Manatees, The Gentle Giant Is Going Extinct Essays

‘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

Mangrove Forest is another type of ecosystem in South Texas. Mangrove Forests are found along the coast in salty waters and the general abiotic conditions are high salinity flooded soils, low wave energy, high temperatures, and muddy soils. Black Mangrove and Buttonwood are the dominant plant species in South Texas Mangrove Forest ecosystem. Buttonwood is adapted to this ecosystem because it resides inland where there is less salty conditions. Black Mangrove is adapted to sandy salty clay soil and requires protection from wave action and they are sensitive to cold weather. Some common animal species that live in Mangrove Forests are many species of fish, crabs, mollusks, and birds. Mangrove forests provide a habitat, shelter, and nursery to these species that reside in this ecosystem. Mangrove forest serve as a coastal protection from severe storms and hurricanes also help remove pollutants and erosion. The economic importance of Mangrove forest is that they support fisheries, water purification, tourism, and coastal protection. Human activities pose a threat to Mangrove Forests because of the removal of some mangroves, boat waves, oil spills, dredging, draining, and diking.

"There is proof that the manatees were around for about 60 million years and that they were related to the elephant. It was also learned that they were land animals and that over time they learned to survive in the water".

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

Producing long and hair-like filaments, Lyngbya normally grows in dense mats at the bottoms of nutrient-enriched lakes and spring-fed systems. These mats produce gasses during photosynthesis that often cause the mats to rise to the surface where they can grow to several acres in size. Winds push the mats causing them to pile up against shorelines and in channels making navigation difficult and decreasing sunlight for the native species. In some areas, the algae bloom covers so much of the pre-existing vegetation that it smothers eelgrass, a preferred food of the endangered West Indian manatee. Reduced water clarity and extreme fluctuations in oxygen stress every part of the ecosystem and as a result, tiny essential, life-sustaining micro-organisms that feed on native vegetation are severely reduced, and so are the fish, turtles, manatees and other wildlife that feed on them. The birds and larger animals that feed on smaller animals must find new, more plentiful

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.

Upon coming into contact with a manatee, the powerboat produces many complications. When manatees are struck by powerboats the damage that is done runs deeper than just the injury that the eye can see. Lacerations caused by boat propellers can kill the manatee, however, what most do not realize is that a laceration from a propeller can also seriously affect the manatee long term. One collision with a powerboat could possibly destroy the opportunity the manatee had to reproduce (Reynolds 25). Alongside of these two factors, is the deadly bacteria that the open wound on the manatee is introduced to.

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

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.

The Manatee or more commonly known as the “Sea Cow”, can only be found in warmer waters like in Florida and in that area. Manatees are large marine mammals, and they can weigh up to more than 500kg can also grow up to lengths of over 4.5 meters. Now despite their large size, it’s not really uncommon for Manatees to age more than 70 years old. So the manatee spends most of its time grazing the sea grass in the shallow waters they are herbivores and, therefore really only feed on seagrass, algae, they are known to have eaten small fish but, not necessarily on purpose and, they live by the coast also.

More alarming though is the run-off of agrochemicals and sewage pollution (Programme-wo, 2009). Another big aspect of the economy is the fishing industry, which has started to take a toll on certain species of fish, conchs, and lobsters that live in and around the reef. Two other problems, which have devastating effects are dredging and sand mining. Dredging and sand mining are choking the corals that live in the reef system. All of these issues are causing devastating effects to the reef and; therefore, is why 370 square miles of the Belize Barrier Reef system is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve system. The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System includes seven marine reserves, 450 cayes, and three atolls (UNESCO). A marine reserve is an area of the sea that has legal protection against fishing or development. To further the effort in 1990, the Government of Belize created the Coastal Zone Management Unit (CZMU) within the fisheries department. The CZMU has created different ministries, which are responsible for the management and preservation of different areas of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve system. The three main ministries involved in the coastal management are the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (responsible for marine reserves and fisheries management), the

Shrimps and mud lobsters use the muddy bottom as their home.[10] Mangrove crabs mulch the mangrove leaves, adding nutritients to the mangal muds for other bottom feeders.[11] In at least some cases, export of carbon fixed in mangroves is important in coastal food webs.