nylon strainer and then preserved in 70% ethanol. Samples were sorted in the lab by

dividing the contents into major prey groups: Eish, reptiles, mammals, birds, amphibians,

gastropods, insects, crustaceans, or bivalves. Non-prey items were also divided up and

labeled as either: plant material, wood, rocks, sand, nematodes, artificial objects, or

other. Prey items were then identified to the lowest possible taxa by comparing them to

reference collections (preserved specimens and skeletal collections) of the Florida

Museum of Natural History (FLMNH). Minimum numbers of individuals were identified

based on the occurrence of specific items, e.g., occurrence of each atlas vertebrae

confirmed one specimen.

Gastric Digestive Rate

 All prey items recovered in every stomach sample were categorized as either

freshly ingested (fresh) or not freshly ingested (old) (Barr 1994, 1997, Delany and

Abercrombie 1986). This process was very important to avoid over-representation of

indigestible prey because alligators are unable to digest chitin and keratin (Garnett 1985,

Magnusson et al. 1987). The following guidelines were established based on available

literature to categorize each prey item as either "fresh" or "old."

 Fish. Fish digest very quickly in alligator stomachs (Delany and Abercrombie

1986); however, not all fish digest at the same rate and only shiners (Notemigonus

crysoleucas) were used in a digestive rate experiment by Barr (1994). Some fish may

have less digestible, thus more persistent, body parts (i.e., thick scales or spines). In this

study, Eish were considered fresh if anything of the fish remained, except for scales or

spines and old if only scales or spines remained.

 Turtles. Turtle scutes, consisting of keratin, can persist in alligator stomachs, thus

over representing the occurrence and importance of turtles in alligator diets (Barr 1997,