Today's News
A/CPB
FINAL Manatee Migration Update: May 28, 1997
USFWS
"March" Keeps Marching On
As our Manatee Updates draw to a close, take a look at the final data from The Sirenia Project and see where our meandering manatees have been since the last report. (See below.) Cathy Beck says March is taking some interesting travels--where do you think she is headed? In the previous update, Dakota was the one on the move. By May 9th however, Cathy told us that he had moved back to his previous haunts in southern Dade County.
Dr. Bruce Ackerman
Where Will Manatees Be in the Future?
As you learned during the season, the manatee is a unique creature that must overcome numerous challenges everyday just to survive and reproduce. What does the future hold for the manatee?
We contacted Dr. Bruce Ackerman, population biologist with the Florida Marine Research Institute. Dr. Ackerman offered to design a "population model" for students, to show how a population biologist goes about answering questions about the manatee's future. This summer, when the model is complete, we will put it on the WWW. In the meantime, here's how Bruce Ackerman describes his work:
"As you know, manatees are an endangered species, so the size of their population is very important. We are concerned about the future of manatees because:
- The number of dead manatees observed has increased through time,
- Deaths from human-related causes are also increasing,
- The number of living manatees may not be large enough to sustain the observed deaths,
- The manatee's habitat is shrinking due to man's activities, and
- Manatee have such long lives that it is difficult to project into the future.
"How does the manatee's future look? I will walk you through a "population model". A model is anything which is a simplified or more convenient replica of how the real thing will look, or which makes it easier to understand how it will operate. (For example, a model car, a scale-model test plane in a wind tunnel, a computer program, a woman wearing a new fashion.)
"Basically, to measure the status or 'health' of a population, I need to know 3 things (but you'd be surprised how difficult it can be to get this information!):
- How many manatees are there to start with?
- How many are born each year?
- How many die each year?
"In the next few weeks, I'll provide instructions for setting up your own computer model. I'll start you out with a set of assumptions, and you will be able to figure out how the population is affected over the years."
Dr. Bruce B. Ackerman
Florida Marine Research Institute
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
St. Petersburg, Florida
Special thanks to Bruce Ackerman for patiently working with us to simplify this very complicated subject! We'll provide a link from this page to the instructions for creating your manatee population model. Through this activity we're sure you'll develop an appreciation for the important role population biologists play in managing endangered species. We certainly did! (Come back soon!)
Today's Migration Data
May 9-May 16, 1997
5/09/97 Marmontel (Tag Off) Mercury 31.305 N 81.410 W March 30.237 N 81.435 W Sonny (Tag Off) Dakota 25.638 N 80.283 W5/16/97 Marmontel (Tag Off) Mercury 31.280 N 81.385 W March 29.398 N 81.113 W Sonny (Tag Off) Dakota 25.631 N 80.283 W
We hope you have enjoyed learning about the Manatee this spring. Have a great summer!
This is the FINAL Manatee Migration Update. See You Next Year!