FINAL Manatee Migration Update: April 28, 1999 Today's Report Includes: Special Thanks to the Manatee Scientists! Swept Away! Discussion of CQ # 15 How Far Is It? Discussion of CQ #16 Knicky's "Big" News and Final Manatee Data Final Comments From Cathy Beck What Does The Future Hold? Comments from Dr. Ackerman What You Can Do To Help Scientist Says: How Scientists Communicate Research Results Send Your Thanks Special Thanks to the Manatee Scientists! Bob Bonde Cathy Beck Jim Reid As the manatee migration season draws to a close, we'd like to turn your attention behind the scenes. In addition to their busy jobs, over the past 4 months scientists Cathy Beck, Jim Reid, Bob Bonde, Susan Butler, Dr. Bruce Ackerman, and Ranger Wayne Hartley each found extra time to share their research and knowledge about manatees with us all. Journey North would not be possible without the dedication of scientists like these who contribute their expertise voluntarily. Motivated by concern about the long-term survival of manatees, their gift to students is given freely in hope that the same interest and concern will become part of students' own lives. Thank you Cathy, Jim, Bob, Susan, Bruce and Wayne for a fantastic season studying the manatees! Want To Say Thank You? If you'd like to write and thank the scientists, their addresses are provided at the end of this report. Swept Away! Discussion of CQ #15 In our last Update, Xoshi was really moving, so we asked "why the scientists were so concerned?" "The scientists are concerned because Xoshi is going further out to sea and there might be a lot of dangers." Emily, Steph. & Sarah, gr. 5. Scott Young PS, Ontario. (Kevin.Adams-SYPS@fc.vcbe.edu.on.ca) Here's the rest of the story from Cathy Beck..(does it sound familiar...remember Mo?). Only One Chance To Rescue Her! "By late that Sunday (3/28), we realized that Xoshi was in the Gulf Stream, heading north, and about 30 miles out in the Atlantic Ocean. Obviously she needed to be rescued and we figured we only had one chance on Monday (3/29) while the seas were calm, before she was carried farther away." "By early Monday morning a team consisting of Jim Reid (USGS, Sirenia Project), a Florida Marine Patrol officer, and two biologists with the Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection, headed out to sea in a 25' FMP boat. By noon Xoshi was sighted 37 miles E/NE of Port Canaveral. Jim, in the water with Xoshi, was finally able (by 2:00 pm) to coax her close enough for him to get a line around her and gently guide her toward the boat. She was placed in a stretcher alongside the boat and a slow trip back to shore began." Need A Lift? "Veterinarians from Sea World of Florida and Sharon Tyson from Save the Manatee Club arrived on a larger vessel a few hours later, still 26 miles out, and by 9:30 pm a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter assisted by using their boom crane to lift Xoshi onto the larger boat. They arrived at Port Canaveral just before midnight and Xoshi was transported by the Sea World crew to Sea World of Orlando. She is fine!" How Far Is It? Discussion of CQ #16 We also asked "which day did Xoshi travel the farthest? How far did she travel that day?" Fifth Graders Stephanie, Emily and Sarah followed Knicky's route and determined: "The day Xoshi traveled the farthest was March 29th. That day she traveled approximately 130 km or 81 miles.", gr. 5, Scott Young PS,(Kevin.Adams-SYPS@fc.vcbe.edu.on.ca) Great answer! According to the "How Far Is It" website, Xoshi's location data indicates that she traveled approximately 83 miles(133 km). Knicky's "Big" News Final Manatee Migration Map Cathy also provided the latest data on the other manatees (below), with some "big" news about Knicky, and Dmitra and Ivan too. "Knicky moved east over to the Banana River, and on 4/20 Bob, Jim, and Susan met Sea World animal care staff there to recapture Knicky for a health assessment and a re-tag. Everything went very well, and Knicky is doing fine--in fact she's pregnant! Now we can watch for when she has another calf, and whether she will travel back north this summer." "Bob Bonde got a visual sighting on Dmitra and Ivan on 4/12. Although Ivan's VHF tag is sunk and not transmitting, it is still attached to his belt. Bob tried to re-tag Ivan, but it was very stormy and he could not approach close enough to determine what happened to Ivan's tag, or to make the switch with a new tag. But, they both appear to be just fine!" Final Satellite Migration Data (Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey's Sirenia Project) Go to Satellite Data Table for Knicky Go to Satellite Data Table for Jeb Go to Satellite Data Table for Dmitra Go to Satellite Data Table for Ivan Go to Satellite Data Table for Brian Go to Satellite Data Table for Crystal Go to Satellite Data Table for Xoshi Final Comments From USGS Biologist Cathy Beck "Thanks to all of you for participating in the lives of these radio-tagged manatees for the past few months. By following them we have learned more about their daily habits, habitat preferences, and individual responses to the urban environment in which they spend much of their lives." "Our manatees have been very lucky this year, but Xoshi must be the most fortunate manatee around! Her rescue at sea is a testament to the dedication of people like Jim Reid (USGS, Sirenia Project), Ann Spellman (Florida Department of Environmental Protection), Sharon Tyson (Save the Manatee Club), Bob Wagoner and Mike Walsh (Sea World), and Officer Robert Rowe of the Florida Marine Patrol, all of whom work daily to improve the lives of manatees and other wildlife." "Manatees face many dangers in their everyday lives - boat traffic through their "home" and trash in their "playground", as well as a decrease in the quality and quantity of the plants that they eat. However, I am optimistic that we can, and will, through the efforts of researchers, managers, and the public, improve the chances for long-term survival for manatees. Just look at all the dedicated people and organizations that helped rescue Xoshi." "Bob Bonde, Jim Reid, Susan Butler, and I, as well as the rest of our entire team, thank you for your interest in manatees and your assistance in this effort. Your concern for this, and other, endangered species can make a difference. I have truly enjoyed participating in the Journey North adventure again this year and hope that each of you has learned more about manatees and some of the other animals with which we share our earth. I hope that next year you will be eager to hear more about Xoshi, Brian, Jeb, Knicky, Dmitra, Ivan, and Crystal. Undoubtedly, we will have new manatees to introduce to you too!" What Does The Future Hold For the Florida Manatee? Still Cautiously Optimistic Dr. Bruce Ackerman After reviewing all the factors, Dr. Ackerman and other scientists are still "cautiously optimistic that the Manatee population is slowly increasing again." Dr. Ackerman explained "we counted the highest number ever back in February 1996, 2639 manatees. We think that this indicates that the population has been slowly increasing over the last 20 years. This is supported by other kinds of data as well. But in 1997 and 1998, we counted fewer manatees. We know that more manatees died in 1996 than ever before, 415 manatees. This was because of red tide in southwest Florida in the spring of 1996, plus the cold winter of 1995-96. So we believe the population is actually smaller now than it was in 1996, but we've also had three warm winters. That is good, because not as many manatees die in warm winters. And the higher count of 2353 manatees in March 1999 helps confirm that the population trends are probably staying pretty steady." Like Living on a Fixed Income There may still be cause to worry about the future of the endangered Manatees. Researchers at the Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) previously noted that "Manatee deaths are increasing at a faster rate than the manatee population can support. The number of carcasses recovered has grown 5.8% each year since 1976. The population is only estimated to increase by two to four percent each year, based on the best scientific data available." Dr. Ackerman puts this in perspective: "There is evidence that the manatee population is bigger than we knew five or 10 years ago,and evidence that it's slowly growing, but from here it looks like the numbers of deaths are growing faster. It's like living on a fixed income, but your monthly expenses keep going up. That's got to catch up with you." Enough Good Habitat? Growing By The Minute! Ever wondered what the human population estimate for your hometown is? How about the U.S.? The world? Check out these popular population sites: Your Hometown Live Population Clock In addition, the increasing human population in Florida impacts the manatees in many ways. One of the most significant ways is damage to the seagrasses, the primary food of the manatees. Dr. Ackerman says that "seagrass beds are very sensitive to having good water clarity, and seagrasses are declining in some areas due to poor water clarity. Water clarity can be reduced by turbidity from sediment runoff from building construction on land, and from farms, and from sediment churned up by lots of boat propellers. And pollution continues to increase in some areas, from pesticides and herbicides, urban run-off, and septic tanks. That causes problems for seagrasses too. After all, it is every bit as important to have enough habitat for manatees. You can't have enough manatees without enough habitat!" Saving the Gentle Giant "Our success in saving this gentle giant will depend on our ability to convince the citizens of Florida of the need for continued compliance with the minimal regulations that are already in place," said David Arnold, Bureau Chief of the DEP's Bureau of Protected Species Management."We need to understand more about manatees and red tide, as a mortality factor, it has the potential to overshadow our hard work and accomplishments in reducing human related mortality." The future of the Manatee will also depend on what humans do to control growth in Florida. "Human population is increasing in Florida at alarming rates and existing growth management legislation doesn't seem to be doing much to curb it," says Patti Thompson, Staff Biologist for Save The Manatee Club (SMC). "More humans mean less habitat for manatees and other wildlife. So, in addition to better law enforcement, we also need better growth management regulation." What You Can DoTo Help Take a look and take action. For ideas go to: Things You Can Do To Help Save Manatees Scientist Says: How Scientists Communicate Research Results One of the most important steps in a scientist's work is sharing research results with other scientists. This is how the body of scientific knowledge is built--and how it constantly changes as new research findings replace the old. As a way to synthesize your learning this spring, write your own scientific paper based on the Manatee research you have witnessed--just as the scientists are preparing to do! Link to Lesson: Scientist Says: How Scientists Communicate Research Results Thanks Ranger Wayne! Send Your Thanks If you'd like to write and thank the scientists, here are their addresses: Cathy Beck, Jim Reid, Bob Bonde and Susan Butler Sirenia Project 412 NE 16th Ave., Room 250 Gainesville, FL 32601 Ranger Wayne Hartley Blue Spring State Park 2100 West French Ave. Orange City, FL 32763 Dr. Bruce B. Ackerman Florida Department of Environmental Protection Florida Marine Research Institute 100 Eighth Ave. SE St. Petersburg, FL 33701-5095 We hope you have enjoyed learning about the Manatee this spring. Have a great summer! Journey North Year End Evaluation Please share your thoughts This is the FINAL Manatee Migration Update for 1999. Thanks for Your Participation. Copyright 1999 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form