Manatee Migration Update: February 4, 2004

Today's Report Includes:

• Welcome Aboard!
• First Field Notes from Biologist Susan Butler
• Meet the Fab Five! CQ #1 and #2
• First Satellite Data & Maps: Let's Get Tracking!
• Measuring Manatee Movements: CQ #3
• Field Notes from Ranger Wayne
• Holy Cow! Challenge Question #4
• A Manatee Hotspot and Geological Wonder: CQ's #5 and #6
• Tips for Teachers: Are YOU Ready for the Migration?
• The Journey North Portfolio-A Tip to Keep Materials Organized
• What's This? Looking Ahead
  

This season, you'll be involved in satellite tracking the movements of five wild manatees with Susan Butler and Jim Reid of the Sirenia Project; taking daily manatee "roll calls" with Ranger Wayne Hartley at Blue Spring State Park; and counting manatees from airplanes with Dr. Bruce Ackerman in a statewide aerial manatee count. And Nancy Sadusky from Save the Manatee Club is also ready to field your Ask the Expert questions too. Let's get started!

Dive in with a Manatee (Viewing Tips)

Credit: Jonathan Bird, Oceanic Research Group, Inc.

Manatees are still listed as an endangered species, so being involved in manatee research has never been more important.

• What Does It Mean to be "Endangered"?

• Meet the Sirenia Team
  
• More on The TTI Research Project

Meet the Manatees for 2004

Photo: USGS-Sirenia

By the way, have you ever wondered how we manage to capture, weigh, measure, examine, draw blood from, fit a tag on, and release a marine mammal that's almost half a ton? Think it through and try to answer:

Challenge Question #1:
"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(s)?"

Challenge Question #2:
"What other reasons can you think of why scientists would capture manatees, besides attaching tracking tags?"

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

Plot the latest satellite data for the manatees on your map. Tips to help with mapping and tracking the migration are provided further below in this report. (See Tips for Teachers below)

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

• Data & Individual Map for Actual
• Data & Individual Map for Anna
• Data & Individual Map for Leslie
• Data & Individual Map for Belvedere
• Data & Individual Map for Giffer
• Data Only for All Manatees--Printer-friendly Format

Challenge Question #3:
"Using the location data for each Manatee in January, describe:

(a) Which manatee had the greatest change in longitude? How many degrees of longitude did it travel between its eastern-most and western-most data readings?

(b) Which manatee had the greatest change in latitude? How many degrees of latitude did it travel between its northern-most and southern-most data readings? How many miles does that change in latitude represent?

(c) Why do you think manatees migrate where and when they do? What reasons can you think of?

(To respond to this question, please follow the instructions below.)

That's all for now, we'll see you next week!

Susan Butler
Sirenia Project
Gainesville, FL

Dear Students,
Hello to all returning and new visitors to Blue Spring State Park, near Orange City, Florida. Even though we're located well inland from the ocean, along the St. Johns River, every Fall manatees show up here in a creek called "the Run". And this is where I have been studying manatees since 1979. Blue Spring is like a winter haven for manatees, so when they arrive, that's a sure sign that one season is slipping into another.

Almost every day this time of year, I take attendance or "roll call" of the manatees by paddling my canoe in the run. This year, the Blue Spring manatee season kicked off Nov. 29. Up to now, February 2, we've had a record 175 individual manatees in, and eight calves. Sixteen of our record seventeen calves from last year have returned to Blue Spring again. On December 22, 2003 we had a record roll call of 125 individual manatees, two more than the previous record set a year ago January.

I'll be back next time with more news on the manatees at Blue Spring.

Ranger Wayne Hartley

Ranger Wayne carefully watches the number of calves each year at Blue Spring. Do you know why? You'll be able to answer our next Challenge Question when you look for clues in "Holy Cow! What a Calf":

• Holy Cow! What a Calf
  

  Challenge Question #4:
  "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 this question, please follow the instructions below.)

• What's So Hot About Blue Spring?
  
• Julie's Blue Spring Field Notes
  

  Challenge Question #5:
  "Why do you think a mammal like a manatee migrates to the Blue Spring Run in the winter? Why do you think a record number of manatees has been counted at Blue Spring this season?"

  Challenge Question #6:
  "If the 'Boil' pushes out 104 million gallons of water per day, then how many gallons are pushed out:
  a) in two hours?
  b) in two minutes?
  c) in 30 seconds?
  d) in 10 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.)

• 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.

• Student Portfolios as Visual Organizers

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

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 11, 2004