the additive or compensatory impacts of harvests upon alligator population age, size, and sex structure on longer time scales remain unknown. As opposed to other game species, where gender- and age-specific harvest regulations are 1 Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State Univer- sity, Nacogdoches, TX 75965. 2 Advanced Ecology, Ltd., Center, TX 75633. 3 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Jasper, TX 75951. 4 Division of Biological and Physi- cal Sciences, Delta State University, Cleveland, MS 38751. * Corresponding author – saalfeldd@titan.sfasu.edu.