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Manatee Migration Update: February 5, 2003

Today's Report Includes:

Welcome Aboard!
Photo Credit: USFWS
Are you ready to dive into a new season of manatee migration and research? Because manatees are listed as an endangered species, it's all the more important to learn about and participate in manatee research. Our same top-notch team of talented scientists is back at work again this season--by land, sea, and air too--and they're ready to have you working right alongside them in several different research activities:
  • Cathy Beck and her fellow Sirenia Project scientists are radio-tracking migrating Manatees in SW Florida. Meet and track five new manatees (Gulliver, Chuck, Tipper, Thumper and Anna) and some old friends too (Santina and Actual), and plot their migrations with the latest satellite data;

  • Ranger Wayne Hartley is making daily "up close and personal" roll calls and observations of more than 150 Manatees that migrated to Blue Spring State Park;

  • Dr. Bruce Ackerman has been conducting statewide aerial Manatee surveys in aircraft
    over Florida; and

  • Save the Manatee Club's Nancy Sadusky will be fielding students' questions.

You're all invited to join in, so let's get started. Welcome aboard!

Manatee Mischief and Record Numbers at Blue Spring

"Mr. Manatee" Ranger Wayne
Greets You
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Ranger Wayne Hartley has been studying manatees since 1979 at Florida's Blue Spring State Park, in Orange City. And this year, he's got big news to report. Before we get to that, he sent word of a little mischief that one of his most famous manatees, Georgia, has gotten into already:

"Wednesday, 22 January, Georgia took someone's jeans off the dock and swam away with them. It was my day off and I don't know if they got them back." (We hope Georgia's not teaching this to her new female calf "Macon".)

The real news from Ranger Wayne is that a record number of manatees migrated to Blue Spring this season! He reports that he has counted more individual manatees than ever before in his 24 years at Blue Spring, and more calves too:

"Donna came in with twins [calves] on 14 December to boost our record number of calves to 17, compared to the previous 12. . . Three years ago on my birthday, 27 December, we counted a morning high of 112 manatees. This year for my birthday it was a new high of 115. . . I have an estimate of 161 [individual] animals in so far. The recent calves up to three years old haven't been properly sorted out yet. Whatever the total, it will beat the old record set the season before of 153."

Calf Graph!
Ranger Wayne watches the number of calves each year at Blue Spring. Take a look at his calf counts:

Ranger Wayne's Calf Count
2003
17 calves
2002
07 calves
2001
10 calves
2000
12 calves
1999
10 calves
1998
08 calves

Challenge Question #1:
"Why is it important for Ranger Wayne to keep track of the number of calves each year? What reasons can you think of for the varying number of calves at Blue Spring each year? Why would one year be so different from the next?"

(To respond to these Challenge Questions, please follow the instructions below)

Try This! Make a Calf Graph
 To visualize the changing number of calves at Blue Spring from year to year, plot Ranger Wayne's Calf Count on a graph. Using the data above, graph the changing number of calves at Blue Spring each year.

A Manatee Hotspot and Geological Wonder

Something's boiling!
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Listen to Ranger Wayne Describe the Boil

 
Blue Spring is a well-known hotspot for manatees in winter, and it's a geological wonder too. Each winter more than 100 different manatees migrate to and visit the protected sanctuary known as the "Run". This "Run" is actually a 1/3 mile long creek, which begins more than a hundred feet underground in a spring or "Boil". Each day, that Boil pushes up approximately 104 million gallons of water from beneath the earth, forming the Run which then flows out to where it meets up with the St. John's River.

Journey North's Julie Brophy visited Blue Spring last year, and you can learn more from her reports listed below. After you've looked at those, see if you can answer the Challenge Questions below:

Challenge Question #2
"Why do you think a mammal like a manatee migrates to the Blue Spring Run in the winter?"

Challenge Question #3
"Why do you think a record number of manatees has been counted at Blue Spring this season?"

Challenge Question #4
"If the 'Boil' pushes out 104 million gallons of water per day, then how many gallons are pushed out:
a) in one hour?
b) in one minute?
c) in 10 seconds?
d) in 7 days?
e) How many gallons do you use on average at your house for things like taking a bath, taking a shower, doing a load of laundry, running your dishwasher, or washing a car?

(To respond to these Challenge Questions, please follow the instructions below)

Airborne Ackerman Counts Near-Record Numbers!
Bruce Ackerman
Dr. Bruce Ackerman is a manatee biologist and population expert with the Florida Marine Research Institute. Since 1991, "Airborne Ackerman" has coordinated the State's annual aerial manatee census, which uses crews across the State in small planes, helicopters and on the ground to count manatees at all the wintering sites.

This January, Dr. Ackerman was able to conduct three statewide aerial manatee surveys, with counts totaling near-record numbers of manatees compared to earlier years.

Field Notes from Bruce Ackerman

Hello Students!
This year we've had optimal weather conditions to conduct statewide synoptic surveys to count manatees. We did one statewide aerial survey on January 9, 2003, and counted 2,861 total, which at that time was the second highest count since the survey began in 1991. The highest count ever was in 2001 when 3,276 manatees were counted.

We conducted a second aerial survey count on January 21-22, with optimal weather conditions again. This second survey produced a total count of 3,113 manatees, which surpassed the January 9 count, and became the second highest count.

The third count was conducted on January 26-28, with a total count of 3,029 manatees, the third highest count. Last year in 2002 the highest manatee count was 1,796. I'm looking forward to another exciting season with all of you.


Dr. Bruce Ackerman
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
Florida Marine Research Institute

Whether it was Weather or Not?
Scientists recognize that weather conditions play a key role in the results of the annual synoptic manatee surveys. Study and compare the weather conditions on the three maps below, which show Florida surface water temperatures when the synoptic surveys were conducted in 2001, 2002, and 2003. Then see if you can answer:

Challenge Question #5:
"What were the 'optimal weather conditions' in 2001 and 2003, when the higher counts took place? How do those conditions compare to 2002 when a lower count took place? Explain how you think the different weather conditions affected the counts each year?

2001

2002

2003

Click on Maps to enlarge
Credit '02 Map: Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

(To respond to these Challenge Questions, please follow the instructions below)

First Field Notes from Biologist Cathy Beck
Welcome 2003 Students! All of us at the Sirenia Project are glad to have you joining in our manatee research. And each of our scientists is back again--Bob Bonde, Jim Reid, Susan Butler, Dean Easton and me. Take a minute to meet the Sirenia Team and learn about what we do here:

Five New Manatees in Ten Thousand Islands
We are continuing our research for a third year in the Ten Thousand Islands (TTI) area of Florida (25.700N, -81.300W). In December, we captured and tagged five new wild manatees, and we now have a total of 10 manatees that we are tracking in SW Florida. During the capture and tagging, we collect a great deal of data on each animal, such as weight, body measurements, blood samples, fat measurements and genetic samples.

Challenge Question #6:
"How do you think manatee scientists capture a manatee? Describe what equipment you think they would use, how many people it might take, and what makes a good capture site?"

(To respond to these Challenge Questions, please follow the instructions below)

This season, you'll follow the migrations of five manatees that Journey North has never tracked before:

You'll also be tracking some Journey North "veterans", which were tracked before, including one mother-calf pair:

This is a great opportunity to compare Actual's and Santina's movements this season to their movements in prior seasons!

Get to Know Your Manatees--for details about the manatees above, go to each manatee's Data and Individual Map pages in Today's report below.

Why TTI?

Ten Thousand Islands Study Area

Listen to Jim Reid describe the purpose of the Manatee TTI study:
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Ten Thousand Islands (TTI), (25.700N, -81.300W) is located along the western edge of the Everglades, and our manatee radiotracking efforts there are part of a continuing study related to the restoration of the Everglades. We hope to gather enough data to confirm (or not) our hypotheses about how manatees utilize that habitat, and what effects the Everglades restoration might have on manatee distribution in southwest Florida.

As Jim Reid explained previously, the manatee tracking data provides "information from radio tagged manatees about where they're moving and what resources they're using. It's all tied to restoration of the Florida Everglades and how this restoration effort may affect how manatees use the system."

Follow along with us as we learn more about manatees' use of this unique Florida habitat. (Be sure to hear Jim Reid describe the purpose of the study in the caption above and read more about the study here:)

I look forward to bringing you the latest data and developments in the next Update.

Cathy Beck
Sirenia Project
Gainesville, FL

First Satellite Data: Let's Get Tracking!

Latest All Manatees Migration Map
(As of February 5, 2003)
Click on Map to Enlarge

Again this season, each manatee will have its own individual map. Of course, we'll also provide an "All Manatee" map with each report, showing the movements of all the manatees. We're also providing a printer-friendly Data-Only page. Plot the latest satellite data for the manatees on your map.

Link to Latest Data and Maps:
(Courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey's Sirenia Project)

* Catching Up With Last Year's Manatees
Actual and Santina were both tracked last year, and you can find out what they've been up to since last spring. Just click on the "Capture Date" on their Data page above, and you'll be taken to an individual history page.

Measuring Manatee Movements: Challenge Question # 7
After you have plotted and mapped the manatees' movements, you are able to see where and how far they have traveled. Go a step further and try to answer:

Challenge Question #7:
"Using the location data for each Manatee in January, describe:

(a) In what direction has each manatee traveled?

(b) Which manatee had the greatest change in longitude? How many degrees of longitude did ittravel between its first and second data reading?

(c) Which manatee had the greatest change in latitude? How many degrees of latitude did it travel between its first and second data reading? How many miles does that represent in total?

(d) Since first being tagged and released at POI, which of the new manatees has traveled the greatest distance? Approximately how far has it traveled?"

(To respond to these Challenge Questions, please follow the instructions below)

Tips for Teachers: Are YOU Ready for the Migration?
You may want to use these lessons and tips to help students develop the mapping skills they will need to track the migration.
  • Latitude, Longitude and Distance Traveled
    This lesson will help you get comfortable with satellite data, so you'll have a feeling for the distances involved when a manatee's latitude and longitude readings change.
  • How to Map Satellite Telemetry Data
    This lesson includes charts with step-by-step instructions for pinpointing a manatee's latitude and longitude on a map. By putting a transparency on top of your map, a manatee's exact location can be more easily found.
  • Suggestions for Student Research with Satellite Data
    Remember that this data gives you a rare opportunity to conduct your own scientific research. Review this lesson for some ideas on developing your own research topics with this data.

Ask the Expert Opens Feb 14
Have any good questions about Manatees? Well, now's your chance to ask a pro! Your class is invited to pose questions to Nancy Sadusky of Save the Manatee Club. Nancy is an expert who has worked with manatees and Journey North for several years. She's generously volunteered her time to answer your questions and share her firsthand knowledge about the manatees that she knows so well. She'd love to hear from you! What would you like to know?

Coming in the Next Report
  • Where will your Manatees migrate? Get the Latest Tracking Data from Sirenia Project!
  • Ranger Wayne takes Roll Call of all the Manatees at Blue Spring. How does he tell them all apart?
  • Hungry for Geography? Try this tasty map
  • How is the Aerial Synoptic Survey planned and conducted, and What is it Like in the Plane?
How to Respond to Today's Challenge Questions:

IMPORTANT: Answer only ONE question in each e-mail message.

1. Address an e-mail message to: jn-challenge-manatee@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #1 (or #2 or #3 or #4 or #5 or #6 or #7)
3. In the body of EACH message, give your answer to ONE of the questions above.

The Next Manatee Migration Update Will Be Posted on February 19, 2003.

 

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