 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Manatee Migration Update: April 17, 2002
Today's Report Includes:
- Field Notes from Cathy Beck: Latest Data and Maps
- Sirenia Season Summary
- What Manatees Teach US! Farewell From Cathy Beck
- You're the Scientist: Try This! Comparing Two Seasons of Migrations
- Ranger Wayne's Farewell and Season Summary
- Endangered Is Too Close to Extinction: What Can You Do?
- More Manatee Adaptations: Skeleton, Flippers and Fat
- Finding Peggy Lee: Discussion of CQ #21
- The Search is On! Discussion of CQ's #22, #23 & #24
- It's a Wrap! Discussion of CQ #25
- Grabbed by a Gator? Discussion of CQ #26
- Who's The "Predator? Discussion of CQ #27
- More Amazing Manatee Adaptations: Discussion of CQ #28
- Manatee Math: Discussion of CQ #29
- Coming in the Final Report
Field Notes From Cathy Beck: Adios Addison!
|
|
|
All Manatees Migration Map |
What's happened to Addison? Why are there no new data for her?
Link to Latest Data and Maps:
(Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey's Sirenia Project)
- Data & Individual Map for Actual
- Data & Individual Map for Addison
- Data & Individual Map for Albert
- Data & Individual Map for Grace
- Data & Individual Map for Megan
- Data & Individual Map for PeggyLee
- Data & Individual Map for Santina
- Data Only for All Manatees--Printer-friendly Format
Don't worry--she's doing fine. After 14 months of dedicated service, Jim Reid
concluded it was time to remove her entire tag assembly. Addison was tagged back
on 02/07/01 at POI, and we had been tracking her movements ever since. But as you
likely noticed, this season Addison didn't move around much. After a brief trip to
the Ten Thousand Islands area, she again moved back north to her warm season use
area at Marco Island and basically stayed there (like last year).
Jim Reid sent these comments and a special thank you to Addison:
"Since Addison remained outside of our study area for a majority of her tracking
bout, she was cut free. She appeared to be in good condition with no new scars. Thank
you Addison for providing nearly 14 months of data!"
Pursuing Peggy Lee
You're probably also wondering about Peggy Lee, whose tag broke free a few weeks
ago near Cape Romano. We still have not located her. As Susan Butler reported, "we
have no new information on Peggy Lee. So far there have been no public sightings
but we are keeping our fingers crossed!" Jim Reid added that "we will listen
for Peggy Lee's sonic beacon, while we are tracking other manatees in the area. Manatees
often gather in small groups to feed, travel, and socialize. With time and luck,
we may find her and possibly get a tag reattached."
All the other Manatees are doing well. In fact, the latest data and maps on the Web
show once again how they regularly return to POI for fresh water. Since my last report,
all except Megan made at least one trip into POI/Faka Union Canal for a drink!
Season Summary from the Sirenia Scientists
Our second season of research in Ten Thousand Islands has uncovered some interesting data, hypotheses, and of course more questions. Take a look at my season summary (on the web) to hear more about:
- How do fresh water sources affect Manatee movements?
- How might the Everglades Restoration impact Manatees in the TTI area?
- Why many Manatees stayed close to the area where they were captured?
What Manatees Teach US!
|
|
For example, we know that many Manatees are accidentally killed by boats each year. But many more are hit by boats each year and survive, but often with horrific injuries. What effect do you think these injuries may have on the overall health of the Manatee population? For example, do you think that injured manatees may not be reproducing successfully? This is one hypothesis that we currently are investigating.
Farewell From Cathy Beck
|
|
All of us at the Sirenia Project are encouraged that so many students are truly interested in learning more about manatees and science. Thank you so much for joining Jim Reid, Susan Butler, Dean Easton, Bob Bonde, and me this year, and learning along with us!
We'll see you next season!
Cathy Beck
Wildlife Biologist
Sirenia Project
Gainesville, FL
You're the Scientist: Comparing Two Seasons of Migrations
|
|
|
Ten Thousand Islands Study Area |
Try This! Follow the trail and the timing of each Manatee's migration over both years.
- Did they generally stay in one area? Or migrate widely?
- Make big movements? Small movements?
- Did they visit any place more than once?
Use the Lesson below to guide your inquiry:
After your students have finished comparing, have them write a scientific paper about their hypotheses:
Ranger Wayne's Farewell and Season Summary
|
|
It's been great to have you studying the Manatees at Blue Spring again this year. I hope you have learned a lot and enjoyed yourself too.
The season for Manatees at Blue Spring was very unique. Why did the Manatees come to Blue Spring in mid November but then disappear for almost a month? How did the number of manatees staying the entire season, or the number visiting this season in total, compare to last year? How many calves were there this season? And how many orphans?
Take a look at my full season summary below. It's always amazing what the weather and temperatures do to the Manatees!
Endangered Is Too Close to Extinction
|
|
Why it is so important to save endangered species? I think it was Aldo Leopold who explained: "If this animal disappeared, this universe would have to end and another universe would have to come again before such a being could be again. When they're lost they're gone forever"
Many things have been lost already, but not so many as we are losing now and not so quickly. And it's happening because of us, not because of some other outside climate change. No, it's because of what were doing that Manatees have their biggest problem.
What Can You Do?
We can all take an active role in trying to save the Manatees no matter if we're students, or teachers or parents. What can you do to help Manatees, even if you don't live in Florida? And how can a piece of paper help save the Manatee? Find out the answers to these questions and more:
I hope to see you all back next year to study the Blue Spring Manatees!
Ranger Wayne Hartley
Blue Spring State Park
Orange City, FL
More Manatee Adaptations: Skeleton, Flippers and Fat
We've already discussed several
unique Manatee adaptations so far, and this week is going to be no exception because
we've got a few more to feature.
- Why are Manatee flippers like a human hand?
- Are Manatee bones different from yours?
- Can Manatees really "walk" on their flippers?
- Will Manatees in two parts of Florida have similar amounts of body fat?
Learn more about these adaptations and be sure to "Bone Up" on the others we've covered this year too, because we'll wrap them all up into the Adaptation Matching Game in the next report. Remember: There's always a WHY behind WHAT you see. Whenever you see an unusual behavior or body part, ask yourself WHY :
Finding Peggy Lee: Discussion of CQ #21
|
|
Nathaniel, Stephen L, Stephen M. and Alex from Iselin Middle School knew where to start their search: "If we were Jim Reid, we would search for Peggy Lee where she last transmitted a signal."
But who better than Jim Reid himself to tell us the whole answer:
"Although she has broken free of the tethered floating tag, her peduncle belt has an ultrasonic beacon. This will allow us to detect her, but only at a relatively close range of a kilometer or less. From her tracking data, we have some insight into her movement patterns, specifically where she feeds (off Cape Romano) and where she goes to drink fresh water (Port of the Islands). Unfortunately, this is a large area to cover, just to search for her. So, while we are tracking other manatees in the area, we will listen for her beacon. Manatees often gather in small groups to feed, travel, and socialize. With time and luck, we may find her and possibly get a tag reattached."
The Search is On! Discussion of CQ #22
|
|
Katie, Sarah, Maggie & Stephen from Iselin Middle School chewed off these two possibilities:
"A boat could have hit Peggy Lee causing her transmitter to fall off. Also another animal such as an alligator could have bit it off."
It's also possible that her transmitter became snagged or caught on something
and then broke free at the weak link.
The Search is On! Discussion of CQ #23
Here we asked "What if you were asked to recover Peggy Lee's transmitter? Where would you begin? Here's what you know: The last coordinates for the transmitter on 3/26 were (25.925N, 81.860W). Now, plot that location on your map. Then 'chart your course'! Describe how you would navigate to that location--what is the nearest Florida city? What direction is the transmitter from there? How far?"
Peggy Lee's transmitter was about 8 miles offshore from Marco Island, and moving out with the current. The boat operator who recovered the transmitter was given the last coordinates for the transmitter, and then we expect he used his GPS to get to the vicinity.
The Search is On! Discussion of CQ #24
|
|
Cathy Beck revealed that:
"We knew her transmitter was off on 3/26 because the satellite location was about 8 miles offshore from Marco Island, and moving out with the current. Peggy Lee had not traveled that far out during the tracking before this time."
It's a Wrap! Discussion of CQ #25
In this question we asked "What major change in conditions finally occurred in the River to make the Run less appealing to the Manatees?"
Corrine, Kathryn, Angad and Chris from Iselin Middle School got off to a good start by seeing that the:
"The major change in conditions that occurred is the river temperature. It went up and there were less Manatees."
The most significant change actually occurred on March 18 when the River water
temperature finally was warmer than the temperature of the Run. With the River being
warmer, there wasn't any real attraction in the Run, especially since there is basically
no food in the Run.
Grabbed by a Gator? Discussion of CQ #26
|
|
The reason Ranger Wayne suspected Pistachio's transmitter had been bitten by an alligator was the fact that it was not giving off any signals. Alligator bites can disable a transmitter. In contrast, the Sirenia scientists knew that Peggy Lee's transmitter was still operating because they were getting data.
Who's The "Predator? Discussion of CQ #27
"Who's The "Predator"? Inspect these photos of damaged transmitters (on the Web) very carefully. From the type of damage you see, can you determine who/what caused the damage? How can you tell?"
Predator #1 was an alligator, and you can see the bite marks. Predator #2 was a boat propeller, and you can see how clean the slice was by the propeller.
|
|
|
|
"Predator" One was an Alligator |
"Predator" Two was a Boat Propeller |
More Amazing Manatee Adaptations: Discussion of CQ #28
|
|
Ashley, Daniela, Isabel , Laura, Oakes, Sam ,Hannah, Lillian and, Isabelle from Ferrisburgh VT really took a bite out of that question!
"The dental problem is that the Manatee's teeth wear down. When their teeth wear down, they are weak and fall out. We solve our problems with teeth by going to the dentist, brushing our teeth, brushing our tongues, using dental floss to keep food from being in between our teeth. When you are an adult, you can get a cap or a false tooth. Or you might just have a hole in your mouth."
Manatee Math: Discussion of CQ #29
|
|
"a) If a Manatee eats between 10% to 15% of its body weight each day, how many pounds (or kg) of food would that be for a 1,000 pound Manatee?
b) Now let's talk pizza! An average thin crust frozen pizza weighs about a pound. How much do you weigh? How many pizzas would you have to eat in one day to equal 10% to 15% of your body weight?"
Genevieve, Patrick, Taylor and Kameron from Ferrisburgh, VT figured this one out:
"A 1000 pound manatee would have to eat 100 to 150 pounds of food each day. As for pizza, Taylor weighs 70 pounds, so she would have to eat 7 to 10.5 pounds of food a day. She would have to eat about 7-10 pizzas a day! She says if she did that, she wouldn't be able to fit in her jeans anymore! Kameron weighs 75 pounds. He would have to eat about 8-11 pizzas a day. He is pretty sure he could do that easily. Patrick thinks he could eat that much as well. He likes pizza. Genevieve would rather be eating spaghetti."
And so did Katie, Sarah, Maggie and Stephen from Iselin Middle School, who wrote that
"If a Manatee weighs 1000 lbs, it would eat 100 lbs of food a day at 10% and 150lbs of food a day at 15% of its body weight. One of our group-mates weighs 98lbs. She would have to eat 9.8 or 10 pizzas at 10% of her body weight and 14.7 or 15 pizzas at 15%."
Nice going students! (Save me a piece of pizza please!)
Coming in the Final Report
- The Matching Game
- Grab the Popcorn--Julie's Photo Tour
- Your Chance to Thank the Scientists
- Earth Day Everyday
- Evaluation--Tell Us What You Think!
The FINAL Manatee Migration Update will Be Posted on May 1, 2002.
Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
