Susan Butler is a Biologist with the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 16
Quality of thermal refuges influences use by the cold-intolerant Florida manatee
ABSTRACT: Thermal refuges are habitats used by species for behavioral thermoregulation. These habitats can be highly dynamic and are often influenced by fluctuations in local climate. When protected species require thermal refuges, it is necessary to identify stable and high-quality areas by evaluating species use in response to variation in thermal refuge quality. Here, we assessed behavioral the
Authors
Catherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Daniel Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. Butler
How do ambient conditions and management actions affect manatee movements and habitat use?
Kings Bay in northwest Florida, USA, is an important winter home of the largest aggregation of Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and the only location in the United States where visitors legally swim and interact with manatees. In addition to ambient conditions, visitors to the area and management actions have the potential to influence manatee behaviors. We tracked 32 manatees wit
Authors
Daniel Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Joyce Kleen, Joyce Palmer
Movements and habitat use of the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in the northern Gulf of Mexico
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Cathy Beck, Robert Bonde
Analysis of body condition indices reveals different ecotypes of the Antillean manatee
Assessing the body condition of wild animals is necessary to monitor the health of the population and is critical to defining a framework for conservation actions. Body condition indices (BCIs) are a non-invasive and relatively simple means to assess the health of individual animals, useful for addressing a wide variety of ecological, behavioral, and management questions. The Antillean manatee (Tr
Authors
D. N. Castelblanco-Martínez, Daniel Slone, S. S. Landeo-Yauri, E. A. Ramos, Anmari Álvarez-Alemán, Fernanda L. N. Attademo, Cathy A. Beck, Robert K. Bonde, Susan M. Butler, L. J. Cabrias-Contreras, D. Caicedo-Herrera, Jamal Galves, I. V. Gómez-Camelo, D. González-Socoloske, D. Jiménez-Domínguez, Fabia O. Luna, Y. Mona-Sanabria, J. B. Morales-Vela, L. D. Olivera-Gomez, Janneth Adriana Padilla-Saldívar, James A. Powell, James P. Reid, G. Rieucau, Antonio A. Mignucci-Gianonni
Traveling to thermal refuges during stressful temperatures leads to foraging constraints in a central-place forager
Central-place foragers can be constrained by the distance between habitats. When an organism relies on a central place for thermal refuge, the distance to food resources can potentially constrain foraging behavior. We investigated the effect of distance between thermal refuges and forage patches of the cold-intolerant marine mammal, the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), on foraging
Authors
Catherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher, Daniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. Butler
Coastal habitat change and marine megafauna behavior: Florida manatees encountering reduced food provisions in a prominent winter refuge
A decline in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within Florida’s spring-fed thermal refuges raises questions about how these systems support winter foraging of Florida manatees Trichechus manatus latirostris. We analyzed telemetry data for 12 manatees over 7 yr to assess their use of Kings Bay, a winter refuge with diminished SAV. After accounting for the effect of water temperature, we hypothesiz
Authors
Chanda J. Littles, Robert K. Bonde, Susan M. Butler, Charles A. Jacoby, Sky K. Notestein, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Thomas K. Frazer
Movements and habitat use locations of manatees within Kings Bay Florida during the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge winter season (November 15–March 31)
Kings Bay, Florida, is one of the most important natural winter habitat locations for the federally threatened Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee). Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1983 specifically to provide protection for manatees and their critical habitat. To aid managers at the refuge and other agencies with this task, spatial analyses of local habitat u
Authors
Daniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid
Consortial brown tide − picocyanobacteria blooms in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
A brown tide bloom of Aureoumbra lagunensis developed in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba during a period of drought in 2013 that followed heavy winds and rainfall from Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Based on satellite images and water turbidity measurements, the bloom appeared to initiate in January 2013. The causative species (A. lagunensis) was confirmed by microscopic observation, and pigment and g
Authors
Nathan S Hall, R. Wayne Litaker, W. Judson Kenworthy, Mark W. Vandersea, William G. Sunda, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler
Timing of warm water refuge use in Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge by manatees—Results and insights from Global Positioning System telemetry data
Managers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR) desire to update their management plan regarding the operation of select springs including Three Sisters Springs. They wish to refine existing parameters used to predict the presence of federally threatened Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee) in the springs and thereby improve their manatee m
Authors
Daniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Catherine G. Haase
Landscape complementation revealed through bipartite networks: An example with the Florida manatee
Context
Landscape complementation, or how landscapes that contain two or more non-substitutable and spatially separated resources facilitate resource use, is critical for many populations. Implicit to the problem of landscape complementation is the movement of individuals to access multiple resources. Conventional measures of complementation, such as habitat area or distance between habitats, do n
Authors
Catherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher, Daniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. Butler
Manatees mapping seagrass (USA & Puerto Rico)
West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) are secretive creatures. While some of their behaviours at winter aggregation sites in Florida are readily visible to the casual observer, many of their habits and movements are difficult to observe. They rely on submerged vegetation for nutrition, and seagrasses are one of their most important food sources.
Authors
Daniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, W. Judson Kenworthy, Giuseppe Di Carlo, Susan M. Butler
Integrated Science: Florida Manatees and Everglades Hydrology
Predicting and monitoring restoration effects on Florida manatees, which are known to make extended movements, will be incomplete if modeling and monitoring are limited to the smaller areas defined by the various res-toration components. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) efforts, thus far, have focused on (1) collecting manatee movement data throughout the Ten Thousand Islands (TTI) region, and (2) de
Authors
Catherine A. Langtimm, Eric D. Swain, Bradley Stith, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Jeremy Decker, Susan M. Butler, Terry Doyle, R.W. Snow
Health Effects and Behavioral Response of Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) to Persistent Algal Bloom and Associated Loss of Seagrass Resources in Brevard County, Florida
USGS researchers are working with partners to assess the health and foraging behavior of Florida manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon and Banana River, areas that have experienced declining seagrasses due to an extended phytoplankton bloom.
GPS telemetry of Florida manatees and riverine water temperatures from southwest Florida 2002-2015
These data represent 1) GPS telemetry of 40 Florida manatees from 2002 through 2008, covering southwest Florida from Charlotte Harbor to Florida Bay, and 2) water temperature readings from 10 riverine sites in the Everglades region of southwest Florida using Onset dataloggers from 2008 through 2015.
GPS Telemetry and other data sets of Florida manatees from Crystal River, FL 2006-2018
These data represent
1) Telemetry from Florida manatee from Crystal River, FL 2006-2018
2) Observations of manatees, swimmers and paddlecraft from Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, FL 2014-2017
3) GIS polygons of aquatic landscape features from Crystal River, FL.
Manatee tracking, sighting and environmental data from the Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2013-2019
Data sets collected for manatee movement and habitat research in the Northern Gulf of Mexico from 2013-2019. These include manatee GPS tracking, manatee sightings, aquatic vegetation from manatee use areas, and environmental data (salinity and bathymetry at vegetation sampling sites).
Morphological measurements of Antillean manatees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
The data were collected by U.S.G.S. biologists and their partners during several field trips from March 2013 to April 2014 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Data were collected during the manatee health assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey's Sirenia Project is a federal research effort focusing on manatee biology and ecology with a long history of studies in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the international
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 16
Quality of thermal refuges influences use by the cold-intolerant Florida manatee
ABSTRACT: Thermal refuges are habitats used by species for behavioral thermoregulation. These habitats can be highly dynamic and are often influenced by fluctuations in local climate. When protected species require thermal refuges, it is necessary to identify stable and high-quality areas by evaluating species use in response to variation in thermal refuge quality. Here, we assessed behavioral theAuthorsCatherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher Jr., Daniel Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. ButlerHow do ambient conditions and management actions affect manatee movements and habitat use?
Kings Bay in northwest Florida, USA, is an important winter home of the largest aggregation of Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and the only location in the United States where visitors legally swim and interact with manatees. In addition to ambient conditions, visitors to the area and management actions have the potential to influence manatee behaviors. We tracked 32 manatees witAuthorsDaniel Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Joyce Kleen, Joyce PalmerMovements and habitat use of the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in the northern Gulf of Mexico
No abstract available.AuthorsDaniel Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Cathy Beck, Robert BondeAnalysis of body condition indices reveals different ecotypes of the Antillean manatee
Assessing the body condition of wild animals is necessary to monitor the health of the population and is critical to defining a framework for conservation actions. Body condition indices (BCIs) are a non-invasive and relatively simple means to assess the health of individual animals, useful for addressing a wide variety of ecological, behavioral, and management questions. The Antillean manatee (TrAuthorsD. N. Castelblanco-Martínez, Daniel Slone, S. S. Landeo-Yauri, E. A. Ramos, Anmari Álvarez-Alemán, Fernanda L. N. Attademo, Cathy A. Beck, Robert K. Bonde, Susan M. Butler, L. J. Cabrias-Contreras, D. Caicedo-Herrera, Jamal Galves, I. V. Gómez-Camelo, D. González-Socoloske, D. Jiménez-Domínguez, Fabia O. Luna, Y. Mona-Sanabria, J. B. Morales-Vela, L. D. Olivera-Gomez, Janneth Adriana Padilla-Saldívar, James A. Powell, James P. Reid, G. Rieucau, Antonio A. Mignucci-GianonniTraveling to thermal refuges during stressful temperatures leads to foraging constraints in a central-place forager
Central-place foragers can be constrained by the distance between habitats. When an organism relies on a central place for thermal refuge, the distance to food resources can potentially constrain foraging behavior. We investigated the effect of distance between thermal refuges and forage patches of the cold-intolerant marine mammal, the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), on foragingAuthorsCatherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher, Daniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. ButlerCoastal habitat change and marine megafauna behavior: Florida manatees encountering reduced food provisions in a prominent winter refuge
A decline in submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) within Florida’s spring-fed thermal refuges raises questions about how these systems support winter foraging of Florida manatees Trichechus manatus latirostris. We analyzed telemetry data for 12 manatees over 7 yr to assess their use of Kings Bay, a winter refuge with diminished SAV. After accounting for the effect of water temperature, we hypothesizAuthorsChanda J. Littles, Robert K. Bonde, Susan M. Butler, Charles A. Jacoby, Sky K. Notestein, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Thomas K. FrazerMovements and habitat use locations of manatees within Kings Bay Florida during the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge winter season (November 15–March 31)
Kings Bay, Florida, is one of the most important natural winter habitat locations for the federally threatened Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee). Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1983 specifically to provide protection for manatees and their critical habitat. To aid managers at the refuge and other agencies with this task, spatial analyses of local habitat uAuthorsDaniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. ReidConsortial brown tide − picocyanobacteria blooms in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
A brown tide bloom of Aureoumbra lagunensis developed in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba during a period of drought in 2013 that followed heavy winds and rainfall from Hurricane Sandy in late October 2012. Based on satellite images and water turbidity measurements, the bloom appeared to initiate in January 2013. The causative species (A. lagunensis) was confirmed by microscopic observation, and pigment and gAuthorsNathan S Hall, R. Wayne Litaker, W. Judson Kenworthy, Mark W. Vandersea, William G. Sunda, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Susan M. ButlerTiming of warm water refuge use in Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge by manatees—Results and insights from Global Positioning System telemetry data
Managers at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR) desire to update their management plan regarding the operation of select springs including Three Sisters Springs. They wish to refine existing parameters used to predict the presence of federally threatened Trichechus manatus latirostris (Florida manatee) in the springs and thereby improve their manatee mAuthorsDaniel H. Slone, Susan M. Butler, James P. Reid, Catherine G. HaaseLandscape complementation revealed through bipartite networks: An example with the Florida manatee
Context Landscape complementation, or how landscapes that contain two or more non-substitutable and spatially separated resources facilitate resource use, is critical for many populations. Implicit to the problem of landscape complementation is the movement of individuals to access multiple resources. Conventional measures of complementation, such as habitat area or distance between habitats, do nAuthorsCatherine G. Haase, Robert J. Fletcher, Daniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, Susan M. ButlerManatees mapping seagrass (USA & Puerto Rico)
West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) are secretive creatures. While some of their behaviours at winter aggregation sites in Florida are readily visible to the casual observer, many of their habits and movements are difficult to observe. They rely on submerged vegetation for nutrition, and seagrasses are one of their most important food sources.AuthorsDaniel H. Slone, James P. Reid, W. Judson Kenworthy, Giuseppe Di Carlo, Susan M. ButlerIntegrated Science: Florida Manatees and Everglades Hydrology
Predicting and monitoring restoration effects on Florida manatees, which are known to make extended movements, will be incomplete if modeling and monitoring are limited to the smaller areas defined by the various res-toration components. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) efforts, thus far, have focused on (1) collecting manatee movement data throughout the Ten Thousand Islands (TTI) region, and (2) deAuthorsCatherine A. Langtimm, Eric D. Swain, Bradley Stith, James P. Reid, Daniel H. Slone, Jeremy Decker, Susan M. Butler, Terry Doyle, R.W. Snow - Science
Health Effects and Behavioral Response of Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) to Persistent Algal Bloom and Associated Loss of Seagrass Resources in Brevard County, Florida
USGS researchers are working with partners to assess the health and foraging behavior of Florida manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon and Banana River, areas that have experienced declining seagrasses due to an extended phytoplankton bloom. - Data
GPS telemetry of Florida manatees and riverine water temperatures from southwest Florida 2002-2015
These data represent 1) GPS telemetry of 40 Florida manatees from 2002 through 2008, covering southwest Florida from Charlotte Harbor to Florida Bay, and 2) water temperature readings from 10 riverine sites in the Everglades region of southwest Florida using Onset dataloggers from 2008 through 2015.GPS Telemetry and other data sets of Florida manatees from Crystal River, FL 2006-2018
These data represent 1) Telemetry from Florida manatee from Crystal River, FL 2006-2018 2) Observations of manatees, swimmers and paddlecraft from Three Sisters Springs, Crystal River, FL 2014-2017 3) GIS polygons of aquatic landscape features from Crystal River, FL.Manatee tracking, sighting and environmental data from the Northern Gulf of Mexico, 2013-2019
Data sets collected for manatee movement and habitat research in the Northern Gulf of Mexico from 2013-2019. These include manatee GPS tracking, manatee sightings, aquatic vegetation from manatee use areas, and environmental data (salinity and bathymetry at vegetation sampling sites).Morphological measurements of Antillean manatees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
The data were collected by U.S.G.S. biologists and their partners during several field trips from March 2013 to April 2014 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Data were collected during the manatee health assessments. The U.S. Geological Survey's Sirenia Project is a federal research effort focusing on manatee biology and ecology with a long history of studies in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and the international