Manatee Tragedy

Manatees are heterotrophic, so they have to find other sources of food because they can't produce their own.

‘Methods: To determine manatee mortality during the years 1974 to 2006 in Broward County, Florida, I gathered data from the literature of several different sources within the Florida area. The sources came from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation (FWC), The Broward County Manatee Protection Plan, and a book called Observations On Manatee Mortality In South Florida. All of the sources collected information by both federal and state agencies and most importantly the Manatee Carcass Salvage Program the Florida Wildlife Conservation had created. This program as well as the other sources all used post-mortem examinations to try and find out the probable cause of death of any found or reported manatees (Broward County et al 2008). Both the FWC and the Broward County Protection Plan used 174 different manatee carcasses to determine the probable cause of

This exceptionally charismatic megafauna has become synonymous with Florida along with “snowbirds”, orange juice, and Mickey Mouse but the Florida manatee may not be as permanent as its counterparts. Since being declared as endangered, the Florida manatee, a subspecies of the West Indian manatee, has been at the center of conservation efforts throughout the east coast of the United States. While human involvement has been at the crux of the increasing population, it can be argued that the best way to save this species is by taking humans out of the picture altogether.

Rarely do the geologic processes of the earth make major news headlines, but oftentimes when they do, it is because a catastrophic event has occurred and has seized public attention. This was unfortunately the case in 2013, when Florida native Jeff Bush became the victim of a tragic geologic event that left many Americans wondering if they were truly ever standing on “solid ground” (Sinkhole Swallows Florida Man). Bush, and a large portion of his suburban home, was swallowed up by a sudden sinkhole as his brother looked on in horror, trying in vain to rescue him as he was forced deeper underground. This sinkhole developed as a result of the dissolution of limestone, which is prevalent under much of Florida’s soil, and the

Harassment is any activity that decreases a manatee’s fitness, most commonly recognized by a change in behavior.1 Many previous studies have provided extensive evidence of harassment, and unanimously support a positive correlation between the number of people and increased manatee activity as well as the use of protected areas, making a sound argument for the need for increased regulation and prohibited activities in the springs.4, 5 However, there is a predominant research gap in providing compelling data that human interactions have a deleterious impact on the fitness of manatees.1

In fact, manatees are endangered species that have been hunted for food and for their blubber, which is why they are in dire need of protection and

Manatee County was established in 1855. It used to be bigger than what it is now. Manatee Board of County Commissioners (2010) states Manatee County used to include Hardee, Desoto, Highlands, Sarasota, Charlotte, and Glades Counties. This made plenty of land to grow tomatoes. Which influenced many farms of Manatee County and companies to grow tomatoes. These farms include McLeod Family Farm, FFA, and Whisenant tomato farm. Also, some companies are Harllee packing and Pacific Tomato Growers.

In 2015, an unusually wet winter triggered emergency draining from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades, flushing billions of gallons of water each day to protect South Florida from flooding. The results of this water being released has hurt other parts of the state: polluting coastal fishing grounds, scaring away tourists, and threatening to wipe out coastal and Everglade animals.

have 24-32 molars in the back of their mouths. The front molars are worn away

Many of its marshes, cypresses, and mangroves cover the majority of the wetland and an estimated number of 50 reptile species and 40 mammal species currently residing are either endangered, or worse, threatened for extinction. The Florida Panther, according to the National Park Service, has a successful breeding population; nonetheless, the “primary threats to the remaining population are habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation” (para. 2). Due to the ongoing urban development, the panther became a well-known endangered human threat. An estimated 80-120 panthers are surviving

There used to be a thriving area full of lush plants and exotic animals along with many miles of water flowing through central Florida called the Everglades. A lot of water was drained for development and farming, leaving a queer 50% of the wetlands remaining. Many of the beautiful organisms dissipated due to the water purge. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) are trying to restore the national park's water system, hopefully bringing back its diverse ecosystem.

Not much can be done to stop the bleeding in the Florida Bay as of now but if someone such as myself who is only in high school can bring awareness to this issue, it shows how powerful and important this die off is to us in South Florida. If more people bring awareness to what is going on in the Florida Bay, we can eventually garner more attention to this issue from the government and environmental organizations around the world so we can work together to at least slow down the rapid sea grass die off and to think of long term solutions towards “Making the Florida Bay Healthy Again!” While I was down doing research on the water, I was angered and disgusted to see the water with a yellow “fog”, which is just a symptom of the sea grass-die off, imagine seeing the Florida Bay like this for years, without changing back to its original, beautiful, clear state

Agreement was granting him the “Exclusive” right to vacation with the children and preference in odds years (2015 being the odd year). Moreover, the father did not know if his proposed order or this of the opposing counsel would be signed by the honorable Judge Bernstein when he left to Orlando with the children. Nevertheless, the order was signed in December 21, 2015 and was not entered in the system until December 24, 2015. Subsequent to this signing, the father was never served with the order. The Father left to Orlando Florida on December 27, 2015 and, by that time, he had not been served with the signed order of the Honorable Judge Bernstein. Neither the Court System nor the Mother’s attorney serve the father with the court order and

When introduced to the question of what is killing the Manatee, one can find that the topic can branch off into many different categories of threats. Those threats are listed as follows: human pollution, power plant run offs, canal locks, flood control structures, entanglement in fishing gear, etc. (Reynolds 25). As one can see, this subject can be very broad, therefore this paper serves to concentrate its focus on the specific role that humans and the operation of powerboats play in the decline of the manatee population.

On August 29th, 2005 Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage and flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana, New Orleans and areas in between. It destructed the lives and homes of thousands of people, with a total of 1,883 fatalities (Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts, 2015). Hurricane Katrina left many homeless and hospitals unprepared for the challenges posed to the healthcare system as a whole. Some of these challenges included gaining access to healthcare facilities, providing expedited care to those most in need, and preventing spread of disease that commonly occurs during natural disasters. Many facilities did not evacuate in time and many were left stranded in flooded waters as patients conditions worsened and access to essential medications and treatments became limited.