Manatees Research Paper

‘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

Manatees can maintain homeostasis in three ways. "They can use their body fat for insulation in cold waters to keep their body temperature above 68 degrees until they get to warmer waters. They can control the salt levels with the blood and if it gets too high, they can bring it down to more approved levels when they sort the blood out and finally they can use their lungs to help them adjust to a difference in pressure.

Manatees have been protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act since 1978 (Spivey). This act prohibits annoying, molesting, harassing, or disturbing any manatee to be found in or near the state. It also specifies that anyone who tries to kill, hunt, pursue, or capture a manatee would have serious repercussions. Even with all these laws there is still a growing number of manatee deaths throughout the state. When manatees were put on the endangered species list in 1973 they were also put under the protection of the endangered species organization. This organization has enforced four laws so far to protect manatees from future harm (Swart). This entitles the manatee population to a number of new laws and requirements put on the state of Florida to protect them . For manatees this included new speed zones for boats and different water pollution regulations put into place at all bays where manatees are known to be. These things caused the number of injured manatees to go down for a few years but since then the numbers have slowly climbed back up to where they were before. The rules and regulations put in place by both the state of Florida and the endangered species organization did the trick for a while but the follow through on most of them was gone away causing them to no longer be of any help to the manatee

dugongs is the “sea cow”. This name is most likely from the fact that manatees

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.

Introduction: Paradoxical swim-with programs, modeled as an ecotourism method, are of great interest to conservation biologists. Crystal River, Florida, which includes Kings Bay, is the only place in the United States where swimming with manatees is permitted. This globally advertised tourism attraction draws in well over 100,000 tourists a year.1 These tourists have close interaction with over 500 manatees that winter in Kings Bay (2 km2).2 This number has increased from the 114 manatees using these warm-water springs in 1981-1982, demonstrating the growing importance of Kings Bay as a warm-water site.3 West coast manatees migrate to the Kings Bay area to escape environmental stressors such as water temperature, as manatee fatality occurs

The answer is no. Because of its great size there are no known predators of the manatee, leaving it virtually out of harm's reach. However, although the manatee faces no threat from others in the water, its biggest enemy, humans, plays a vital role on the water, in its population decline (McGavin 88)

The Manatee. The manatee is a fabulous mammal which inhabits, shallow, warm and marshy coastal areas and rivers in different parts of the world such as West Africa, Amazon basin, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea. Manatees are mostly herbivores and will be found feeding on algae and other vegetation that thrive in these waters. They belong to the species Sirenia which also consists of dugongs with their closest relatives being the elephant.

West Indian manatees have special adaptations that have enabled them to become very comfortable in their water habitat. They have no clavicles, short nails in their flippers, only 3-4 phalanges, a flattened paddle-like tail, valvular nostrils located on top of their snouth, no external pinnae, and their ribs have a deeper arch, amongst other adaptation that will be discussed throughout this paper.

Several laws protect the manatee. Some of them prevent boaters from driving too fast near the animals. Others stop builders from blocking the warm water which flows into the rivers where manatees live.

The West Indian manatee or "sea cow" is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia. An article published by The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species states, “The number of mature individuals is currently estimated to number less than 10,000 (based on combined population estimates for the Florida and Antillean subspecies) and is expected to decline at a rate of at least 10% over the course of three generations (given a generation time of ~20 years) as a result of both habitat loss and anthropogenic factors (1).” By this, the article means that the population of The West Indian Manatee is far below average. The population is expected to decline by a rate of at least 10% over the next three generations. This is mainly due to human influence and loss of habitat. The same article goes on to state, “Threats to the Florida manatee encompass catastrophic natural events and anthropogenic factors (1).” This means that the decrease in population of The West Indian Manatee is partially caused by disastrous natural occurrences and human factors. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species states, “About half of adult mortality rangewide is attributable to human-related causes, primarily watercraft collisions (1).” This means that half of the deaths of The West Indian Manatee are caused by boating accidents. The article goes on to states, “Other

The manatees biggest predator is humans.Now it may supprise whomever is reading this paper,but manatees are mostly severley injured or even killed by boats.Manatees are actually identified with their scars and are recorded in journals. Alligator and any kind of shark.Even though manatees are massive, they do not have much body fat. Manatees are “Big boned”. The cold waters are a very serious threat to the manatee. They may accidentally move from a warm area of water to a colder one. Their bodies aren’t designed to be able to handle the cold temperatures. As a result everything can shut down and they will die in a short period of time. Young manatees Are the most vulnerable to this due to the curiosity. Manatees also suffer from digestion of trash and debri that we humans leave out in the waters. We can stop this by not littering,being more cautious while operating a boat and not hunting these magnificent creatures. They can not survive in less than 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Manatees have been hunted for their oil and have been almost to Extinction. Florida made a law of the hunting of manatees in 1893 the official season for thriving Florida manatees is October 30th to March 31st but there are manatees at stay in certain areas all year

Killer whales, also known as Orcas, are very vocal animals and spend their time partaking in clicks, whistles, and pulsed calls. These giants can be found in nearly all oceans due to their migration patterns. Orcas have an unmistakable black and white patterning, making them easier to identify. The Orca is an apex predator, meaning that they are at the top of their food chain. They have been known to feast upon sea birds, squid, octopus, sea turtles, sharks, rays, and fish.

According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Preliminary Manatee Mortality Report, 2016 resulted in the greatest number of manatee mortalities due to watercraft collisions . Watercraft collisions are the greatest threat to the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus). In January of 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) purposed to downlist manatees from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. However, downlisting is only permissible if the threats to an endangered species survival have been mitigated. Given the preliminary 2016 manatee mortality data, the major threat to manatees has been increasing not decreasing.

Bottlenose Dolphins are a very interesting animal. They have a fusiform (Spindle shaped) body that allows them to move quickly in the water. Because of the Dolphins’ shape they have bilateral symmetry. They also have a dorsal fin, flippers, and a fluke. However, Bottlenose Dolphins do not have ears on the outside of their bodies, hair, or hind limbs. The color of this type of dolphin is usually a light grey color to a black. Their stomach is white and sometimes has a pink hue. One physical adaptation these dolphins have is a telescoped skull. The skull is like this because it allows them to breathe more easily while swimming. Bottlenose Dolphins also have blubber that they use as insulation and vascular shunts that allow them to have cooling for certain types of organs and tissues in their bodies. Finally, Bottlenose Dolphins have sharp teeth that let them grasp onto their prey, so their tongue can push the prey down the dolphin’s throat. Bottlenose Dolphins have a range mass of 260 to 500kg which is 572.69 to 1101.32 in pounds. The average mass of the Bottlenose Dolphin is 400kg. Their average mass in pounds is 881.06.