The Florida Manatee

Photographed by Paul Nicklen of National Geographic

By Jennie Diaz

What Is the Florida Manatee and How Does It Fit Into It’s Environment?

           

            The Florida Manatee, also know as the West Indian Manatee (Facts About Florida Manatees) are slow moving sea cows that are categorized in Trichechus Manatus species (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).  These aquatic mammals reside in warm fresh water and mostly graze floating or submerged sea grass because they are herbivores.  They affect their environment by clearing the area of being cluttered with sea grass or floating clumps, which also affects the surrounding organisms that live in the same water as the manatees. As seen in the picture, they have two paddle-like forelimbs with a flattened tail. The Florida Manatees can grow up to 10ft -12ft in adulthood and weigh 1,500-1,800 lbs. Because of the size of these animals they move very slowly in the water. Unfortunately their life span is between 50-60 years (Facts About Florida Manatees), which is not as long compared to killer whales, and other aquatic mammals.

           

     

Photographed by Carol Grant of support.nature.org

       The Florida Manatee is a “k selected” which means they have a long life span, low number of off spring with high investment and low juvenile mortality. The average gestation period is one year, and in this one year normally one offspring will be carried (Facts About Florida Manatees). The young stay with their mothers and are watched over until adulthood.

            

Photographed by Paul Nicklen of National Geographic

             In my opinion, the Florida Manatee is one of the cutest animals ever because of their gentleness and their peaceful behavior.

What Is the Listing?

            This species is listed as Endangered (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and was first put on the list in 1986. In 1996 an accident with red tide caused 146 manatees to die in Florida and they then had their own recovery plan. In 2001 on December 31^st, a third revision of the recovery plan had been implemented and documented. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

Where Do They Live and How Many of Them Are Still Around?

           

            The Florida Manatee resides off the coasts of the Florida peninsula. As seen in the picture their migration pattern extends as far south as Brazil, as far North as the Carolinas, and as far west as Louisiana. This sea cow usually stays in the Southeast region (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

"Facts About Florida Manatees." Florida Manatee. Defenders of Wildlife, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

           

            In 2001, the Florida Manatee’s population data stated that there were 1,756 manatees on the east coast of Florida, and 1,520 manatees on the west coast of Florida (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Causes of Listing and Major Threats

           

            The cause of the Florida Manatee to be listed on the Endangered Species act is red tide. Red tide is toxic algae blooms that occur offshore of the Gulf of Mexico. The algae bloom contains neurotoxin, and since the run off from all the farms in the Midwest pollute the rivers with the fertilizer and it all flows down to the Gulf of Mexico. This mixture of run off and algae blooms are dispersed where the sea grass grows and where the manatees feed. The intake of this toxin causes the manatees to have seizures to the point of not being able to lift their snout in order to breathe and they end up drowning. The worst case of this occurred in 1996 and 145 manatees died which made a significant impact on the already dwindling population. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

 

            Major Threats

1.     Watercraft collisions- injuries are caused by propellers and boat hulls. Between 1979 and 1991 406 manatees had been killed by watercraft collisions. About 55% had been killed by the impact, 39% killed by propeller cuts, 4% killed by both injuries, and 2% were unidentified. This is a threat that can easily be removed yet it still occurs (Facts About Florida Manatees).

2.     Habitat Loss- since the Manatees need to be in warm water, during the winter they have to migrate to specific spots (Facts About Florida Manatees). Without warm water, manatees can die from cold water stress and with new residential areas being built the how water spring the manatees go to is disappearing (Facts About Florida Manatees).

Photographed by Paul Nicklen of National Geographic

3.     Harassment- Human disturbance is a major problem happening in Florida. Human disturbance will cause the manatee group to leave behind natural behaviors such as eating in the same area.  The human disturbance will scare the mammals and therefore they lose a source of food. (Facts About Florida Manatees)

4.     Red Tide- as explained before is a toxic algae bloom that occurs in the Gulf of Mexico where the Florida Manatees feed and causes horrible seizures, which lead the manatees to drown (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

Plan for Recovery

              Moving forward the goal of the recover is to “assure long term viability for Florida Manatee in the wild and to reduce and remove threats” (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). The last goal is to down list the manatees to the Threatened list.

 

Photographed by Natalia Pyranishnikova 

1.     Minimize causes of manatee disturbance: such as harassment, injury, and mortality. Efforts that have been taken to accomplish this include manatee sanctuaries and refuge. As of the present there are 7 winter sanctuaries for manatees. One is called the Three Sister Manatee Sanctuary (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service).

2.     Determine and monitor status of manatee population. The Fish and Wildlife Services have chosen to mark the manatees to keep track of migrations and to record the deaths and births (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

3.     Protect, Identify, Evaluate Habitats(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

4.     Facilitate manatee recovery through public awareness and education. An outlet the recovery suggests is using media to reach the public(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Having public support will depend on how informed and educated people are on the issue the Florida Manatee faces.

What Can You Do?

http://www.savethemanatee.org

            Use the link below to symbolically adopt a manatee. This would be a donation to fund more efforts to support the Florida Manatee

            Symbolic Wildlife Adoption

Be informed on the latest news of the Florida Manatee and spread the

word through any type of social media

           

Write a letter to the Government with issues or suggestions of ways to even further support the Florida Manatees from extinction.

For those who have boats and live in Florida, always be on the look out for snouts that pop up out of the water. Also try to stay in deeper in water to avoid hitting a Manatee.

Works Citied

"Facts About Florida Manatees." Florida Manatee. Defenders of Wildlife, n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2001. Florida Manatee Recovery Plan, (Trichechus manatus          latirostris), Third Revision. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Atlanta, Georgia. 144 pp. + appendices