Journey North Manatees

MANATEE GLOSSARY

aerial manatee census: Crews across Florida in small planes, helicopters and on the ground count manatees at all the wintering sites.

ballast: heavy material such as the manatee's bone that gives stability in the water

Blue Spring "Run" and "Boil": Near Orange City, FL, a 1/3 mile long creek, which begins more than 100 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.

endangered: in danger of becoming extinct

footprint: when manatees are swimming they leave a distinctive mark on the surface of the water

grassbeds: feeding area for manatees where seagrasses grow

GPS (Global Positioning System) A worldwide radio-navigation system made of a network of government-controlled satellites and their ground stations. The system uses these "man-made stars" as reference points to calculate and pinpoint a radio receiver's position in latitude, longitude and altitude.

habitat: a place with all the requirements necessary for a plant or animal to live. Habitats include food, water, cover, and space.

herbivore: Plant-eating. Manatees and Dugongs are the only exclusively herbivorous marine mammals

marching molars: manatee teeth are continually wearing down and being replaced; the teeth "march" or move from back (new teeth)to front (old teeth), where they wear away and fall out.

migrate: to travel seasonally from one place for feeding to a more favorable place for breeding and nesting.

MIPS (Manatee Individual Photo-identification System): computerized database developed and maintained by Sirenia Project biologist Cathy Beck, used to identify individual manatees based on photographs of scars on the manatee's body.

peduncle: the area on a manatee's body located just in front of it's tail

POI (Port of the Islands): Location in Ten Thousand Islands, a location where many manatees are released back into captivity after medical care and/or rehabilitation. After release, some manatees return here too for freshwater access.

prehensile lip Lips adapted for grasping or holding objects

PTT Platform Transmitter Terminal, or satellite tracking device that can be worn/carried by an animal so its position is known

radio telemetry radio-tracking of manatees who wear the tracking devices.

refuge a region of protected habitat for wildlife

SMC (Save the Manatee Club) : Maitland FL based non-profit organization dedicated to Manatee conservation.

Sirenia Project:

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