The Challenge: Florida manatees are threatened by watercraft-related mortality, the potential loss of warmwater habitat, red tide events, and other anthropogenic factors. The USFWS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have regulatory authorities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and state statutes to recover manatees. To support management decision-making, these agencies need quantitative assessments of population status.
The Science: Working with scientists at the USGS Sirenia Project and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Patuxent scientists have have estimated life-history vital rates of manatees, incorporated those into a stochastic population model, and used that model to evaluate the threats facing manatees. Results from Patuxent’s modeling work have been the foundation of several regulatory documents, including the 2005 incidental take regulations under the MMPA, and the 2007 5-year review under the ESA, and the 2016 proposed rule to reclassify manatees to threatened under the ESA.
The Future: To inform development of the final rulemaking regarding reclassification of manatees to threatened, an updated threats analysis is underway. This new analysis will assess the potential risk posed by recent mortality events, and will consider whether climate change may affect the frequency of cold-related morality.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), 2012
A Quantitative Threats Analysis for the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
The Challenge: Florida manatees are threatened by watercraft-related mortality, the potential loss of warmwater habitat, red tide events, and other anthropogenic factors. The USFWS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have regulatory authorities under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), and state statutes to recover manatees. To support management decision-making, these agencies need quantitative assessments of population status.
The Science: Working with scientists at the USGS Sirenia Project and Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Patuxent scientists have have estimated life-history vital rates of manatees, incorporated those into a stochastic population model, and used that model to evaluate the threats facing manatees. Results from Patuxent’s modeling work have been the foundation of several regulatory documents, including the 2005 incidental take regulations under the MMPA, and the 2007 5-year review under the ESA, and the 2016 proposed rule to reclassify manatees to threatened under the ESA.
The Future: To inform development of the final rulemaking regarding reclassification of manatees to threatened, an updated threats analysis is underway. This new analysis will assess the potential risk posed by recent mortality events, and will consider whether climate change may affect the frequency of cold-related morality.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), 2012
The endangered West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), especially the Florida subspecies (T. m. latirostris), has been the focus of conservation efforts and extensive research since its listing under the Endangered Species Act. On the basis of the best information available as of December 2012, the threats facing the Florida manatee were determined to be less severe than previously thought, eithAuthorsMichael C. Runge, Catherine A. Langtimm, Julien Martin, Christopher J. FonnesbeckA Quantitative Threats Analysis for the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is an endangered marine mammal endemic to the southeastern United States. The primary threats to manatee populations are collisions with watercraft and the potential loss of warm-water refuges. For the purposes of listing, recovery, and regulation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), an understanding of the relative effects of the principal tAuthorsMichael C. Runge, Carol A. Sanders-Reed, Catherine A. Langtimm, Christopher J. Fonnesbeck - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.