American Alligator - Habitat

Habitat

American alligators are mostly found in the Southeastern United States, from Great Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina, south to Everglades National Park in Florida and west to the southern tip of Texas. They are found in the U.S. states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. Alligators inhabit swamps, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. Females and juveniles are also found in Carolina Bays and other seasonal wetlands. While they prefer freshwater, alligators sometimes enter more brackish water. However they are less tolerant of saltwater than crocodiles as the salt glands on their tongues are non-functioning. One study of alligators in north-central Florida found that males preferred open lake water during the spring while females used both swampy and open water areas. During summer, males still preferred open water while females stuck to the swamps to construct their nests and lay their eggs. Both sexes may den underneath banks or clumps of trees during the winter.

Alligators modify some wetland habitat, in flat areas such as the Everglades, by constructing small ponds known as "alligator holes". These create wetter or drier habitats for other organisms, such as plants, fish, invertabrates, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. In the limestone depressions of cypress swamps, alligator holes tend to be large and deep while those in marl prairies and rocky glades are usually small and shallow and those in peat depressions of ridge and slough wetlands are more variable. Man-made holes do not appear to have as large an effect. Alligators also may control the long term vegetation dynamics in wetlands by reducing the population of small mammals, particularly nutria, which may otherwise over-graze marsh vegetation. In this way, they provide a vital ecological service that may be important in reducing rates of coastal wetland losses in Louisiana.

American alligators are less vulnerable to cold than American crocodiles. Unlike the crocodile, which would immediately succumb to the cold and drown in water of 45 °F (7.2 °C), an alligator can survive in such temperatures for some time without any signs of discomfort. It is thought that this adaptiveness is the reason why American alligators spread farther north than the American crocodile. In fact, the American alligator is found farther from the equator and is more equipped to deal with cooler conditions than any other crocodilian. When the water begins to freeze, alligators stick their snouts though the surface which allows them to breathe above the ice.