Manatee Migration Update: February 5, 1997

Manatee or Mermaid?
Manatees are marine mammals, which means they live in the water and breathe air. They have large, gray seal-like bodies, with two forelimbs or "flippers", a paddle shaped tail, and a whiskered face and snout that you might see when they swim up to the surface of the water to catch a breath of air. Although they are large, gray and wrinkly, legends say that sailors at sea sometimes thought the manatees were mermaids. Imagine that!

Adult manatees average about 10 feet long and weigh between 800 to 1,200 pounds. Despite their size, however, the manatees are in danger and their future remains uncertain. Paddle along with us as we explore the life and times of this gentle giant.

Manatees on the Move
This year, we will track the movements of five manatees, thanks to scientists Jim Reid and Cathy Beck of the Florida Caribbean Science Center's Sirenia Project. These scientists are tracking manatees with satellite transmitters and will be sharing their data with you.

As you will soon discover, each manatee has a unique history and you will get to know them as individuals over the coming months. The five manatees include three females named "Marmontel", "Mercury" and "March", who were all tagged last March, 1995. March is now with a calf. There are two males: "Sonny", who was tagged in February, 1992 and "Dakota", an orphan who was rescued and then released from captivity in August, 1996.

Here's the latest report from the Sirenia Project:

To: Journey North
From: Cathy Beck
Date: February 1, 1997

"Dear Students,
"Here are January data for our 5 manatees. Unfortunately, I begin with bad news: Sometime during the last week Marmontel's tag was hit by a boat and detached at the weak link. Fortunately, she was sighted and observed this morning with Mercury (!) in Fernandina Beach. Plans are in place to attempt a re-tag on Wednesday, Feb. 5th."

Click here for DATA TABLES

We suggest keeping a journal over the next months. As you read each report, make a list of all the questions you have about manatees. For example, as you analyze today's data you might ask yourself these questions:

• Which manatee traveled the greatest distance?
• How far did he or she go?
• On which dates do you think the animal moved?
• Can you speculate why?
• On average, how many miles per day did he or she travel?
• Which manatee traveled the least?
• Do you notice similarities and differences in behavior between the 5 manatees?
• What can you say about manatee habitat? about their range?

Secondly, plan to clip the weather map from your newspaper each day. These daily maps will be useful when you analyze the data in each report.

"Bartrum?...Here!", "Brutus?...Here!, Lilly?...Lilly?...."
We're pleased to introduce another person who will appear regularly in these updates. Meet Ranger Wayne Harley of Blue Spring State Park. He'll soon be pictured here with his canoe and paddle, the tools of his trade. Every day the Ranger paddles into the Blue Spring Run to conduct his daily "manatee roll call". (Click on Ranger Wayne's data sheet and see exactly who was there on Monday, February 3rd.)

Of the 196 manatees recorded at Blue Springs, 42 were present at Monday's Roll Call. Every day, Ranger Wayne identifies each individual manatee and marks its location in the river on his map. He also records the temperature of the river and the water in Blue Spring "Run". On Monday, temperatures were 17 C and 22.5 C respectively.

Find Blue Springs State Park on a map of Florida; it's near the town of Orange City.

• What does its location tell you about manatees?
• What information did you learn from Ranger Wayne's observations that the satellite data did not tell you?

Today's Manatee Challenge Question:
The following message was sent by manatee biologist Bruce Ackerman to his colleagues. Dr. Ackerman is a specialist in aerial surveys. He works at Florida's Department of Environmental Protection.

"The big cold front is here. The synoptic survey is scheduled "ON" for Sunday/Monday. Jan 19/20. Thanks for everyone who is going out of their way to accommodate us on this 3-day holiday weekend. All biologists and pilots and aircraft appear to be scheduled. Tampa, Florida air temps. are now predicted to be even colder than first predictions. They now predict if will get down to 33F on Saturday a.m.; relatively clear cool and lower winds for several days after. The best front in quite awhile."

These maps help tell the story. The map on the left shows temperatures on the day of the survey. The one on the right shows more typical Florida temperatures in January.(For a closer look, click on the map and it will enlarge.)

Manatee Challenge Question #1
"Why do you think the scientists mobilized quickly to conduct the aerial survey when the cold front arrived?

How to Respond to Challenge Question #1:

1. Address an E-mail message to: jn-challenge-manatee@learner.org
2. In the Subject Line of your message write: Challenge Question #1
3. In the body of the message, answer the Challenge Question.