Population biology of the Florida manatee: An overview
In the following overview we discuss progress toward meeting the three objectives of the 1992 workshop: to provide a synthesis of existing information about manatee population biology; to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of current data sets and approaches to research on manatee population biology; and to provide recommendations for research. We discuss progress in six topics that were assigned to working groups at the workshop: aerial survey and estimation of population size, reproduction, age structure, mortality, photoidentification and estimation of survival, and integration and modeling of population data. The overview includes recommendations by working group participants (*2 0'Shea et al. 1992). This workshop on manatee population biology was the most recent conference on the topic since 1978 (*BrowneIl and Rails 1981). Partly as a result of recommendations made at the 1978 workshop, several long-term population-related research projects were established. Therefore, we also measure progress in relation to knowledge available at the time of the earlier workshop. Finally, we provide a brief synopsis of pertinent new information on manatee population biology that became available between the 1992 workshop and publication of the proceedings and our conclusions about the status of the Florida manatee.
Citation Information
Publication Year | 1995 |
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Title | Population biology of the Florida manatee: An overview |
Authors | Thomas J. O'Shea, B.B. Ackerman |
Publication Type | Report |
Publication Subtype | Federal Government Series |
Series Title | Information and Technology Report |
Series Number | 1 |
Index ID | 70164315 |
Record Source | USGS Publications Warehouse |
USGS Organization | Southeast Ecological Science Center |