Sirenews (ISSN 1017-3439) appears twice a year
in April and October and is
edited by Daryl P. Domning,
Department of Anatomy, Howard
University, Washington, D.C. 20059 USA
(fax: 1-202-265-7055). It is
supported by the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission
and Sea World, Inc.
NUMBER 24 OCTOBER 1995
IN THIS ISSUE: - U.S. SIRENIA
PROJECT THREATENED WITH
EXTINCTION
(p. 11)
- DUGONGS DECLINING IN QUEENSLAND (p. 5)
- LARGE-SCALE
POACHING IN BELIZE
AND UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES
(pp. 7, 11)
- ADVENTUROUS FLORIDA MANATEE EXTENDS
SPECIES'
RANGE TO NEW ENGLAND (p. 9)
DEATHS REPORTED
Tammy Dominguez and Amaury Villalba
Last January,
Tammy Dominguez, her colleague,
Amaury Villalba, and
their pilot were killed when
their plane went down during a manatee survey off Barahona on the southern
coast of the Dominican Republic. A third colleague, José Ottenwalder, was
injured but made a miraculous
escape, and is doing fine. We
first started to correspond with Tammy
shortly before the 1994
First International Manatee and Dugong
Research Conference, which
she attended. She was also an
active participant in the Manatee and Dugong Research Workshop which followed
the conference. Tammy was very dedicated to the conservation of sea
turtles and marine mammals,
especially manatees. She is greatly
missed by all of her colleagues.
- Lynn
Lefebvre (Sirenia Project)
MANATEE AERIAL SURVEY SAFETY RULES
Manatee aerial surveys
present special hazards to survey biologists because of the small planes that
are typically used (they can easily be overloaded), the relatively low
flight level (generally 500 feet), the tight turns that are
frequently made to count manatees (possibility
of stalling), and flight paths over water. At times, the dedication of the surveyors may become a hazard,
if their determination to complete a mission interferes with their
judgment concerning weather conditions,
the qualifications of their pilot, and the condition of the aircraft.
Listed below are some
"common sense" rules for manatee aerial survey personnel. They
are not intended to
be all-inclusive, but represent the highlights of regulations provided
by the Office of
Aircraft Services (OAS), which all Department of Interior (DOI)
employees in the U.S. must follow when participating in work-related aviation.
Ms. Burma Campbell, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, is gratefully acknowledged for
providing information used to develop
these rules, for reviewing them, and for her
continued interest and encouragement.
_ The Cessna 172 aircraft is underpowered for low-level flying
(less than 500 feet). During low-level missions, aircraft cannot operate lawfully
at a higher certified load (aircraft,
passengers, fuel, cargo) than that recommended by the manufacturer. If more than two observers are planned, then
a Cessna 182, 185, or 206 is recommended.
_ Surveys should never be
flown at an altitude lower than 500 feet.
Many survey biologists
prefer an altitude of about 750 feet for circling and counting of manatees
in groups. Under
DOI Aviation Policy, aircrew members may not fly below
500 feet without special training and personal
protective equipment.
_ Know your pilot's qualifications. How many hours of flight experience
does he or she have in
the aircraft in which you will be a passenger? OAS regulations
require 1000 hours of flying
time in order to certify a pilot.
_ Know your plane's
service record. DOI Aviation Policy
requires servicing and inspection of a
plane after every 100 hours of flying time.
_ Prepare a GO/NO GO checklist that you go through
before every flight. While the
pilot has the final say in the decision to GO, remember YOU always have
the final say in the decision to cancel
a flight. If you have any doubts about
the weather, the pilot, or the plane,
cancel the flight. You are much more
important than a missed survey! Also,
all surveys should be conducted
under optimal weather conditions to ensure some comparability across survey dates; questionable weather means
questionable survey results. If
changes occur in the weather or pilot
or observer mental or physical
condition, the observer should call off the mission and request the
pilot to return to home base, or to
land at the nearest suitable location, depending upon the severity of the
change in flight conditions.
_ Prepare a flight plan and give it to ground personnel
at the airfield(s) where your
flight originates and ends. The person(s) to whom you give it will be
responsible for flight following and will institute search
and rescue procedures if your aircraft does not reach its destination within
one hour of its estimated time of arrival.
_ Only cargo and passengers which are essential to a mission
should be on the aircraft. Not
only does this eliminate the possibility of an accident from something
that should not have been onboard, but it keeps the weight of the aircraft at
a minimum, thereby using less fuel
and minimizing costs. Survey biologists should be
careful to secure
such routinely used objects as:
pencils and pens; camera lenses, lens covers, film canisters, small tape recorders, palm counters, etc.
_ DOI Policy requires the pilot be present to supervise the
type, quantity and quality of fuel used
in the aircraft when refueling. There have been misfueling mishaps in the U.S.,
in which jet fuel has accidentally been put into reciprocating-engined
aircraft.
_ If a single-engine aircraft is to be used beyond power-off gliding distance to shore,
the aircraft should be float-equipped and all persons onboard should
have personal flotation devices.
_ Biologists who fly regular missions can benefit from a flight
familiarization course consisting of 4
hours of ground school and 4 hours of flight training (cost is approximately $500). It is intended to give passengers limited
knowledge of how to operate aircraft controls, radios, etc., and land
the plane in the event of a pilot-incapacitated emergency.
Your comments
on these rules are welcome. If
you would like to help by translating them into Spanish or other languages, please contact me. If you would like examples of a
GO/NO GO checklist or a flight plan, or information on the
flight familiarization course, please contact: Dr. Lynn Lefebvre,
Sirenia Project, National Biological Service, 412 NE 16th Ave., Rm 250, Gainesville, FL 32601 USA; phone:
904-372-2572; Fax: 904-374-8080; Internet: sirenia@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu. - Lynn Lefebvre
DEATH REPORTED
Mauricio Prieto
A pioneer
in field research
and conservation of
aquatic mammals in
Colombia, Mauricio Prieto died
from cancer in
Bogotá on 1
April 1995, at
age 39. He
worked extensively with
cetaceans, and in 1987 he launched a study of the ecology of the manatee
in the Río San Jorge area, where he perfected his singular competence in
environmental education at the
community level. He later turned his attention to marine mammal-fisheries interactions on the Pacific coast. With his death, the South
American aquatic mammal community has
lost a spiritual leader and a genuine conservationist. (Excerpted from an obituary by Koen Van Waerebeek and Daniel Palacios in the Marine Mammal Society Newsletter 3(3):
3, Sept. 1995.)
INTERNATIONAL DUGONG SYMPOSIUM
An International Symposium
on the Dugong will be held at the Toba Aquarium, Toba, Japan, 15-17 November 1995. Oral presentations (both
submitted and invited) will be given on dugong
biology, paleontology,
conservation, rescue, and husbandry.
Investigators, students, and
other interested people are encouraged to attend. A proceedings volume will be
distributed at the meeting.
For further details,
contact Mr. Hiroshi
Maeda, Planning Office,
Toba Aquarium, Toba 3-3-6, Mie
Prefecture, 517 Japan; phone: 81-599-25-2801;
fax: 81-599-26-3608; E-mail:
LDN03052@niftyserve.or.jp; Compuserve: 100463,3176
SIRENIA SPECIALIST GROUP MEMBERSHIP
The following people have agreed to serve as
members of the IUCN Sirenia Specialist
Group for the 1994-1996 Triennium:
Prof. Helene MARSH (Co-Chair), Dept. of Tropical Environment Studies
& Geography, James Cook
Univ., Townsville, Qld. 4811, AUSTRALIA (ph. +61-77-814325, fax
+61-77-815581, e-mail HELENE@CATHAR.JCU.EDU.AU)
Dr. Miriam MARMONTEL (Co-Chair),
Wildlife Biologist, Sociedade Civil Mamirauá,
C.P. 0001, 69470-000 Tefé
AM, BRAZIL (ph.
& fax +55-92-7432736, e-mail MANATI@NERVM.NERDC.UFL.EDU)
Dr. Vic COCKCROFT, Curator of
Marine Mammals, Port
Elizabeth Museum, P.O.
Box 13147, Humewood 6013,
SOUTH AFRICA (ph.
+27-41-561051, fax +27-41-562175, e-mail PEMVGC@ZOO.UPE.AC.ZA)
Mr. Hans DE IONGH,
Ecologist/Director,
International Cooperation, Centre
for Environmental Science, P.O.
Box 603, 6700 AP Wageningen, THE
NETHERLANDS (ph. +31-71-275642, fax +31-71-277496)
Prof. Daryl DOMNING (Newsletter Editor), Dept. of
Anatomy, Howard Univ., Washington, DC 20059, USA (ph.
+1-202-806-6026, fax +1-202-265-7055)
Dr. William FREELAND, Principal
Wildlife Research Officer,
Wildlife Division,
Conservation Commission of the Northern
Territory, P.O. Box 496,
Palmerston, NT 0831, AUSTRALIA
(ph. +61-089-894400, fax +61-089-894524)
Dr. Toshio KASUYA, Director, Offshore Marine Resources,
National Institute of Research on
Far Seas Fisheries, 5-7-1 Orido,
Shimizu, Shizuoka, 424 JAPAN (ph.
+81-543-340715, fax +81-543-359642)
Dr. Janet LANYON, Dept.
of Zoology, Univ.
of Queensland, Brisbane,
Qld. 4072, AUSTRALIA (ph. +61-7-3654416,
fax +61-7-3651655)
Dr. Lynn LEFEBVRE, Sirenia
Project Leader, National Biological
Service, 412 NE 16th
Ave., Room 250, Gainesville, FL 32601,
USA (ph. +1-904-372-2571, fax +1-904-374-8080, e-mail
SIRENIA@NERVM.NERDC.UFL.EDU)
Ms. Nicole LEOTAUD, Biologist, WIldlife Section, Forestry Division, 15
Monteverde Th., Morne Coco Road, Petit
Valley, Trinidad, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO (ph. +1-809-662-5114, fax
+1-809-645-4288)
Dr. Antonio MIGNUCCI-GIANNONI, Scientific Coordinator, Red Caribeña de
Varamientos, P.O. Box 38030, San Juan,
PUERTO RICO 00937-1030 (ph. +1-809-899-2048,
fax +1-809-899-5500)
Dr. Thomas O'SHEA, Assistant
Director, Midcontinent Ecological Science Center, National Biological
Service, 4512 McMurry Ave., Fort Collins, CO 80525-3400,
USA (ph. +1-303-226-9397, fax
+1-303-226-9230)
Dr. James POWELL, c/o Dr. David
Vousden, UNDP/GEF Coastal Zone Management
Unit, Fisheries Dept., P.O. Box 148, Belize City, BELIZE (ph. 501-2-30719, fax 501-2-35738, e-mail
DAVID.VOUSDEN@UNDP-ORG)
Dr. Anthony PREEN, Research Fellow, Dept. of Tropical Environment Studies
& Geography, James Cook Univ., Townsville, Qld. 4811, AUSTRALIA
(ph. +61-77-815575, fax +61-77-814020, e-mail
ANTHONY.PREEN@JCU.EDU.AU)
Dr. Galen RATHBUN, Research Biologist, National Biological
Service, P.O. Box 70, San Simeon, CA 93452-0070, USA (ph.
+1-805-927-3893, fax +1-805-927-3308)
Mr. Ismu Sutanto SUWELO,
Senior Instructor, Centre
for Education and
Training of Forestry Personnel,
Jalan Gunung Batu, P.O. Box 141, Bogor
16001, INDONESIA (ph. 0251-312841/0251-323565,
fax 0251-240566)
MANATEE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY
The Save the Manatee Club (SMC) is issuing a
request for proposals from researchers
interested in conducting aerial surveys
to determine manatee abundance and distribution in west Volusia and Brevard counties, Florida, over the next two
years. Interested parties should
call or e-mail Patti Thompson at
SMC for further information.
Phone: 1-800-432-5646; e-mail: manatee@america.com
THANKS, SEA WORLD!
Sirenews is pleased to
acknowledge an unrestricted donation of $500 from Sea World, Inc. to help defray printing and mailing expenses. We
thank Sea World and Dan Odell for this
generous gesture of support.
LOCAL NEWS
AUSTRALIA
Hardening Evidence for Dugong Decline Along the More
Developed Regions of the
Coast of Queensland, Australia. - The Great
Barrier Reef stretches for some 2000 km
along the eastern coast of
Queensland. The northern region along the coast of
Cape York Peninsula is a remote area with a very low human population
density and little development. In
contrast, much of the area south of Cape York Peninsula
is undergoing very rapid
coastal development. This southern
region was surveyed
for dugongs from the air in 1987
and 1992. The estimated number of dugongs present in
the region in 1992 was 1857 ±
s.e. 292, much less than the 1987 estimate of 3479 ±
s.e. 459 dugongs. When
differences in survey conditions are taken into
account in the analyses, the difference
approaches significance (a=0.06),
suggesting that dugong numbers have declined in this
region.
The aerial
survey was repeated
in November 1994 with the aim of evaluating
whether this observed decline was
a real trend or
an artifact of sighting
conditions, which were slightly worse in 1992 than in 1987.
The population estimate resulting
from the 1994 survey was
1750 ± 257 dugongs, supporting the findings of the 1992 survey. Parallel declines were not
recorded in the estimates of turtles
or cetaceans which were recorded in the same surveys.
The
reasons for this decline in dugong numbers
are probably complex
and may include habitat loss, traditional hunting, and incidental drowning of dugongs in
commercial gillnets. Parallel
declines have not been recorded in
repeat surveys of more remote regions in the dugong's range
in Australia where traditional hunting and incidental drowning in gillnets are the
major anthropogenic impacts. - Helene Marsh
Dugong Adopts Offshore Oil Platform as Focal Point for Activity.
- During March-April 1995,
workers on the production
platform Vicksburg (21°07'
S, 115°06' E) on the South Pepper oilfield (North West Shelf of Western
Australia), noticed the presence of a dugong which appeared to
have adopted the platform as its home base.
Unfortunately, nobody
recorded the exact date
when this dugong arrived at
the platform, but its continued presence warranted entry of a report in the operations log
of the Vicksburg on 14 April 1995.
No further log entries
were made over
the next four weeks,
until platform worker
Martin Rawlings was
prompted to report the
dugong's apparent extended stay to the Western Australian Museum.
Dr. Ric How
referred the report to R. I. T.
Prince.
Daily log reports of further sightings of this dugong were entered from
12 through 26 May 1995. Photographic
recording of the dugong was requested
on 25 May, as none of the platform
personnel were known to have previously attempted this. The prints
subsequently obtained included
portions of the platform supports, and numbers
of large long-toms (needlefish,
Family Belonidae), as well as the
resident dugong.
The dugong
apparently deserted the rig
between 26 and 27 May. The last
three relevant log entries, for 27 and 28 May and 1 June, record the absence of further sightings of the animal.
One
dugong only was seen around the Vicksburg at all times from arrival until
just before desertion. The
observers believe that they saw the same animal each time. Noting the
uncertain time of
arrival, this dugong centered its activities
around the Vicksburg structure for a minimum of 8-10 weeks, and possibly more than 12 weeks.
Circumstances of arrival and fixation of this dugong
on the platform are not known, but several probably
significant events preceded
its disappearance. Another two or three dugongs appeared
around the Vicksburg about this
time, and a
drop in ambient water
temperature of ca. 2-3°C is also
reported to have occurred between
26 and 27 May. It is possible
that an associated change in water circulation over the Barrow Islands Shoals to the north of
the Vicksburg mobilized
other dugongs in that
area, and that the former
platform resident subsequently followed its new-found associates as they moved on.
The photographs of the Vicksburg
dugong suggest that it was
a juvenile. The larger species of long-toms of the North
West Shelf waters can
grow to lengths
of 1.3-1.5m, but most seen would average
around 1m (Barry Hutchins,
Western Australian Museum, pers. commun.). Scaling from the photographs, using this knowledge
and that of the visible platform support
dimensions, suggests that this
dugong was most probably <_1.5m in
length. It certainly was
not more than 2m.
Sex could not
be determined, because all
observations were made from the
platform deck (18m above water).
Apart from
the photography mentioned
above, some other
more detailed observations of
behavior patterns were planned for the dugong's
later period of residence around the Vicksburg. Unfortunately, the animal's
disappearance prevented this. However, it was noted to spend a lot of time suspended inactive below the surface
in the upper water
column. At other times it was seen
rolling about; the observers
considered this may have been "playing".
On other
occasions it disappeared from the observers' view, during
some of which times
it could have drifted under the platform out of sight. It might also
have been diving to feed, although the 17m water depth around the Vicksburg
is at the deeper extreme of known dugong feeding range. Still, the observers did not think the dugong
had lost body condition
during its time at the
platform.
One other
lone Western Australian dugong is known to have
associated for about 7 days in
mid-January 1989 with
a large (29.8m, 372-tonne)
moored tugboat, the Pilbara
Sun, in Dampier Harbour (20°39' S,
116°42' E). Water temperatures in Dampier Harbour during this period were reported
to have varied between 26 and 31°C.
The
Pilbara Sun dugong was certainly
a young, unweaned calf (photo
estimate, ca. 1.1m in
length). Its mother,
which had apparently been
feeding on a seagrass
bed directly behind the boat pen, had been killed beforehand by the
same tug when reversing from its
mooring for work. The carcass was
unsalvageable, being mutilated beyond recognition by the propeller impact.
Unfortunately, formal
reporting of this fatal
collision, and the subsequent orphan calf/tug
association, was not
made until a week
after the event. The
movements that had been observed meanwhile of the orphan back and forth alongside the tug
suggested it was seeking
milk. Nothing further
was learned from this association because the calf disappeared
overnight almost immediately after the report was
made. Starvation or shark
attack may have
caused its disappearance. - Robert I. T. Prince
(Wildlife Research Centre, Dept.
of Conservation and Land Management, P.
O. Box 51, Wanneroo 6065), Martin
Rawlings (c/o Atwood Oceanics Australia Pty. Ltd., 35 Peel
Road, O'Connor 6163), and
Roberta Selleck (Western
Mining Corporation Ltd.,
P. O. Box 7660, Perth 6850,
Western Australia).
BELIZE
Manatee
Butchering Sites in Port Honduras. - In the tranquil
waters of southern Belize,
there lies a serious threat to the existence of the manatee. Fishermen in Port Honduras are killing manatees at an alarming rate. This activity was recently made public through reports generated by
the Belize Center for Environmental Studies. Last year four
manatee skeletons were discovered
in the area of Deep Creek, in the Toledo
District of Belize. At that time
it was suspected that some
opportunistic butchering was taking
place;
however, the magnitude of the
recent killing was not apparent until now.
With funding graciously provided by the
Smithsonian Institution Biodiversity Program, we
went to Belize in late August and early September 1995 to conduct
dolphin and manatee research. While
there, we were able to fly several
aerial surveys and counted 109 manatees
at selected survey sites. The total
number of manatees in
Belize is not known,
but is assumed to be
around 200 animals. During
an aerial survey
of Port Honduras we counted 4 manatees. There
is excellent habitat for a local population in the protected cays, adjacent Deep Creek and Rio Hondo
rivers, and Icacos Lagoon.
A large number of
manatees were observed to
the north in nearby Placencia
Lagoon where 37 individuals were
counted. The presence of this large
group of manatees
in the north could be responsible for migratory animals
occasionally moving south
into Port Honduras.
These animals could easily
become victims of the illicit poaching operation.
During
boat surveys of Port Honduras with
local fishermen, we
discovered 11 separate butchering sites, which contained a minimum of 35 manatee carcasses. Twenty-four skeletons were classified as adults, and the remaining 11
were either juveniles
or calves. Detailed studies of
the skeletal material collected from
each site will be conducted. Evidence
of recent butchering was apparent, and we were watched by hungry John Crows
(vultures) as they
sat in the nearby trees. Some
of the decaying flesh was still
attached to the
bones. One site
was known to be two to three
years old, while at least two
of the sites were active
and had been used within the
last month.
Many of
the skulls examined
had large, deep cut marks in the cranial bones. It was
apparent that the manatees were
either shot, harpooned, or
chased until exhausted, then brought close to the boat and dispatched with heavy machete blows
to the
head and nose. Carcasses would then be taken to
the nearest dry land site, and
under the cover of heavy vegetation or
nightfall, the meat would be
removed. It would
then be taken
to market and illegally sold.
No manatee
meat was observed
in markets in Belize; however, there are several rumors that the meat
can occasionally be purchased in Guatemala.
It is likely that fishermen from Guatemala are coming into Belize, killing the manatees, and
taking the meat back
to Guatemala to
sell. Manatees are protected in both Belize and Guatemala,
but there is little or no enforcement of
existing laws. The direct impact
that this poaching is having on the
local population in south Belize is not known, but the magnitude of this
activity clearly puts
excessive pressure on
this population. Immediate
measures need to be taken to
enforce existing laws
protecting manatees, and ensure that all poaching activities are stopped
as soon as possible.
Additional
information regarding this
investigation can be obtained
by contacting either the
Fisheries or Forestry Departments,
Belize City, Belize, or the
Sirenia Project,
Gainesville, Florida, USA.
- Robert K. Bonde (Sirenia
Project) and Charley Potter (Smithsonian Institution)
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Stranded Manatee Calf Rescued.
- In late March
1995, a manatee
calf was stranded alive
at Barahona, Dominican Republic, after fishermen killed its
mother. The dehydrated and
anemic 70-pound calf was discovered by Tropescar Sur, a
nonprofit animal-welfare organization,
and rescued by a team
from the Acuario Nacional
in Santo Domingo, led by Enrique
Pugibet and Mo'nica Vega. Antonio
Mignucci from the Caribbean Stranding
Network in Puerto Rico was called in
for expert advice, and the baby manatee
is now doing well on a diet of
goat's milk and soy milk.
The calf was christened Tamaury
in memory of Tammy Dominguez and
Amaury Villalba, who were recently killed in a plane crash during a
manatee survey (see notice in this
issue).
The fishermen who killed the mother were caught and fined, but the applicable
law dates from 1960 and the amount
of the
fine was inconsequential. -
(source: Alerta Neptuno [Caribbean Stranding Network]
2(2), June 1995.)
EAST AFRICA AND MADAGASCAR
Aerial Survey in Kenya Finds Few Dugongs. -
From 17-24 November, the Kenya Wildlife Service, in
collaboration with UNEP OCA/PAC, IUCN's
Regional Office for Eastern Africa, and Eden Wildlife Trust carried out an intensive aerial survey of 500 km of Kenya's
shoreline to determine
the distribution of sea turtles,
dugongs, whales, dolphins, and
whale sharks. Five
aircraft were used over
a period of seven days.
A total of 254
hours were spent
in the air, doing 1 km-wide transects out to the 30 m
depth contour.
Sea turtles,
dolphins, and whale sharks were found to be evenly
distributed along the coast
within a depth
of 20 m. Dugongs were found
only in Ungwana Bay and Manda Bay in Lamu, however, and only 16
animals were sighted,
indicating a very small
population. Survey participant Vic Cockcroft estimates a population of about 50 dugongs
for the whole of Kenya; and based mainly on anecdotal data from
interviews, he doubts that there are more than 2000 dugongs in the
western Indian Ocean,
excluding the Arabian Gulf.
"Our results
demonstrated that sea turtles and dugongs are the
most vulnerable of the
animals covered," reports
George Wamukoya, a marine botanist with the Kenya Wildlife Service.
"This is probably the result
of habitat destruction and human
activities such as poaching
and disposal of
plastic wastes. If we are to
conserve these species, we need to protect key turtle
nesting areas in Ras Tenewi
and Shella, and
the known dugong habitats
in Ungwana and
Manda bays."
On related
topics, Vic Cockcroft reports that he has just obtained
funding from WWF International for
a coastal zone
assessment for Madagascar, including a comprehensive assessment of dugong status there. He is now seeking money for a comprehensive dugong research program
in Mozambique. This has
been accepted by WWF
as a priority project, but
funds to finance it are not
presently available. He and his
colleagues have also
recently made two TV documentaries on dugongs
in Mozambique, including
one about an
attempt to capture and
satellite-tag a dugong. A
third production for South
African television is being
planned, and Vic
is seeking local musicians to record a dugong "pop-song" to generate further public interest. - (sources: The Pilot [Newsletter of the UNEP
Marine Mammal Action Plan] No. 11, June 1995, and Vic Cockcroft)
Survey
of Red Sea Dugongs. - Frédéric
Speyser reported in early
summer that he was
planning to begin in July
and August 1995 a program of aerial surveys and other studies of
dugongs along the
East African coast from Suez to Djibouti. We look forward to
hearing the results.
He would welcome contacts
with other sirenologists, and can be contacted at 21, rue
du Château Rouge, 74100
Annemasse, France; phone: 50.92.03.55; fax: 50.37.29.03.
EASTERN U.S.A.
Chessie's Most Excellent Adventure: The 1995 East Coast Tour. - As you may have heard, Chessie the manatee
became a media celebrity during the summer of
1995 by breaking scientific records for his species. He
initially gained notoriety in
October of 1994 when
he was rescued from
the cool waters of the
Chesapeake Bay and returned to Florida (see Sirenews
No. 22). As if he was competing for a personal best,
this year he swam from Florida to Rhode Island. He was radiotagged
and tracked by
the National Biological Service's
Sirenia Project, and details of this move
were documented by satellite-determined locations
and field observations. We believe this trek
of nearly 2,000 miles includes the most northern locations
in North America
and the longest seasonal migration ever documented
for these
tropical marine mammals.
Late
in the summer of 1994 and early in the
fall, Chessie was repeatedly sighted in
the upper Chesapeake Bay, normally
considered to be
outside the range of Florida
manatees. The most
northern documented manatee sighting
prior to this
was in the Potomac River near Washington, DC, during August 1980.
In some years, sightings
of manatees north of Georgia are followed by the recovery of
a carcass during cold weather. Many of these are smaller individuals in poor
health that are presumed to be
younger and less experienced
with migrating south prior
to cold weather or with locating
warm water sources. After
Chessie's capture, however, he
was found to be an adult male in good
health, 10 feet
(315 cm) long
and weighing 1250 lb
(568 kg), and
possibly experienced with making
annual long-distance migrations. We tagged him with the now-standardized Service
Argos-monitored radio tag to track his movements, anticipating that he might give a repeat performance
by swimming north during the coming summer.
Two
weeks after his release in Florida at
the Merritt Island National
Wildlife Refuge, he broke free
of the floating transmitter.
Luckily, he was
sighted and retagged
by Sirenia Project biologists
on 12 January 1995, much
further south, in the warm discharge
waters of the Port
Everglades power plant near Fort
Lauderdale. He moved north to
the upper Banana River by mid-February and to Cumberland Sound in
Georgia by late April, both
areas commonly used by other manatees. Thus, we knew he was
familiar with seasonal migratory
patterns and typical manatee-use areas
along the east coast.
On
13 June, he began his long, almost uninterrupted trip north from the St.
Johns River mouth in Florida.
Details of his move, documented
through Service Argos's
satellite-based location processing,
revealed a rapid and directed move north. He
covered over 500 miles from Florida to Virginia
in less than 19 days. Most days
included significant moves of 25 to 30 miles, with only one stopover, about two days in
the vicinity of Charleston, South Carolina.
After
he arrived in Virginia on 3 July, we received locations in the Chesapeake Bay as
far north as the Rappahannock River,
but south of last year's capture location
in the Chester River,
Maryland. Surprisingly,
Chessie left the bay by swimming
south and around the southern tip of the Eastern Shore of Virginia. On 17 July 1995, while
Chessie rested in a salt marsh creek along the seaside of the Eastern
Shore, we replaced his radio transmitter, used since January
to track his movements from Fort
Lauderdale, with a new
transmitter that improved the
performance of the satellite-based location service. With his new
tag, and its fresh battery pack,
Chessie kept going and going.
Monitored by
satellite-determined locations
and direct field
observations, his progress north
along the coast included stops in Assateague
Bay and Ocean City,
Maryland; Delaware Bay; the
salt marshes near Atlantic City, New Jersey;
and near New York City's Statue of Liberty before
entering Long Island Sound.
Most travel routes followed the Intracoastal Waterway or
were within shallow lagoons inshore of the barrier island
beaches. Several portions of
his trip, however, were
between inlets along
the ocean side of the beach.
Water temperatures, also
monitored by Chessie's
transmitter, remained within the
known tolerance range of manatees.
By the
time he passed through New York City, Chessie's journey had become
the subject of numerous newspaper articles
and interviews on radio
and television news shows. Sirenia Project staff coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service's Endangered Species
Offices and the
Chesapeake Bay Field Office to
provide the media with accurate information on his activities and on the biology of manatees
in general. Numerous myths about manatees and erroneous information related to this "crazy" manatee
were dispelled by detailing how his use of salt
marsh habitats, food plants, and
activity patterns were as
expected for manatees migrating along the temperate
coast. We also delayed the
release of his most recent locations
in order to
prevent him from
being harassed by an adoring public.
After New
York, Chessie traveled east along the north shore
of Long Island Sound, periodically stopping to feed
and rest along the
Connecticut and Rhode
Island coasts. He arrived at
Point Judith, Rhode Island, on 16 August 1995. Here he reversed his northern pattern of movement and began swimming back towards Florida.
Water temperatures of 66° to 69°
Fahrenheit along the Rhode
Island coast were
the coolest waters he had yet experienced in the
northeast, which probably
caused him to
turn around. From Point Judith,
biologists plotted his movement west
as he returned to the warmer waters of Long Island Sound
and the protected salt
marsh habitats that
he had frequented in
Connecticut.
On 22
August, the tethered floating transmitter broke free of the
manatee and was recovered in New Haven,
Connecticut. The tether's weak
link, designed to
ensure the safety of
the tagged manatee,
functioned properly,
releasing the manatee
unharmed. Transmitter detachments are anticipated during
long-term trackings of manatees. We
are fortunate to have monitored him continuously for 222 days since he was
retagged in Fort Lauderdale in
January, and to document his 70-day
trip along the coasts
of eleven states.
Public sighting
reports documented much of his
return towards Florida. Manatee
sightings were reported
to local marine mammal stranding networks along the
coast and relayed to the Sirenia
Project. Verified reports of Chessie were received near
Echo Bay and Staten Island, New York, and
Sea Bright, New Jersey.
A surfer off
Long Branch, NJ, was
startled when Chessie, traveling south along the beach,
surfaced next to him. After a sighting
near Cape May, NJ, Chessie was seen on
21 September bottom-resting near the
Norfolk Naval Station
in southern Virginia and
passing through the Intracoastal Waterway's Great
Bridge locks on the morning of 23 September. Given
his normal rate of travel, he could reach Florida by late October.
The successful
monitoring of Chessie's travels has provided a better
understanding of manatee migratory behavior.
Chessie set records for
Florida manatees in
both sustained rate of movement during his three-month journey and
overall distance travelled (nearly 2,000
miles from his southernmost location near
Fort Lauderdale, Florida).
However, his rate of travel
and behavior en route were typical for
manatees that migrate north during warm weather. Also,
his persistent pattern of
traveling north was reversed when
he encountered cooler water
temperatures. This appropriate
behavioral response and his familiarity with over-wintering sites in southern Florida suggested that,
given the opportunity, he would travel
south to warmer waters with the approach of cold weather.
As expected, he continued to behave as
an adult experienced with migrating along the coast, although
it is possible that he
was exploring the coastal waters north of Virginia for the first
time.
Chessie's move to Rhode Island was farther than any yet documented for a
Florida manatee. Reports from previous
centuries of manatees as
far north as
Greenland and Scotland are not substantiated by specimens.
With the increased public
attention to Chessie's northern
adventure, some recent
and historical accounts of
manatees along the temperate coast as far north as
New England have been reported and are
worthy of further investigation. Having seen what an individual of this species can achieve, we now
have reason to believe that moves such as Chessie's have
been made by other manatees in the
past, and may be made again
in the
future.
Although Chessie's
movements far exceed the
normal range of
the Florida manatee, recent
habitat and environmental conditions in the northeast
have been suitable for manatee use. This
summer's extremely warm weather
in the northeast increased
water temperatures, perhaps allowing Chessie to comfortably travel
into northern waters. Chessie used salt marsh and other
estuarine habitats that are
similar to those
used by manatees in Florida and
Georgia.
Interviews with people reporting manatee sightings,
and ground surveys
in selected areas, may continue to provide additional location information on Chessie's
travels. Also, the Sirenia Project
maintains a manatee
identification catalog, based
on photographs of more
than 1000 uniquely scarred manatees, enabling resighting
histories to be compiled on
their movements and life histories.
Sighting reports and photographs of scarred manatees along the
Atlantic Coast and at aggregation sites in Florida will be scrutinized in an attempt to resight and thus
monitor the long-term fate of
this most excellent individual. - Jim Reid (Sirenia Project)
FLORIDA
Sirenia Project Facing Budget Cuts
and Possible Elimination.
- Because of recent
efforts in Congress to reduce
deficit spending, federal budget
proposals for the coming
fiscal year target many government agencies for elimination or dramatic budget
cuts. The National
Biological Service (NBS), a
nonregulatory research agency within the Department of
the Interior, is slated
to lose 15% of its budget. NBS
was formed in 1993 by combining the research functions of
several existing agencies, including
the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, which previously administered the
Sirenia Project. The pending budget cuts have
resulted in proposed actions
by NBS
administrators in Washington to reduce or completely eliminate the
Sirenia Project.
The Sirenia
Project has conducted research on manatee life history, population dynamics, movements, and habitat use since 1978.
This research is mandated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
as part of
the Florida manatee recovery effort.
The Sirenia Project works closely
with its federal
and state partners to achieve
the recovery of this endangered
species, and with its colleagues in other
countries to encourage
research and conservation of
sirenians throughout their range.
Please write
to the Secretary of the Interior and the Director
of the National Biological
Service at the addresses below
to let them know that manatees and dugongs are key species in understanding and
protecting aquatic
ecosystems. Given the increased human population in coastal regions, and its impact
on water supply
and quality, the Sirenia Project's research is
needed now more than ever.
Secretary
Bruce Babbitt
U.S.
Department of the Interior
1849
C St., NW
Washington,
D.C. 20240
Dr.
Ron Pulliam, Director
National
Biological Service
U.S.
Department of the Interior
1849
C St., NW
Mail
Stop Arlington Square 725
Washington,
D.C. 20240
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Is the world's second-largest population
of dugongs safe? - In 1986, a
survey conducted by the Saudi Arabian Meteorological and Environmental Protection Administration (MEPA) established an estimated population
of dugongs in the Arabian Gulf of 7,307
± SE 1,302 (Preen, 1989). Larger populations are
known only from Australia (Preen, 1989). The MEPA report concluded that the
Arabian Gulf must be viewed as the most
important dugong habitat in the western half of the dugong's range.
The occurrence of accidental net capture and direct
hunting of dugongs was noted during
the survey and the issue
was included in
management recommendations
for the conservation of dugongs in the area.
However, no attempt was made at estimating the impact
of fisheries on dugongs. During this
survey, which included a
large portion of the coast
of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a total of
24 dugong carcasses was
recorded.
Formerly, dugongs
of the Arabian Gulf were hunted for their meat, considered a delicacy
in many parts of the region, but this
practice has been outlawed in the UAE
in recent years. No evidence of
continuation of this practice
was found. However,
it is unlikely that any dugongs
found alive in nets are released, as dugong meat is still
prized and eaten or sold. The number of animals caught by direct hunting methods
has never been documented,
but it is likely that incidental
net captures equal
or exceed this number. Increasing gillnet fisheries and the market for shark fins may be leading causes of dugong mortality.
On
11 and 12 March 1995, the islands of Murawah and Fiyyah, off the coast of the UAE,
approximately 150 km west
of Abu Dhabi, were surveyed by boat, four-wheel-drive
vehicles and on foot. The larger
of the
two islands, Murawah, is approximately 10 km in length by 2 km wide. Fiyyah
is less than one quarter this size. Selected
beaches and fishing villages
were searched for dugong
remains, in the latter
instance, contained in the
accumulated remains of fishermen's
catches.
In
two days of searching, the remains of a
total of 28 dugongs were found in, or
in close proximity to,
four fishing villages. Five of the 28 dugongs found were
judged to have died
more than two years
previously and were excluded
from mortality estimates (see below).
Estimates of the
age of the remains were based
upon the amount
of weathering of bone and skin; for example, not one of the bones included in the calculations showed signs of degradation and
many still had tissue attached. Older bones, judged to be more than two years of age, showed clearly the weathering effects of
the intense sun and
heat. The number of dugongs was estimated based on the number
of pairs of lower jaws discovered
and can be considered a conservative estimate.
The remains
included several complete skeletons, bones and fragments of
bone, skin and drying meat. Relatively few large tusks were found and many adult skulls
retained small tusks, indicating that females constituted the majority of
dead animals. Interviews
with local fishermen
also suggested that females were caught most often.
Fishermen apparently value the
tusks of the males. One almost
complete skull of
a male, estimated to have died no more than two weeks
previously, retained the left tusk,
though the right had clearly been
removed. At least
five other skulls
had both tusks removed. Though most remains
were of adults, skeletal remains of three very young animals were also found.
Measurements of the complete skeletons of two of these
suggested that the animals were
approximately one meter in
length, while the third animal was probably less than one meter.
There was no indication of the
exact cause of death in any instance, other than the fact
that most animals were found
in fish dumps along
with a catch of numerous sharks, batoids and other fishes,
turtles and cetaceans. Interviews with local fishermen suggested that all dugongs were accidentally caught in fishing nets, most often 14-18
cm gillnets, sometimes 60 m or
more in length, set for "kingfish"
and sharks. In the majority of
cases, the dugong remains were charred; the burning was clearly limited to
the remains of dugongs and
turtles, and may have been an attempt to hide the
evidence. Drying meat, no
more than two
weeks old, and barrels of what appeared to
be dugong oil, were found at two
sites. The meat was suspended and drying in strips, alongside
shark fins. Anecdotal evidence
obtained from a fishermen on Murawah Island suggested that dry dugong meat can be sold to
neighboring villages, or in fish markets, for the equivalent of US$7.50 per kilogram. An entire,
freshly caught dugong
apparently sells for US$210. This is comparable
to figures quoted by MEPA that
vary between US$0.30 and US$2.70 per kilogram (Preen, 1989).
Little is
known of the
population dynamics of unexploited dugong populations, though the
reproductive biology of the species indicates that, as for
other long-lived and slow-reproducing large mammals, adult female and calf mortalities need to be
low for population maintenance
(Marsh, Heinsohn &
Marsh, 1984). However,
if the reproductive rates of dugongs are
similar to those of cetaceans of
similar life history, then even annual
mortality rates of as little as 2% may
not be sustainable (Anon.,
1994). Yet, the estimated
annual dugong mortality
in only four fishing villages of the UAE approximates 0.16%
(11.5 of 7000)
of the total estimated Arabian
Gulf population (Preen, 1989). Assuming that catch levels of
dugongs at other fishing
villages in the
Gulf are similar to those
surveyed, then the catches by fishermen
at as few as 50 villages
would be unsustainable. Though the number of fishing villages in the Arabian Gulf is
unknown, the extent of the catch in the UAE alone is cause for concern, especially since: the
estimated number of dugongs
harvested annually is
conservative; fishermen obviously attempt to hide evidence of dugong catches; and female dugongs appear
to account for the
majority of those harvested.
However, the islands surveyed are located within an area
of high dugong
density (Preen, 1989) and,
as a
result, catches of dugongs in
this area may be higher than in others.
Nevertheless, studies on the distribution and status of dugongs in the waters
of the Arabian Gulf, especially those in previously
identified
"high-density"
areas, are needed. These
should include mapping and assessment of dugong habitat and
the study of dugong movements
and behavior. Particular attention
should be given to the impact of
fisheries activities on dugongs and the formulation of coastal zone
management recommendations with reference to dugongs.
An awareness campaign highlighting the
conservation requirements of dugongs
in the region has already begun in the hope of attracting the attention
of both local
and international support for
essential research and management-oriented action. Skin
and muscle samples for
genetic analyses have been
collected for comparison
with animals in Australia
and, pending results,
from samples taken in southern and East Africa.
Hopefully, comparative analyses may
provide insight into the
world-wide taxonomic status of
dugongs.
References
Anonymous.
1994. Report of the workshop on
mortality of cetaceans in
passive fishing nets and
traps. In: W.F. Perrin, G.P. Donovan, and J. Barlow (eds.), Gillnets and
Cetaceans. Sci. Rept. Intl. Whaling Comm. Special Issue 15. 629
pp.
Marsh, H.,
G.E. Heinsohn, and
L.M. Marsh. 1984. Breeding
cycle, life history and
population dynamics of
the dugong Dugong dugon (Sirenia: Dugongidae). Aust. Jour.
Zool. 32: 767-788.
Preen,
A. 1989. Dugongs. Volume 1.
The status and conservation of dugongs
in the Arabian Region. MEPA
Coastal and Marine Management Series, Report
No. 10. Meteorological and Environmental
Protection Administration,
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 200 pp.
- R. Baldwin (P.O. Box 3865,
Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates) and V.G.
Cockcroft (Centre for Dolphin Studies,
Port Elizabeth Museum, P.O.
Box 13147, Humewood, South
Africa)
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Publication of Sirenian Bibliography
Imminent. - Following an unanticipated delay over the summer
due to personnel shortage
at the Smithsonian Press, page proofs of my Bibliography and
Index of the Sirenia and
Desmostylia were finally delivered to me in early September and
have now been corrected and returned. I
am now
assured that the work will be available sometime in
spring 1996 (yeah, I know, promises, promises, but this time it looks real!).
This work will appear as Number 80 in
the series Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology,
and will consist
of a single sewn,
paperbound volume (about
8" x 10" format) of over 610 pages. It is an
exhaustive, annotated and indexed
compilation of 500 years of scientific and popular literature on the biology, paleobiology,
and ethnobiology of
sirenians and
desmostylians. Since, for arcane
bureaucratic reasons, the Smithsonian
does not retail its series
publications to the general public, arrangements have
been made for the
Save the Manatee
Club to obtain a limited supply of copies for sale
to individuals. The retail price
has been tentatively set at around US$25.00 per copy - a
rare bargain as book prices now go.
If you wish to
acquire a copy
for personal use, please contact the Save the
Manatee Club, 500 N.
Maitland Ave., Maitland,
Florida 32751, USA (phone:
1-800-432-5646), as soon as
possible to reserve a copy and obtain
up-to-date information on price and
handling costs (if there is a large enough number
of early orders it may be possible to increase the press run). To
repeat, copies are not available for
shipment at this time, but
will be ready sometime in the spring.
- DPD
ABSTRACT
Morphological aspects of the stomach of the Amazonian
manatee Trichechus inunguis
(Mammalia: Sirenia) (Francisco Antonio Pinto Colares). - Stomachs
from seven specimens of T.
inunguis were studied in order to describe their irrigation and macro-
and microscopical aspects, emphasizing
the gastric mucosa. The abdominal portion of the esophagus and the first portion of the duodenum were also studied to improve the
knowledge of the stomach. The abdominal esophagus in the Amazonian manatee
is narrow and muscular (striated) with a
well-developed cardiac sphincter where it enters the stomach. The
stomach is relatively small, situated to the
right of the median plane and sharply curved, which keeps the cardia and
pylorus close together. On the left dorsal stomach wall was found the
cardiac gland, a feature apparently
found only in sirenians. The
spleen, consisting of from one to four separate portions, was
situated caudal to
the base of the cardiac gland. The duodenum can be
subdivided into one ampulla and two diverticula. Unlike the
stomach irrigation of most mammals studied, no celiac artery was found, and the course of the splenic
artery depends on the number of
spleens. The gastric artery arises directly from the abdominal
aorta, while the hepatic artery
emerges from the hepatomesenteric trunk. The abdominal esophagus is lined with
a keratinous stratified epithelium, having
no glands in the wall. The surface and pit epithelium of the
stomach are composed of columnar
cells with a mucous aspect. No chief or parietal cells were found in the stomach
mucosa. Tubular coiled
gastric glands, with
mucous aspect, were
identified in communication with the gastric pits. The cardiac gland is
composed of a set of ramified ducts
that empty into a central collecting
cavity, which opens into the lumen of the stomach. In the walls of
these ducts were found gastric pits and gastric
glands lined by columnar, mucous neck, chief and parietal cells.
[Abstract of a thesis for the degree of Mestre em Zootecnia in Animal
Nutrition, submitted to
the Veterinary School of the
Federal University of
Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1994.]
RECENT LITERATURE
Anderson, P.K. 1995. Competition, predation, and the
evolution and extinction of Steller's sea cow, Hydrodamalis gigas. Mar.
Mamm. Sci. 11(3): 391-394.
Debelius, H. 1993. Sirenia: Kühe mit Flossen. Abenteuer Natur 2: 86-97.
De Iongh,
H.H., B.J. Wenno,
and E. Meelis. 1995. Seagrass
distribution and seasonal biomass changes in relation to
dugong grazing in the Moluccas, East Indonesia. Aquatic Botany 50(1): 1-19.
Epstein, R. 1993. Cruising with the manatees on
Florida's Crystal River. Trailer Boats
22: 56.
Frey, R. 1994. [The connection bewteen type of
locomotion, mating position, and penis length in mammals: II. Testiphaena (mammals with extraabdominal
testicular position).] Zs.
Zool. Syst. Evol.-forsch. 32(3): 163-179.
[In German.]
Furusawa, H. 1995. Steller's sea-cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) in the Bering
Island, Kamschatka. Fossils (Palaeont.
Soc. Japan) No. 58: 1-9. [In Japanese; Engl. summ. Reports new specimens collected on Bering Is.]
Furusawa, H., and M. Kimura. 1995. Sirenian fossils (Hydrodamalis) from Early Pliocene of Hombetsu
and Early Pleistocene of
Kuromatsunai, Hokkaido. Earth Science
(Chikyu Kagaku) 49(4): 298-301. [In Japanese.]
Gorzelany, J.F., and J.K. Koelsch. 1995.
Characterization of manatee habitat in the vicinity of Sarasota Bay, Florida
[abstr.]. Florida Scientist 58,
Suppl. 1: 8-9.
Hoyt, E.
1995. One last
song for the sirenian: the brief "return" of the
Steller's sea cow. Nature
Canada 24(1): 60-61.
Koelsch,
J.K. 1995. The
seasonal (re)use of the Sarasota Bay
area by manatees
[abstr.]. Florida Scientist
58, Suppl. 1: 9.
Lanyon, J.M., and H. Marsh. 1995. Digesta passage times
in the dugong. Austral. Jour. Zool. 43(2):
119-127.
Marsh, H.,
P.J. Corkeron, C.J.
Limpus, P.D. Shaughnessy, and T.M. Ward.
1993. Conserving marine mammals and reptiles in Australia and Oceania.
In: C. Moritz & J. Kikkawa (eds.),
Conservation biology in Australia and Oceania. Chipping Norton, Surrey
Beatty & Sons: 225-244.
Marsh, H.,
and L.W. Lefebvre.
1994. Sirenian status
and conservation efforts.
Aquatic Mammals 20(3):
155-170.
Marsh, H.,
G.B. Rathbun, T.J.
O'Shea, and A.R. Preen. 1995. Can
dugongs survive in Palau? Biol. Conserv. 72(1): 85-89.
O'Shea, T.J.
1995. Waterborne recreation and
the Florida manatee. In: R.L. Knight
& K.J. Gutzwiller (eds.),
Wildlife and recreationists: coexistence
through management and research. Washington, D.C. &
Covelo, Calif., Island Press: 297-311.
Rattner, R. 1995. Make way for manatees. Wildl. Conserv. 98(5): 22-29.
Taylor, M.A. 1994. Stone, bone or blubber? Buoyancy
control strategies in aquatic
tetrapods. In: L. Maddock,
Q. Bone, & J.M.V. Rayner
(eds.), Mechanics and physiology
of animal swimming. Cambridge, Cambridge Univ. Press: 151-161.
Vargo, T.
1995. Dentition morphology and
feeding in the dugong, Dugong
dugon [abstr.]. Jour. Minnesota Acad. Sci. 53(3): 20-21.
Wille, C. 1995. Saving the sea cow, Caribbean style. Nature Conservancy 45(5): 16-23.
CHANGES
OF ADDRESS
Adele Conover, 3417 Quebec St. NW, Washington, DC 20016
Mario Antonio de Mello Dias, Secretario Municipal do
Meio Ambiente - SEMAP, C.P. 494 -
Centro, Maceio CEP 57020 970, Alagoas, BRASIL
Dr. José A.
Ottenwalder, P.O. Box 1424, Santo Domingo, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (fax:
809-530-5094)
Dr. James A.
Powell, c/o Dr. David Vousden, UNDP/GEF Coastal Zone Management Unit, Fisheries Dept., P.O. Box 148, Belize
City, BELIZE
Blga. Mariuxi Prieto, P.O. Box 09-01-6637, Guayaquil,
ECUADOR (fax: 593-4-323029)
D. R. Rioux, 1335 Hemlock St. #4, Chico, CA 95928-6170
USA
Dr. Michel Vély, Tropical Ocean Mammals Services, B.P.
591, Toamasina, MADAGASCAR
>>> COPY DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE: APRIL 1, 1996 <<<
The Sirenews
fax number is 1-202-265-7055 (USA).
Printed on recycled paper with soy ink
* * * * *
Read Sirenews on the Internet! Also Florida manatee mortality statistics and other manatee information. Access the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's web site at www.dep.state.fl.us and choose "Protected Species Management."