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. grassbeds:
feeding area for manatees where seagrasses grow 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. radio
telemetry radio-tracking of manatees who wear the tracking devices. 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).
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