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FINAL Manatee Migration Update: May 1, 2002
Today's Report Includes:
- Special Thanks to the Manatee Scientists!
- More Manatee Adaptations: Can You Make a Match?
- River and Run Tour: Manatee Field Trip in Florida
- If Manatees Had a T.V. Series
- The Human Imprint: Our Impact on Manatees
- Sharing The Planet: 200,000 More People Every Day
- Year-End Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts!
Special Thanks to the Manatee Scientists!
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Thank you Cathy Beck, Jim Reid, Bob Bonde, Susan Butler and Dean Easton from the Sirenia Project; Bruce Ackerman from the Florida Marine Research Institute; Ranger Wayne Hartley from Blue Spring State Park; and also to Nancy Sadusky from Save the Manatee Club. It's been another fantastic season studying the Manatees!
- Want to Say Thank You?
If you'd like to write and thank the scientists, send your notes to: jnorth@learner.org
We'll be sure to forward your notes to them--they'd love to hear from you!
More Manatee Adaptations: Can You Make a Match?
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- Stay under water for 15 minutes?
- Get new teeth constantly?
- Exchange almost all the air in your lungs in just one breath?
- Adjust your body fat to the surrounding temperature?
A Manatee easily does all these things and more, thanks to special adaptations.
But you'd need some help to do the same things!
Try This! Imagine yourself doing the
things that Manatees do. Can you match the Manatee adaptation to a human invention?
River and Run Tour: Manatee Field Trip in Florida
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Click map to enlarge |
Many of you will probably be taking spring field trips soon at school. In January, I took a field trip of my own to Florida and traveled to Blue Spring State Park in Orange City and Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (near Homosassa) (see map) to get a closer (and my first-ever) look at the Manatees in the shallow waters where many migrate in the winter. It was a dream come true and I feel very fortunate to have experienced these unique animals and the generosity of the people who spend their lives working with Manatees.
I went with lots of questions, came back with lots of questions (there's so much to learn about Manatees), but also I came away with lots of answers to questions like these:
- What is a Manatee "footprint" and what does it tell you?
- What are some of the boating rules to protect Manatees?
- What is the water temperature in the Blue Spring Run?
- What does a Manatee scientist use to sketch Manatee markings underwater?
- Where is the refuge that provides critical habitat for approximately 25% of the nation's Manatees?
You'll know the answers to these questions and more when you join me on a Field Trip of Manatee watching in Florida:
If Manatees Had a T.V. Series
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Save the Manatee Club biologist Patti Thompson said in a recent Palm Beach Post interview that these boating deaths are something that is "preventable just by being more careful." She added that if a single thing was causing 25% of human deaths "don't you think we'd be pretty worried about that?"
"If we were doing these same things to any dolphin species, I guarantee you there would be a public and government outcry from here to Washington," said Greg Bossart, Director of Marine Mammal Research and Conservation at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in the same article. "Animals that have more appeal to our emotional needs or spiritual needs or whatever get more attention. They (Manatees) didn't get a TV series (like Flipper)."
What are the other reasons to protect Manatees? Take a look:
Then come back and discuss the questions below, which all play a role in understanding how fragile the Manatee population really is:
1) What is the size of the Manatee population?
2) Should an "endangered" species deserve more protection?
3) What is the rate of reproduction in Manatees?
4) Do you think the death rate will likely increase or decrease? From what causes? Can deaths be reduced?
5) Can non-fatal injuries affect Manatee reproduction?
6) Are other species protected more than Manatees? Why?
The Human Imprint: Our Impact on Manatees
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Increasing human population impacts the Manatees in many different ways. This season, we learned how more people in Florida means more boats and in turn more boating deaths for Manatees. But did you know that more people can also impact Manatee food sources and habitat?
When you were mapping this year's Manatee migrations, do you remember how they regularly visited the Cape Romano area? As you learned, they returned there over and over to feed in the lush seagrass beds. But what would happen if the seagrass beds were threatened?
Dr. Ackerman indicates that seagrass bed damage is a risk with a growing population in Florida. In addition to damage from boat propeller scarring, he says that "seagrass beds are very sensitive to having good water clarity, and seagrasses are declining in some areas due to poor water clarity. 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!"
Sharing The Planet: 200,000 More People Every Day
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As we end another Manatee season, consider what human resource use and population growth mean to all living things. How fast are humans being added to the planet?
Listen carefully:
- Metronome (144 Per Minute)
Every time you hear a beat, it means there's another person on the planet. (This is not the birth rate, but the "net gain," which means births minus deaths.) If you were to count the beats for 24 hours, 200,000 more people would have been added to the planet.
In recognition of Earth Day this year, our "Signs of Spring" report below reflected on human population growth, and its impact on the natural world. Beginning in about 1750, the Industrial Revolution improved the standard of living so dramatically that the human population began to grow exponentially. In less than 250 years, world population went from under 1 billion to 6 billion people. At current growth rates, we add one million more people to the planet every 5 days. How have humans managed to populate the entire globe?
Learn about human invention and population growth from an historical perspective:
Year-End Evaluation: Please Share Your Thoughts!
Please take a few minutes to share your suggestions and comments in our Year-End Evaluation Form below. The information you provide at the end of each year is the single most important tool used to guide our planning.
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Journey North |
This is the FINAL Manatee Migration Update. See You Next Year!
Copyright 2002 Journey North. All Rights Reserved.
Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form
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