Reports and Studies 2014 Review: 1975 Environment of Kiawah Report | Page 28

Summary & Analysis of the 1975 Kiawah Environmental Report 

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Page 28

Their enormous size was noteworthy. The North American record for a slider
was found on Kiawah in 1975 having a plastron length of 284 mm.
· The juveniles were even larger than average.
The abnormally large size of the sliders raises two questions:
· Is this "Island Gigantism"?
·  most such cases it is associated with pollution, but Kiawah is very
In
natural.
Dr. Whit Gibbons later did some research on these turtles and found that their
large size was due to an increase in food and a decrease in competition compared with mainland turtles.

American Alligator
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~ 100 on the island based on periodic counts. (The number is now in the range
of 400. See below.)
They do occur in high salinity areas.
Some of the 12 ponds had 50 or more individuals.
Blue Heron Pond had a clutch of about 25.
There is a rapid growth rate and successful reproduction throughout island.

Development Consideration
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Alterations in the water level, salinity, and removal of buffer zones could lead
to significant population effects.
Land clearing and removal of essential organic litter and ground cover could
have detrimental impacts to some species.

Information on Reptil