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By Wetland and Aquatic Research Center April 10, 2017

We appreciate your interest in USGS' Sirenia Project. To help inform members of the media and public, we have provided relevant publications, reports, and websites. 

USGS scientists have devoted more than forty years to studying the biology and ecology of the West Indian manatee. Research conducted by our scientists is used to help inform management actions, including the recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's announcement to downlist the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened. Here, you will find information on the manatee science conducted by USGS. For more information, please use the contacts provided.

Every few years, USGS conducts a comprehensive analysis on the the status and threats for the Florida manatee. Those reports can be found here:

Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), 2016

Status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), 2012

Model description and evaluation of the mark-recapture survival model used to parameterize the 2012 status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

A core stochastic population projection model for Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

A Quantitative Threats Analysis for the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

 

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West Indian manatees

Demographic and Population Models to Assess Recovery and Status of the Endangered Florida Manatee

Population models developed by USGS are the primary decision-support tools used for status assessments, and rely on estimates of adult survival and reproduction rates from mark-recapture studies.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Demographic and Population Models to Assess Recovery and Status of the Endangered Florida Manatee

Population models developed by USGS are the primary decision-support tools used for status assessments, and rely on estimates of adult survival and reproduction rates from mark-recapture studies.
Learn More
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West Indian manatees, Trichechus manatus

Modeling, Estimation, and Adaptive Management of Florida Manatees

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...
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Eastern Ecological Science Center
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Modeling, Estimation, and Adaptive Management of Florida Manatees

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...
Learn More
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Florida Manatee with a tracking devise attached

Modeling Past Variation in Florida Manatee Survival, Breeding, and Movements Rates to Establish Baselines for Aquatic Ecosystem and Restoration Research

Long-term monitoring data in the Manatee Individual Photo-identification System (MIPS), developed and coordinated by WARC-Sirenia Project in collaboration with Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and Mote Marine Laboratory, are the basis for modeling manatee demography rates.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Modeling Past Variation in Florida Manatee Survival, Breeding, and Movements Rates to Establish Baselines for Aquatic Ecosystem and Restoration Research

Long-term monitoring data in the Manatee Individual Photo-identification System (MIPS), developed and coordinated by WARC-Sirenia Project in collaboration with Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and Mote Marine Laboratory, are the basis for modeling manatee demography rates.
Learn More
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West Indian Manatee Population Genetics

West Indian Manatee Population Genetics

Nuclear microsatellite markers have been developed and implemented on ~2,000 West Indian manatees. These markers provide individual genetic fingerprints for mark-recapture studies, population structure information for the conservation of unique or isolated populations, and pedigree and relatedness information for addressing inbreeding and breeding structure patterns.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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West Indian Manatee Population Genetics

Nuclear microsatellite markers have been developed and implemented on ~2,000 West Indian manatees. These markers provide individual genetic fingerprints for mark-recapture studies, population structure information for the conservation of unique or isolated populations, and pedigree and relatedness information for addressing inbreeding and breeding structure patterns.
Learn More
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Manatee Health Assessment and Biomedical Studies

A multi-agency effort assesses the health of manatees and provides baseline information on their health, reproductive status, and nutritional condition.
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Ecosystems, Biological Threats and Invasive Species Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Manatee Health Assessment and Biomedical Studies

A multi-agency effort assesses the health of manatees and provides baseline information on their health, reproductive status, and nutritional condition.
Learn More
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Research diver and manatees - WARC

Manatee Photo ID as a Tool for Research: The Manatee Individual Photo-Identification System (MIPS)

Since 1978, USGS scientists have photo-documented manatees in the Southeast United States. Now, more than 3,000 manatees can be found in the MIPS database.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Manatee Photo ID as a Tool for Research: The Manatee Individual Photo-Identification System (MIPS)

Since 1978, USGS scientists have photo-documented manatees in the Southeast United States. Now, more than 3,000 manatees can be found in the MIPS database.
Learn More
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Florida manatee population uses warm-water discharges from power plants during winter

Structured Decision Making for Management of Warm-Water Habitat of Manatees

Manatees are tropical to subtropical in distribution and, with few exceptions, Florida is the northern limit of their natural winter range. The availability of warm-water habitat during winter is critical for the future persistence of the population in Florida.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Structured Decision Making for Management of Warm-Water Habitat of Manatees

Manatees are tropical to subtropical in distribution and, with few exceptions, Florida is the northern limit of their natural winter range. The availability of warm-water habitat during winter is critical for the future persistence of the population in Florida.
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Photo identification of manatees

Manatee Distribution and Habitat Use in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

USGS works with partners to assess manatee distribution and habitat use throughout the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
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Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Manatee Distribution and Habitat Use in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

USGS works with partners to assess manatee distribution and habitat use throughout the Northern Gulf of Mexico.
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Port of the Islands (POI) basin

Monitoring and Assessing Effects of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project (PSRP) on the Florida Manatee

Critical information predicting condition changes in manatee habitat resulting from the alteration of freshwater flows to estuaries is needed to develop the PSRP Detailed Design and PSRP Operations Plan components and complete consultation under the Endangered Species Act.
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wildlife Program (unpublished), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Monitoring and Assessing Effects of the Picayune Strand Restoration Project (PSRP) on the Florida Manatee

Critical information predicting condition changes in manatee habitat resulting from the alteration of freshwater flows to estuaries is needed to develop the PSRP Detailed Design and PSRP Operations Plan components and complete consultation under the Endangered Species Act.
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Validated modeling and sampling methodology

Seagrass Beds and Manatee Foraging Areas in the Ten Thousand Islands: Mapping and Characterizing by Incorporating Manatee GPS Tracking Data and Habitat Information

Turbid water conditions make the delineation and characterization of benthic habitats difficult by traditional in situ and remote sensing methods. Consequently, only a small fraction of this valuable resource has been mapped or characterized.
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Ecosystems, Land Management Research Program, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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Seagrass Beds and Manatee Foraging Areas in the Ten Thousand Islands: Mapping and Characterizing by Incorporating Manatee GPS Tracking Data and Habitat Information

Turbid water conditions make the delineation and characterization of benthic habitats difficult by traditional in situ and remote sensing methods. Consequently, only a small fraction of this valuable resource has been mapped or characterized.
Learn More
Florida Manatee with a tracking devise attached
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Florida manatee population uses warm-water discharges from power plants during winter
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Manatee swims in a Florida spring
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Two manatees with radio transmitters attached
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USGS Researcher with Manatee
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Image: A Manatee in Florida
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Image: Aerial Photo of a Manatee Feeding on Seagrass Beds
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A 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 t
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Ecosystems, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

Morphometric body condition indices of wild Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

In many species, body weight (W) increases geometrically with body length (L), so W/L3 provides a body condition index (BCI) that can be used to evaluate nutritional status once a normal range has been established. No such index has been established for Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). This study was designed to determine a normal range of BCIs of Florida manatees by comparing W
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Baseline reference range for trace metal concentrations in whole blood of wild and managed West Indian Manatees (Trichechus manatus) in Florida and Belize

The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) is exposed to a number of anthropogenic influences, including metals, as they inhabit shallow waters with close proximity to shore. While maintaining homeostasis of many metals is crucial for health, there is currently no baseline reference range that can be used to make clinical and environmental decisions for this endangered species. In this study, wh
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Model description and evaluation of the mark-recapture survival model used to parameterize the 2012 status and threats analysis for the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

This report provides supporting details and evidence for the rationale, validity and efficacy of a new mark-recapture model, the Barker Robust Design, to estimate regional manatee survival rates used to parameterize several components of the 2012 version of the Manatee Core Biological Model (CBM) and Threats Analysis (TA).  The CBM and TA provide scientific analyses on population viability of the
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Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife (unpublished), Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Post-release monitoring of Antillean manatees: an assessment of the Brazilian rehabilitation and release programme

Mammalian reintroduction programmes frequently aim to reconnect isolated sub-populations and restore population viability. However, these long-term objectives are rarely evaluated due to the inadequacy of post-release monitoring. Here, we report the results of a unique long term telemetry-based monitoring programme for rehabilitated Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) reintroduced into
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Influence of manatees' diving on their risk of collision with watercraft

Watercraft pose a threat to endangered Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Mortality from watercraft collisions has adversely impacted the manatee population’s growth rate, therefore reducing this threat is an important management goal. To assess factors that contribute to the risk of watercraft strikes to manatees, we studied the diving behavior of nine manatees carrying GPS tags a
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Seasonal response of ghrelin, growth hormone, and insulin-like growth factor I in the free-ranging Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

Seasonal changes in light, temperature, and food availability stimulate a physiological response in an animal. Seasonal adaptations are well studied in Arctic, Sub-Arctic, and hibernating mammals; however, limited studies have been conducted in sub-tropical species. The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a sub-tropical marine mammal, forages less during colder temperatures and may
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Ecosystems, Species Management Research Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Twenty-six years of post-release monitoring of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris): evaluation of a cooperative rehabilitation program

The rescue, rehabilitation, and release of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) into the wild has occurred since 1974; however, a comprehensive evaluation of the outcomes of the releases has never been conducted. Herein, we examined data for 136 Florida manatees that were rehabilitated and released with telemetry tags between 1988 and 2013 to determine release outcome of each individu
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

A quantitative framework for estimating risk of collision between marine mammals and boats

Speed regulations of watercraft in protected areas are designed to reduce lethal collisions with wildlife but can have economic consequences. We present a quantitative framework for investigating the risk of deadly collisions between boats and wildlife. We apply encounter rate theory to demonstrate how marine mammal-boat encounter rate can be used to predict the expected number of deaths associate
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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, eith
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Ecosystems, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Eastern Ecological Science Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Convergent evolution of the genomes of marine mammals

Marine mammals from different mammalian orders share several phenotypic traits adapted to the aquatic environment and therefore represent a classic example of convergent evolution. To investigate convergent evolution at the genomic level, we sequenced and performed de novo assembly of the genomes of three species of marine mammals (the killer whale, walrus and manatee) from three mammalian orders
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Inferring spatial and temporal behavioral patterns of free-ranging manatees using saltwater sensors of telemetry tags

Diving or respiratory behavior in aquatic mammals can be used as an indicator of physiological activity and consequently, to infer behavioral patterns. Five Antillean manatees, Trichechus manatus manatus, were captured in Chetumal Bay and tagged with GPS tracking devices. The radios were equipped with a micropower saltwater sensor (SWS), which records the times when the tag assembly was submerged.
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Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
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New genetic test detects manatees' recent presence in fresh or saltwater

Environmental DNA picks up traces of the elusive mammals’ saliva, skin, waste, or exhaled breaths.

 

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Serene Sirens: USGS Sea Cow Science

It may be hard to believe the legend that sailors long-at-sea once considered manatees to be mermaids. The manatee nickname – the “Sea Cow” – which...

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Florida Manatees Likely to Persist For At Least 100 Years—US Geological Survey  

Florida’s iconic manatee population is highly likely to endure for the next 100 years, so long as wildlife managers continue to protect the marine...

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Long-term Prognosis for Florida Manatees Improves

The risk of extinction for the endangered Florida manatee appears to be lower, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey led study.

Read Article

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