Editing Alligator (section)

==Reproduction==
{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| align = right
| caption_align = center
| width = 220
| header = Different stages of alligator life-cycle
| image1 = Alligator embryo - Zoological Museum MSU.jpg
| caption1 = Embryo
| image2 = Alligator eggs and young alligators.jpg
| caption2 = Eggs and young
| image3 = Alligator mississippiensis babies.jpg
| caption3 = Juveniles
| image4 = Crocnest.JPG
| caption4 = An adult with juveniles of various ages
}}

Alligators generally mature at a length of {{Convert|6|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}. The mating season is in late spring. In April and May, alligators form so-called "bellowing choruses". Large groups of animals bellow together for a few minutes a few times a day, usually one to three hours after sunrise. The bellows of male American alligators are accompanied by powerful blasts of [[infrasound]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/can-animals-predict-disaster/listening-to-infrasound/133/ |title=Can Animals Predict Disaster? – Listening to Infrasound &#124; Nature |publisher=PBS |date=2004-12-26 |access-date=2013-11-27}}</ref> Another form of male display is a loud head-slap.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Garrick, L. D.  |author2=Lang, J. W. | year = 1977 | title = Social Displays of the American Alligator| journal =[[American Zoologist]] |volume=17 | pages = 225–239|doi=10.1093/icb/17.1.225 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In 2010, on spring nights alligators were found to gather in large numbers for group courtship, the so-called "alligator dances".<ref>{{cite journal | author=Dinets, V. | year = 2010 | title = Nocturnal behavior of the American Alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis'') in the wild during the mating season| journal = [[Herpetological Bulletin]] |volume=111 |pages=4–11 |url=http://dinets.info/HB%20111%20Dinets%202010.pdf }}</ref>

In summer, the female builds a nest of vegetation where the decomposition of the vegetation provides the heat needed to incubate the eggs. The sex of the offspring is [[Temperature-dependent sex determination|determined by the temperature]] in the nest and is fixed within seven to 21 days of the start of incubation. Incubation temperatures of {{convert|86|F|order=flip}} or lower produce a clutch of females; those of {{convert|93|F|order=flip}} or higher produce entirely males. Nests constructed on leaves are hotter than those constructed on wet marsh, so the former tend to produce males and the latter, females. The baby alligator's [[egg tooth]] helps it get out of its egg during hatching time. The natural sex ratio at hatching is five females to one male. Females hatched from eggs incubated at {{convert|86|F|order=flip}} weigh significantly more than males hatched from eggs incubated at {{convert|93|F|order=flip}}.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Mark W. J. Ferguson |author2=Ted Joanen |year=1982 |title=Temperature of egg incubation determines sex in ''Alligator mississippiensis'' |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=296 |issue=5860 |pages=850–853 |doi=10.1038/296850a0 |pmid=7070524|bibcode=1982Natur.296..850F |s2cid=4307265 }}</ref> The mother defends the nest from predators and assists the hatchlings to water. She will provide protection to the young for about a year if they remain in the area. Adult alligators regularly cannibalize younger individuals, though estimates of the rate of cannibalism vary widely.<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=3892690|title=Cannibalism in the American Alligator|first1=William L.|last1=Rootes|first2=Robert H.|last2=Chabreck|date=30 September 1993|journal=Herpetologica|volume=49|issue=1|pages=99–107}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Mortality of American Alligators Attributed to Cannibalism|first1=Michael F|last1=Delany|first2=Allan R|last2=Woodward|first3=Richard A|last3=Kiltie|first4=Clinton T|last4=Moore|date=20 May 2011|journal=Herpetologica|volume=67|issue=2|pages=174–185|doi=10.1655/herpetologica-d-10-00040.1|s2cid=85198798|doi-access=free}}</ref> In the past, immediately following the outlawing of alligator [[hunting]], populations rebounded quickly due to the suppressed number of adults preying upon juveniles, increasing survival among the young alligators.{{Citation needed|reason=apparent non sequitur|date=August 2017}}