BRAZIL
Another Amazonian Manatee Captive Birth.
– On 6 April 2005, another female
manatee gave birth to the fifth Amazonian
manatee conceived and born in captivity at the Aquatic Mammal Laboratory of
INPA in Manaus. This
time it is a female calf. The baby is feeding without problems. Mother and baby
are well. The calf’s name will be chosen in a contest with the children from
local schools to increase the awareness of the need to conserve these animals. - Vera da Silva
FLORIDA
(NOTE:
For detailed coverage of manatee matters in Florida, read Manatee
News Quarterly, published by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission.)
Florida Continues March Toward Downlisting Manatees. – On 14 April 2005, the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWCC) voted to adopt amendments to state rule criteria
that govern the listing and delisting of Florida’s imperiled species. These amendments only slightly
improved the rule criteria, and fell short of the substantive changes that
manatee advocates and other critics considered necessary to protect endangered
wildlife. This action opens the way to potential downlisting of Florida manatees from “Endangered” to “Threatened” status,
based purely on semantics and without any actual improvement in the animals’
prognosis for survival.
After conducting a final public hearing on the
proposal, during the first day of their two-day meeting in Tallahassee, the Commissioners voted to adopt updated listing criteria
developed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) since 1999. In addition, the
Commission will ask IUCN experts to train FWCC scientists in how to apply the
criteria. The Commissioners expressed their confidence in the updated process,
but in acknowledgement of many stakeholders’ concerns about how it might impact
certain species, they pledged to review the listing process if unforeseen
problems arise during its implementation.
(The Commission is a five-member
board appointed by the governor to oversee hunting, fishing and wildlife
protection.)
The Commissioners also voted to lift the present moratorium
on considering classification of listed species; but their decision does not
immediately affect the listing status of any of the 118 animal species
classified as Endangered, Threatened, or Species of Special Concern in the
state list – including manatees, for which a biological status review by the
state has not yet been completed.
According to FWCC endangered species
coordinator Dan Sullivan, a key strength of the proposed process is how
appropriate recovery actions will be identified and put in place. Whenever the
agency considers listing, reclassifying or delisting a species, he said, FWCC
staff will develop a management plan tailored to that individual species’
needs. The plan will outline species-specific protections, replacing
less-effective blanket prohibitions of the past, which were tied to categories
rather than species’ individual needs. The new updates also will strengthen the
process by involving a biological review panel throughout the evaluation
process and requiring an additional peer review of that panel’s assessment.
Details on the proposed updates are available at <MyFWC.com/imperiledspecies>.
But critics are not convinced.
As reported at length in Sirenews No. 38 (October 2002), Florida adopted some years ago the basic listing criteria
used by the IUCN for classifying imperiled species and the threats they face.
What Florida has not
adopted, however, are the names for
the categories in the IUCN classification. Instead, Florida’s wildlife managers
modified the IUCN language so that in order for a species to qualify as
“Endangered” in Florida, it would have to meet the IUCN standards for
“Critically Endangered”; whereas a species that was “Endangered” in the eyes of
the IUCN and the rest of the world would be called merely “Threatened” within
the boundaries of the State of Florida.
Using one of the state’s listing/delisting criteria,
a species would have to undergo or be at risk of undergoing an 80% decline in
its population in order to be listed as “Endangered”. Listed species that have
undergone precipitous declines historically, but are not continuing to decline
at an 80% rate, could be downlisted despite the fact that their numbers are
only a small fraction of their original populations. An 80% decline could
easily cause a species to go extinct before conservation measures could be
implemented. Population biologists point out that these criteria are
particularly inappropriate for large, long-lived marine animals like manatees
and sea turtles.
Because
of this FWCC action, Florida’s endangered species, such as manatees, panthers,
and sea turtles, could potentially be reclassified as “Threatened” – or receive
an even lower classification – all because of this misalignment of category
names and definitions. Now that the rule amendments have been adopted, FWCC
plans to move forward with the completion of its manatee biological status
review precipitated in 2001 by a petition from an angler’s lobby group, the
Coastal Conservation Association.
Patrick
Rose, a former state wildlife official and now Director of Government Relations
for the Save the Manatee Club, commented that “State decision-makers are
listening to special interests like never before. They have already downlisted
the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker to a ‘Species of Special Concern’. It
will only be a matter of time before the state receives more petitions from
special interest groups to downlist other species whose habitat requirements
get in the way of developers’ profit-making.
Sales prices for individual boat slips built over submerged lands held
in public trust have soared to over US$1 million in some cases. With so much
money to be made at the public’s expense, it’s no wonder that the [state
regulatory] agencies are being pressured by the legislature to open the
floodgates of development without adequate checks and balances to protect the
environment and especially our imperiled species.”
Fortunately,
manatees in Florida are still protected by
federal legislation including the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the
Endangered Species Act. As long as the perennial attempts to weaken these
federal laws are kept at bay, manatee protection measures that are already in
place should remain. But even at the federal level, the possibility of downlisting
the manatee has just been put back on the table with the announcement (with
less than a 2-month deadline for submission of information) of a review of the
manatee’s status by the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) (see related story below).
Also
less than encouraging are two personnel matters on the federal level. U.S.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton has named as acting director of FWS one Matthew
J. Hogan, a former chief lobbyist for the Safari Club International – an
organization that encourages the hunting of big game, including endangered
species, as well as promoting wildlife conservation.
FWS,
in turn, has expanded the interagency Manatee Recovery Team from its
traditional makeup of some 15-20 biologists and wildlife managers, inflating it
to a membership of 120 that for the first time includes representatives of the
boating, dock-building, and development industries in addition to manatee
experts. The Recovery Team is charged with making recommendations on manatee
management and listing to Secretary Norton.
Given
all these developments, especially in the context of the June deadline for
submissions to FWS’s manatee status review, there is growing concern among
manatee defenders.
“People
are going to think that any species undergoing a downward category change is on
the road to recovery – purely because the FWCC is obstinately refusing to align
the IUCN categories and names for these categories with their own
listing/delisting guidelines,” said biologist Patti Thompson, the Save the
Manatee Club’s Director of Science and Conservation. “No matter what happens on
the state level, manatees will still be listed as endangered by the federal
government. Unfortunately, special interests will be pushing for species’
reclassifications as a way to rid themselves of what they believe to be
excessive regulations,” said Thompson.
Earlier,
a state review of 24 listed species found that a majority of the species could
be downlisted or even delisted when the state’s flawed criteria were applied.
It is possible that the Florida panther, with an estimated
80 individuals living in the wild, could fall down a category from endangered
to threatened status. The black bear would have a good chance of being delisted
altogether, paving the way for the bear to once again be hunted. The federal
Marine Mammal Commission has stated that the northern right whale – the most
endangered marine mammal in America, with a population of fewer than 350
individuals – would likely fall down a category as well under the state’s too-stringent
criteria. David Laist of the Marine Mammal Commission agreed that the FWCC
action “establishes an unreasonably low standard of protection for endangered
species” that is “inconsistent with federal law.”
“Manatees
and, in fact, all of the state’s wildlife will continue to face mounting
pressures from Florida’s fast-paced growth,” said
Rose. “To illegitimately downlist a species won’t do anything to protect our
wildlife. We want the state to base the biological status of any species on
scientific benchmarks, including stable or increasing survival rates,
comprehensive habitat protection, and significant reduction of human-related
mortality.” - DPD
Fish and Wildlife Service Announces
5-year Status Review for the Florida Manatee.
- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced on 14 April 2005 that it
is conducting a five-year review of the Florida manatee, which is federally protected as endangered
under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The five-year review will assess
the best available scientific and commercial information to determine how the
manatee is faring since its original listing in 1967.
According to Dave Hankla, the Service's field supervisor
for its North Florida Ecological Services Office in Jacksonville, the Service is particularly interested in new
information which has become available since the last revision to the Florida
Manatee Recovery Plan in 2001.
"There has been a tremendous amount of effort put
into manatee conservation and research over the last several years,"
Hankla said, "and this is an opportunity for our biologists and
conservation managers to conduct a comprehensive review of the latest and best
scientific and commercial data available."
In the case of the Florida manatee, the Service is looking for new information
related to five specific areas:
1) species biology, such as popu-lation trends,
distribution, demographics and genetics;
2) habitat conditions such as amount,
distribution and suitability;
3) conservation measures which have been
implemented that benefit the species;
4) threat status and trends; and
5) other new
information, data or corrections, such as improved analytical methods,
nomenclatural changes, or identification of errors in the information contained
in the original listing.
To be of greatest use to Service biologists conducting
the review, any new information submitted should be supported by documentation
such as maps, bibliographic references, methods used to gather the data, and/or
copies of any pertinent publications, reports or letters from knowledgeable
sources.
Five-year reviews allow the Service staff to determine if
sufficient information is available to warrant a recommendation to reclassify a
species or even take it off the ESA list altogether. According to Hankla, any recommendation to
change the manatee's status would only be considered if substantiated by the
data and would not be made without due consideration.
"If, after reviewing all the information, we
determine nothing has changed, the manatee's status will remain
Federally-listed as endangered," Hankla said. "However, if the data
substantiates that a reclassification or de-listing is warranted, we could
recommend either. Any such decision to recommend reclassification or de-listing
would require a separate rulemaking process which would include ample
opportunity for public review and comment."
The Federal
Register notice announcing this solicitation of new information and data is
available online at <northflorida.fws.gov>
or may be requested by e-mail to <manatee@fws.gov>,
by fax at 904-232-2404, by mail at U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Attn:
Manatee Five-year Review, 6620 Southpoint Drive, Suite 310, Jacksonville, FL
32216-0958, or by telephone at 904-232-2580.
New information and comments may be mailed, hand-delivered,
faxed, or submitted electronically. Please mail or deliver comments to the
address or fax number listed above. Comments submitted electronically should be
embedded in the body of the e-mail message itself or attached (please see
Notice for details), and should not use special characters or encryption. Please
include "Attn: Manatee 5-year Review" in your subject line, and your
full name, return address, and, if appropriate, your company, government
agency, or organization you represent, in your e-mail message. Comments submitted to <manatee@fws.gov> will receive an
automated response confirming receipt of your message.
In order for biologists and conservation managers to have
sufficient time to consider any new information, the information and any
supporting data or documents must be received by the Service no later than 13 June
2005. -
(FWS press release)
New
Manatee Biological Population Assessment Released. – [ED. NOTE: The following are excerpts from the
summary of the latest annual report from the Manatee Population Status Working
Group (MPSWG), an advisory body to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
composed of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, Marine Mammal
Commission, USFWS, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Montana
State University, Coastal Conservation Association, Save the Manatee Club, and
Wildlife Trust. The MPSWG is the most authoritative source there is on the
status of the Florida manatee.]
… The
Northwest and Upper St. Johns
River subpopulations exhibit
very similar dynamics: mortality is low,
reproduction is high, and subpopulation growth rate is positive. Most known mortality of non-adults is from
natural causes, while adult mortality is due primarily to human-related causes,
mostly watercraft. Because these two populations are small and because
they appear to depend on a small number of winter aggregation sites, relatively
small fluctuations in habitat or the number of mortality and birth events could
substantially influence population growth rate and trend. At the present time, the observed growth rates suggest that these subpopulations are
below the environmental carrying capacity for manatees and
additional growth can reasonably be expected. …
The status and dynamics of the
Atlantic subpopulation are less clear than the Northwest or Upper St. Johns River subpopulations.
Adult survival and reproductive rates are moderate, but evidence
regarding recent growth rate of the subpopulation is inconclusive: it is
possible that the population is growing slowly, but also possible that apparent
growth in the early 1990s has tapered off and the subpopulation may be stable
or declining. The manatee population
growth rate estimates from two different analyses vary, and resolution of the
difference will require additional study.
For adults, watercraft-related mortality as a proportion of all sources
of mortality is more than in the Northwest and somewhat less than the Upper St.
Johns River, but because the total mortality rate is higher for the Atlantic Coast (as indicated by lower
survival rates), watercraft mortality has a greater impact on population
dynamics than in the Northwest or Upper St. Johns River subpopulations. Mortality of non-adult animals appears to be
primarily from natural causes. …
The Southwest subpopulation appears
to be the most vulnerable to decline.
Estimates of adult survival are low and the growth rate estimates
indicate the subpopulation appears to be declining. For non-adults, most mortality is natural.
For adults, watercraft mortality is the highest ranked cause of death. The Southwest subpopulation is unique in that
it faces major, periodic mortality events due to red tide. Red tide is responsible for nearly one-fourth
of known-cause mortality across ages.
Based on the available data, it appears that if this subpopulation is to
stabilize or indeed increase in size, it cannot sustain any further increases
in mortality. Two factors make it
difficult to assess some aspects of the status of the Southwest subpopulation. First, the time series of data is shortest
for this subpopulation, thus the survival and reproductive estimates are less
precise than for the other subpopulations.
Second, the subpopulation is found in diverse habitats from Tampa Bay to Everglades National
Park, and
demographic data are lacking for individuals in the southernmost parts of the
region. …
State-wide patterns concerning
mortality risk can be discerned by comparing the relative causes of death in
the four subpopulations. For adults in
each subpopulation the most prominent source of mortality is watercraft
collision. The second ranked cause of
death varies by subpopulation. In the
Northwest it is cold stress; in the Upper St. Johns River it is crushing by
gates or locks; in the Atlantic it is unspecified natural causes; and in the
Southwest it is red tide. For non-adults
in all subpopulations, perinatal death is the leading cause of mortality with
watercraft collisions ranked second.
Cold stress ranked third for non-adults in all subpopulations except the
Southwest, where red tide is the third leading cause of mortality. …
The Southwest and Atlantic Coast subpopulations show larger uncertainty in demographic
rates than the Northwest and Upper
St. Johns River. Such differences are expected. The natural world is intrinsically variable,
and each region is characterized by its own set of confounding factors
regarding data collection, manatee behavior and analysis of population
dynamics. The MPSWG makes several
recommendations in this report to reduce uncertainty and improve
estimates. Analyses that incorporate
data from multiple sources such as photo-identification, aerial surveys,
carcass recovery, and genetic markers will be important. These new approaches, however, will require
development of new data collection protocols and analysis, which may take years
of directed effort. New applications
should be pursued, while at the same time maintaining and improving monitoring
for annual assessments under current methods. …
The MPSWG evaluated available
manatee data and analyses to determine whether they were adequate to assess
recovery under the existing demographic recovery criteria as provided in the Florida manatee recovery plan. Available data and analyses are largely
adequate for assessing the survival rate criterion; they are inadequate,
however, for assessing the reproductive criterion as written and vary in
adequacy for assessing the growth rate criterion for the different
subpopulations.
Are Thirsty Cities Thwarting Manatee Recovery Efforts?
- The Florida manatee's prospects
for survival may depend less on boaters -- who for decades have been scorned
for mauling the animals with propellers and boat hulls -- and more on the
unquenchable thirst of booming cities like Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, the
federal official overseeing recovery efforts said yesterday.
That surprising assessment by Dave Hankla, field
supervisor of the Fish and Wildlife Service's North Florida Ecological Services
Office, sets the stage for what promises to be a robust debate over the
service's five-year status review for one of Florida's most enduring wildlife symbols.
Other findings expected from the review are that
manatees would not survive without hot water discharges from power plants, and
that recurring red tides along the Gulf Coast threaten to set recovery back decades, FWS officials
said. Yet of all the marine mammal's threats, the one with the least chance of
reversal is Florida's exploding population, which is expected to reach
20.7 million by 2025, and the resulting drawdown of underground water
resources.
Freshwater springs, extending from the Floridan
aquifer in the east-central part of the state, are essential to manatees during
the winter, where they congregate by the hundreds in warmer, shallow inlets to
stave off hypothermia. Without the warmer water, the animals would experience
mass die-offs, federal officials say.
"The more water you take out, the less chance
these natural springs have of replenishing themselves. And if the warm water
isn't there, there's a good chance these animals will freeze to death,"
Hankla said in a telephone interview.
Such is the complex balance between human and wildlife
needs in Florida, one of the most biologically diverse places in North
America, and home to more federally protected species than all but three other
states -- California, Hawaii and Alabama.
In the past month alone, two federal courts have ruled
FWS failed to adequately protect the endangered Florida panther and eight other species (Greenwire, April 7).
Those rulings followed FWS's finding late last month that the American
crocodile had recovered sufficiently to revise its protective status from
"endangered" to "threatened" (Greenwire, March 28).…
Some observers, like Pat Rose of the nonprofit Save
the Manatee Club, believe the manatee will be the next high-profile Florida species proposed for relisting, even if the science
does not justify it. "There is tremendous political pressure to have the
Service come up with new [recovery] criteria so that the manatee can be
downgraded" to threatened, Rose said.
Hankla denied such claims, noting that FWS is meeting
an obligation it made in 2001 when it last revised the manatee's recovery plan.
"There's really nothing behind this," he said. "We're doing it
to reel in all the statistics and see where things stand."
Depending upon who is doing the counting, the
manatee's status varies wildly -- from not meeting FWS recovery goals to far
surpassing Florida's recent historic baseline for manatees.
Ted Forsgren, director of the Coastal Conservation
Association of Florida, which represents 10,000 saltwater anglers, said his
members see more manatees in Florida's inlets and bays than ever. Yet he complained
"there is no measurable biological goal for the manatee herd," and therefore
no end to the regulations that many anglers believe are excessive and
unwarranted.
Slow-speed boating zones have been adopted across a
quarter million acres of peninsular Florida, Forsgren said, affecting virtually every
recreational, commercial and industrial waterway in the region. He added that
the Coastal Conservation Association avoided the manatee issue for years until
lawsuits filed in 2000 called on regulators to impose new regulations on 115
waterways where manatees were believed to live or migrate, including "some
of the premier saltwater fishing areas of the state."
As a member of a federal advisory committee for
manatee recovery, Forsgren is pressing FWS to revise its approach to
determining the species' status. "There are challenges, there's no doubt
about it," he said of the upcoming status review process. "But we've
argued that without some way to remove emotion from the discussion, and finding
a way to better quantify manatee success or failure, all you're going to do is argue
about this forever."
But boating regulations are just one component of the
manatee recovery program, and in the end possibly one of the easiest to
resolve. The more difficult problem is ensuring that manatees do not perish
from hypothermia in the winter months, when water temperatures in peninsular Florida can drop into 50-59 degrees Fahrenheit.
For years, manatees have relied on both natural and
manmade sources of warm water to avoid winter stresses. These include warm
springs that emerge from the Floridan aquifer as well as hot water discharges
from power plants that are scattered throughout the manatee's range.
Virtually all of the state's electric utilities --
including Florida Power & Light (FPL), Progress Energy, and Tampa Electric
Company (TECO) -- now manage water discharges from their generators'
turbine-cooling systems to aid manatees. At some power plants, like FPL's Cape
Canaveral Plant on the Indian River east of Orlando, manatees have been known
to congregate by the hundreds in waters warmed by FPL's warm water discharges.
The same is true for the company's Riviera Plant in Palm Beach County and its Fort
Myers plant on the Gulf Coast.
"From a utility's perspective it's a very
complicated issue," said Winifred Perkins, FPL's manager of environmental
relations. "As the state's largest electricity provider, we can't dismiss
this. We do what we have to do."
Currently that means adhering to a wastewater
discharge permit clause calling for five FPL plants to provide a continuous
source of warm water to manatees through the winter months. Similar measures
are in place at the state's other large utilities, like Progress Energy and
TECO.
Dave Bruzek, a spokesman for Progress Energy, which
operates three power plants on the Gulf Coast, said the wastewater permits "were negotiated
with the state to maximize the use of those plants while minimizing effects to
manatees…. The company is more than willing to do that as long as those
constraints do not threaten the reliability of our electric service."
With near universal agreement, even among
environmentalists, that power plants provide an essential benefit to manatees
and that warm water will continue to flow from discharge pipes to wintering
areas, concern about water resources has shifted to broader questions of water
consumption in Florida.
Hankla said securing clean, warm water -- particularly
from natural springs -- is the top issue facing manatee recovery this century.
"The animals don't go out and randomly look for warm water. The adults
teach their offspring where these water sources are," he said.
Another pressing issue is red tides, a form of toxic
algae that can poison manatees who come into contact with it. Some believe red
tides, which tend to form in warm waters, are related to nutrient loading and
other forms of human pollution.
At current population growth rates, officials expect
the Floridan aquifer to be drawn down more regularly, which combined with other
events like droughts, could pre-empt the natural feeding of warm springs that
manatees need to survive.
Teresa Monson, a spokeswoman for the St. Johns River
Water Management District, which includes booming Orlando, acknowledged the district's "dramatic increase
in demand on water resources over the last few decades." She described the
St. Johns region as having "a very productive
aquifer," but added, "At the same time, we have quite a lot of demand
on it, so it's one of those ongoing battles." She said the water
management district works closely with the state to ensure that withdrawals do
not exceed safe levels for wildlife and the environment.
Rose, of the Save the Manatee Club, noted that a
number of warm springs have been lost over the last 50 years due to population
growth and fresh water demand. And those that remain face imminent risk from
overuse, landscape alterations, and agricultural and wastewater pollution.
"When you go out and add thousands and thousands
of homes in these recharge areas, these people are not going to go away,"
Rose said. "They may find other sources of drinking water. But if that
doesn't happen, it's the natural springs and ultimately the manatees that are
going to suffer." - Daniel
Cusick (Greenwire Southeast reporter)
Owner to Sell Landmark Crystal Springs, Florida, Manatee-Themed
Store. -- By draping a long,
uncut piece of plush fabric from the tail to the mouth on the bottom of the
stuffed animal, Marie Bienkowski found that it gave her plush manatees' mouths
an unrivaled, distinct look.
To be honest, no one else made
stuffed manatees back then. But the former fifth-grade science teacher stitched
her first while on maternity leave, and the next thing she knew everyone wanted
one. Even Ty Warner, the creator of the famed Beanie Babies, she claims, used
her patented method to stitch his own version of stuffed manatees.
From Bienkowski's garage, the
Manatee Toy Co. has grown into a downtown Crystal River landmark that continues to draw customers worldwide.
For Bienkowski, it's more than she could have dreamed of, and it's something
she's had to let go of this year after she, as founder, sold the store to
another manatee lover who will continue to cater to those seeking anything that
resembles the gentle sea giants.
Inside the small homey store with
wood floors and Jimmy Buffett songs playing on a constant loop, manatees adorn
baby clothes, wine corks, mugs, drain stoppers, champagne flutes, shot glasses,
wind chimes, figurines, backpacks, shopping bags, baby bags, cutting boards,
Christmas cards, postcards, street signs, T-shirts, sweat shirts, license
plates and salt shakers.
But before there was all this, there
were two stuffed manatee dolls.
Bienkowski, who has a background in
design, stitched them and gave them to her daughter Nicole in 1981. The
3-year-old dragged them everywhere, naming the larger gray toy Mandy and the
smaller, plush one Sweet Tea.
"People saw them,"
Bienkowski said. "Someone saw them at Port Paradise Dive Shop, and they
asked if they could have three." Soon, every dive shop in the city --
which claims to be "Home of the Manatee" -- wanted to sell some.
By the next year, Bienkowski had
sold a few hundred. Over the next decade, her small company sold the stuffed
manatees wholesale out of her Crystal River garage, where Bienkowski drew up the designs, a hired
sewer stitched them and the animals were packed and shipped.
"My kids were babies, and
that's how they learned how to count," Bienkowski said. "Twelve
manatees went into a box."
In 1991, the Manatee Toy Co. moved
to its current location, where offerings of just five sizes of toy manatees
grew to include gator Christmas stockings, manatee puppets and stuffed shrimp
until the store became the menagerie it is today.
Guests from far away are not
uncommon at the store, and a guest book bears testament to the world travelers
who have stopped in. Recent pages show customers from Wyoming, Louisiana, Oregon, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Germany. Once, a German man told Bienkowski he'd be gracious
enough to sign her book, thinking he'd be the only European to grace her pages.
Just above his signature were
signatures of people from Finland, Japan and Colombia.
"Every day is unique in
here," Bienkowski said, with a tinge of regret. She recalled the old movie
stars, cancer survivors and famous authors she has met and the conversations
she has had that make her wish she had kept a daily journal.
But it's too late. Bienkowski sold
the store on Nov. 15 to Helen Anderson, a former laboratory supervisor, who
wanted to run her own business. Bienkowski said she wants to spend more time
with her grown children, design more stuffed animals and firm up her manatee
patent with a lawyer and begin asking other companies to stop using it. She'd
rather her manatee design be used on toys that have a connection to the city of
Crystal River, Bienkowski said in a schoolteacher's soft, firm tone. She also hopes to go back into teaching.
But during the first three weeks of
December, Bienkowski helped Anderson
make the transition as the new store owner. She taught Anderson that pink
flamingo hats sell, how the price-tag gun works, that yellow items are popular
(though Anderson doesn't like the color) and how to get in touch with vendors.
"You just don't give your baby
to anybody," Bienkowski said.
Anderson, a former customer who
bought the store as soon as she found out it was for sale, said she loves
manatees because of their "sheer size -- the primitiveness of them."
"And their cute 'lil blue
eyes," Bienkowski added like a proud mother. - Justin George (St.
Petersburg Times, 7 January 2005)
INDONESIA
Recent Dugong Research in Balikpapan
Bay, Indonesia. - I would like to report on a recent study implemented
by Paulien de Bruyn, Budiono, Danielle Kreb and the undersigned (2003) in Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The study was a collaboration
between the NGO RASI, the Mulawarman University (Indonesia), and the Institute of Environmental Sciences of
Leiden University, The Netherlands.
The main research effort has been
done in Balikpapan Bay, East
Kalimantan, during 2002,
while continued observations were made during 2003 and 2004. It is the
intention to continue this research also during the coming years.
Our research covered three aspects
of the ecology of Balikpapan Bay: a) water quality, b) the presence of seagrass beds,
c) observations of dugongs.
Dugong observations were made from
an engine-powered boat. On this boat, four persons would observe, each at a
different angle from the boat for one hour, while the engine was switched off.
Two persons would search with binoculars, two would search without binoculars.
Every 15 minutes the binoculars would switch between the persons. In this way,
the entire area surrounding the boat was covered with and without binoculars
without wearing out the persons too much for them to stay concentrated.
Dugongs were spotted 15 times in Balikpapan Bay. Dugongs were mostly seen swimming alone, but a group
of three dugongs was also seen, and on one occasion a mother with her neonate
was seen. Though the research area in Balikpapan Bay contained three seagrass fields, all dugongs were
seen near one of these fields next to Kariangau, a small fishermen’s village
within the vicinity of the State Oil Refinery.
We found seagrass in different
areas, but only in shallow water. Most seagrass beds were small and coverage
was low; only three seagrass beds were large (2500, 1500 and 2000 m²). In
deeper parts of the bay and parts where a thick layer of mud was on the bottom,
no seagrass would grow. In addition, turbidity in the Bay was found to be
medium to high, and historical data showed that the Bay had been severely
affected by oil pollution in the past.
Balikpapan Bay, East Kalimantan, is situated next to the city of Balikpapan. Some activities around this city are oil refining,
timber harvesting, and shrimp farming. These last two activities cause more mud
to be flushed into the bay, either by taking away the trees on the hills around
the bay, or (for the shrimp farms) by reducing the amount of mangrove forest
around the bay, which decreases the buffer zone for the mud. The foundation
Proyek Pesisir (a NGO with financial support from USAID) shows that per year
68,669 tons of sediment are washed into the bay (Proyek-Pesisir 2002).
Our observations show that the mud
in the bay forms a threat for the seagrass in two ways, both by forming a thick
muddy layer on parts of the bay bottom on which nothing grows, and by making
the bay more turbid, so the sunlight does not reach the bottom of the bay
anymore. In addition, historical data show impact of oil pollution on both the mangrove
ecosystem and seagrass beds.
Local fishermen also confirm that
the amount of seagrass and the number of dugongs have declined in the last ten
years. They also say they do not hunt the dugong. - Hans de Iongh
SIERRA
LEONE
The West African Manatee in Sierra Leone. - In
January-February 2005 a waterbird census in all coastal wetlands of Sierra Leone was carried out.
All larger estuaries were visited, including the Scarcies estuary, the Sierra Leone River estuary, Yawri Bay, and the Sherbro Island estuary. During
this waterbird survey most mudflats, sandbanks and shallows were visited by
boat. All areas have a strong tidal influence and are characterized by brackish
habitats with muddy or sandy soils. The shallows are bordered by mangrove
forests and especially in the Scarcies area with rice fields.
At one location a manatee was observed. The animal lifted
its head twice above the water and went down under when the boat approached too
close. It was observed in troubled, less than 1.5 m deep salt water close to
the shore of Yelibuya Island at the Great Scarcies River mouth (08° 57.037’
N, 13° 15.429’ W).
Apart from this observation, 11 fishing villages along
the coast were visited, and interviews with local fishermen were organized in
order to get information about wildlife and related hunting pressure. These
interviews showed manatees still to occur along the entire coast in all
estuaries, especially in the Scarcies area and the Sherbro Island region. The
animals seem to move quite far inland, and it was stated by locals that
manatees are more common in the rainy season (June-August). However, more
accurate information about spatial and temporal movements is urgently needed.
Unfortunately, manatees are hunted intensively in all wetlands. They are captured
for consumption with special traps constructed in creeks. In one village the
local hunters mentioned two captures in the last two weeks. We got the strong
impression the species is severely threatened in Sierra Leone. Therefore, the
high hunting pressure needs immediate attention. - Jan van der
Winden and Alhaji Siaka (Working Group, International Waterbird and Wetland
Research (WIWO), The Netherlands, and The
Conservation Society of Sierra Leone (CSSL); e-mail: <jvdwinden@ hetnet.nl>)
ABSTRACTS
The
following abstract is of a paper presented at the 64th annual meeting of the
Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Denver, Colorado, 6 November 2004:
Eocene and Oligocene Evolution and Structure of the Aquatic Herbivore
Adaptive Zone in the West Atlantic and Caribbean
M. Clementz1, D. P.
Domning2, L. G. Barnes3, and B. L. Beatty4
(1. Smithsonian Inst. Marine Station, Fort Pierce, FL;
2. Howard Univ., Washington, DC;
3. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, CA;
4. Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS)
Modern
marine ecosystems support fewer herbivorous mammals than their terrestrial
counterparts, and include only four nonsympatric species of Sirenia (e.g., sea
cows, dugongs, and manatees). Yet, the
diversity of aquatic herbivores through most of the Cenozoic was typically
higher, encompassing periods when multiple species co-inhabited the same
regions, including species other than sirenians (i.e., desmostylians,
xenarthrans). With so many large mammal
species foraging within a single locality, available resources of aquatic
vegetation were likely to have been finely partitioned among herbivores,
creating several distinct feeding niches.
We have begun to define these feeding niches using features of cranial
morphology, enamel carbon isotope values, and dental microwear as evidence of
dietary preferences. Together, these
independent lines of dietary evidence allow us to explore long-term patterns in
the appearance and diverisification of these niches, providing insight into the
development and structure of ancient aquatic communities. Three key regions we
plan to study include the West Atlantic-Caribbean, Tethys-Mediterranean, and
Eastern Pacific, all of which were sites of diverse aquatic herbivore faunas
throughout most of the Cenozoic. Here we
present initial data collected from Eocene and Oligocene fossil localities in
the West Atlantic-Caribbean region.
Fossils of aquatic herbivores collected from these deposits include
multiple species from three separate families of Sirenia, including the earliest
and most primitive family, the Prorastomidae.
Morphological evidence suggests that the locomotor capabilities, habitat
preferences, and dietary preferences of these species were quite distinct and,
when combined with carbon isotope evidence collected from tooth enamel, may
reflect differences in the amount and type of seagrass included in each species
diet.
The following abstracts are
of papers and posters presented at the Florida
Marine Mammal Health Conference, University of Florida, Gainesville, 7-10 April 2005. The conference website has links to
PDFs of most of the presentations:
<http://www.vetmed.ufl.edu/marinemammal/flmmhc/Conf2005/ConfHome.htm>
Levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Subcutaneous Blubber
Samples from the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris).
Bigelow, M.M., Keith, E.O (Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern
University)
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
have been recognized as human carcinogens since 1775. Since that time, PAHs have been shown to have
many other deleterious effects, and 16 PAHs have been listed as priority
pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Clean Water Act. PAHs have a strong potential to pollute the
waters around Florida electricity
generating plants due to contaminated effluents. PAHs are also known to occur in many Florida
ports because of large ship bilge pumping. Because Florida
manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) frequent both power plants and
ports, especially during the cold weather months, there is a high potential for
PAH accumulation. In addition, the
characteristic high turbidity of Florida
waters causes PAHs to become more bioavailable, and thus manatees could ingest
PAHs when they feed on vegetation with surface PAH accumulations.
Recently manatees have shown
symptoms characteristic of PAH accumulation, i.e. impaired immune responses,
prolonged umbilical healing, and eye pathology.
To date many studies have been published on the effects of PAH
accumulation in marine mammals, but none have been published on manatees. The purpose of this study was to conduct an
introductory investigation on the levels of PAHs in the Florida
manatee.
Twenty-eight subcutaneous manatee blubber
samples were obtained from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory archive. PAHs were extracted using an ASE 100
Accelerated Solvent Extraction System (Dionex Corporation, Sunnyvale, CA), and
the 16 primary pollutant PAHs were quantified using High Pressure Liquid
Chromatography (Perkin-Elmer Corporation, Boston, MA) with a Vydac 201TP5415
reverse-phase (C18, 5 µm, 4.6 mm ID x 150 mm) HPLC column (Grace Vydac,
Hesperia, CA), and calibrated by
comparison to a standard priority pollutant PAH mixture.
PAHs were found in the concentrations
range of 0.001-23.565 ug/g. All animals
examined were found to have at least one priority pollutant PAH, and trace
amounts of all 16 priority pollutant PAHs were found in one animal. These preliminary results indicate that Florida
manatees are accumulating PAHs and that this accumulation may result in
deleterious effects on their health, reproduction, and survivability.
Belize Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) Epibionts –
SEM Viewing Techniques
*,+Bonde,
R. K., +Lewis, P., +Samuelson, D., ±Self-Sullivan, C., #Auil, N., and #Powell, J. A.
(*U.S. Geological Survey
– Sirenia Project; +University of Florida, College of Veterinary
Medicine; ±Texas A&M University; #Wildlife
Trust)
This is the first reported
evidence of epibiont fauna on the skin of West Indian manatees (Trichechus
manatus) outside of Florida and Cuba.
Published records only exist for the identity of two copepods (Harpacticus
pulex) observed on the skin of a manatees from southern Florida (Humes 1964) and (Harpactichecus
manatorum) as reported for manatees in Cuba (Ortiz et al. 1992). In both these cases the copepods were
observed on the skin with no tissue reaction.
Other than occasional barnacles on the epidermis of manatees in marine
environments throughout their range, there is little documentation of true
ecto-parasitic associations with manatees.
This study identifies and details one new ecto-parasitic association
involving the amphipod crustacean (Sinelobus stanfordi) that readily
attaches itself firmly into the epidermis.
Additionally, this case documents several additional epibionts (at least
one other crustacean, a bryozoan, a diatom, and a nematode) obtained from the
dorsal skin surface scrapings of two manatees examined off the Drowned Cayes in
coastal Belize during May of 2004.
Specimens were preserved and
examined using both light dissection and scanning electron microscopy. All specimens were collected in the course of
radio-tagging studies that have been conducted in Belize since 1997. To date, 77 manatees have been captured
repeatedly and valuable health assessment data have been collected and
evaluated for each animal. Ongoing
studies are planned for detailed monitoring of manatees in this region of Central America.
Manatee
Protection Rulemaking by the FWC: How the FWC Implements its Statutory
Responsibilities
Scott Calleson (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission )
The
state of Florida has regulated
boat speed and operation to protect manatees since the late 1970s. This management responsibility has been
handled by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) since
1999. The primary purpose of the
regulations, as stated in the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, is to protect
manatees from harmful collisions with motorboats and from harassment. The regulations appear in Chapter 68C-22 of
the Florida Administrative Code.
The
rule making process can be divided into three basic steps: [1] evaluating
manatee use; [2] evaluating the threats manatees face; and [3] determining the
appropriate management actions to address the threats. This process is usually highly controversial
with many boating advocates believing that too much regulation is being
established and many environmental advocates believing that too little
regulation is being established. The FWC
is in the middle, charged with the task of finding the appropriate balance.
To
meet its statutory responsibilities, the FWC considers many types and sources
of information. For the first step in
the process, evaluating manatee use, the statute requires that the FWC
determine where manatee sightings are frequent and the available information
supports the conclusion that manatees inhabit the area on a regular or periodic
basis. The information that the FWC uses
to make this determination includes manatee distribution data collected by
aerial surveys, manatee tracking (telemetry) studies, seagrass data, and
bathymetry data, to name a few.
Although
there can be some controversy associated with the FWC’s evaluation of manatee
use, there is typically more controversy over the last two steps in the
process, evaluating the threats to manatees and determining the appropriate
actions to take. Both of these latter
steps involve an assessment of boating information, including how boats and
manatees are likely to interact in a given area.
The
amounts and types of available information on boat use often vary considerably
from area to area. In some parts of Florida,
such as Charlotte Harbor
and Lee County,
there is a substantial amount of information while in other areas there is very
little. Whatever the case may be, the
FWC is required to use the best available information in its rule making
process. The primary need is for the FWC
to be able to consider where and how boats are being operated as well as the
intensity of boat use. Although other
factors are also considered, areas that are high-use for both boats and
manatees are often identified as being most in need of some form of boat speed
regulation.
Using
this process, the FWC (or predecessor agencies) has established manatee
protection rules in most areas of Florida
that manatees use on a regular basis.
Many of the existing rules were established between 1990 and 1994. The most recent new area to be addressed on a
large scale was Tampa Bay,
where rules were adopted in December 2004.
The focus of future FWC rulemaking will most likely be on re-assessing
existing rules to determine if changes are needed to either increase, decrease,
or reconfigure the regulations. A
considerable amount of effort is being spent investigating ways to evaluate the
effectiveness of existing zones. At the
present time there is no clear-cut methodology for how this should be done or
what types of information should or could be used. One management tool that is being
investigated is the development of a risk-assessment model that could provide
insight into whether the potential for manatees to be hit by boats has been
affected by regulations.
Structural Properties of Florida Manatee Ribs
Clifton,
K.B., Mecholsky, J.J. Jr., and Reep, R.L. (University of Florida)
On average, 25%
of all Florida manatees that die
each year are killed by boats. Boat strikes account for 85% of deaths
attributed to humans. Reducing watercraft-related mortality is a high priority
in state and federal manatee recovery efforts, which focus primarily on
regulating boating activities. In order to establish safe boat speeds for
manatee protection, an estimate of the forces required to fracture their bone
is needed. The goal of this project is to estimate the structural properties of
whole manatee ribs. Impact tests were used to estimate the load required to
initiate a fracture, and the amount of energy needed to fracture whole ribs.
Manatee ribs from the mid-thoracic region were impacted with an air
cannon. Fractographic analysis was
applied to the fracture surfaces to calculate the loads that led to failure.
Loads ranged from 91-173 MPa. Epoxy casts of the fracture surfaces were used to
calculate the fractal dimension (D*). D*
is directly related to the fracture energy of a material; the higher the
fractal dimension, the greater the fracture energy. Preliminary results
indicated D* for manatee bone is at the low end of the range for ceramics,
suggesting a low amount of energy is needed to cause fracture. These impact
tests will allow us to determine whether the kinetic energy generated by
typical watercraft under normal operation is sufficient to fracture manatee
ribs. This information will contribute to our understanding of manatee-boat
interactions, and will be critical in establishing speed zones adequate to
minimize fatal impacts.
Boats, Manatees, Regulation, and Education
Richard O. Flamm
(Fish & Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission)
One aim of
manatee protection is to reduce the frequency of collisions between vessels and
manatees while minimizing intrusions on the boating experience. Two common
approaches for achieving this aim are education and regulation. Education
attempts to encourage desirable behaviors through the distributing of
information and conducting outreach. Regulation seeks to steer individuals away
from undesirable behaviors through the posting of information and the threat of
enforcement. One repercussion of
regulation is that conflicts might arise between the regulators and those
affected by the regulations. In
contrast, education is considered non-controversial because there are no
consequences if the messages are ignored. Education can complement regulation,
but only if it results in shifts toward more environmentally safe behaviors. To
date, very little has been done to assess the efficacy of marine-oriented
environmental education programs. To increase our understanding of educational
efficacy, we conducted a study, where we compared the effects of a boater
education program conducted by a local environmental organization with the
effects of regulations implemented by the local government on boating patterns
and behavior. We observed boats and recorded
their movements and registration numbers. More than 101,000 boat passes were
observed. In addition, we conducted three telephone surveys over 4 years. The
first survey was a baseline characterization of knowledge and attitudes of the
owners of the boats observed in the study areas, the second evaluated the
effectiveness of the education program, and the third measured boater’s
reactions to the regulations. Principal results of these surveys were: social
norms strongly influenced boater behavior, boaters preferred education over
regulation, and outreach activities by the local environmental group had no
measurable effect on boater intent. After regulatory signs were installed at
one site, there was a dramatic change in boating patterns; fewer vessels transited
through the site, boats operated at slower speeds, and personal watercraft use
became uncommon. These results are helping to improve environmental stewardship
approaches and also have implications for management.
Manatees: A Management Mess
Kipp
Frohlich (Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission, 620 South
Meridian Street , Tallahassee, FL 32399; 850
922-4330, kipp.frohlich@MyFWC.com)
The manatee was first protected
in 1893 by the Florida Legislature, making it one of our country’s earliest-protected
species. The cornerstone of state
manatee protection, however, was laid in 1978 with the passage of the Florida
Manatee Sanctuary Act. This law
provides the state the authority to protect manatees from death or injury. A
state trust fund dedicated to manatee and marine mammal conservation has
provided the financial base as the state’s program has grown in size and scope
and received international recognition. Throughout the past several decades,
management has focused on ways to reduce the risks to manatees from
anthropogenic impacts such as watercraft collisions, coastal development, and
crushing in locks and dams. During this
time, as protection measures have been implemented throughout many areas of the
state, the manatee population has grown in size. Concurrently, organized
opposition to certain protection strategies (particularly boat speed zones) has
also grown significantly. In the last several years manatee protection has
become Florida’s most hotly contested environmental issue, spawning
numerous lawsuits and countersuits.
Manatees, their supporters and critics have garnered the attention of
state and federal political leaders. In
response to the imbroglio, efforts are now underway to bring opposing
stakeholder groups together to try and create a more civil dialogue, find
common ground if possible, and develop ways where groups can work cooperatively
to find lasting solutions.
Of Manatees and Men:
Using SOUND Science to Understand and
Mitigate the Acoustical and Sensory Causes for Vessel Collisions
Edmund R. Gerstein1,2 Laura A.
Gerstein2, Joseph E. Blue2, and Steven E. Forsythe3
(1Florida Atlantic University, 2Leviathan
Legacy Inc., and 3Naval Undersea Warfare Center, 1318 SW 14th Street, Boca
Raton, Florida 33486; (561) 338-9185,
Gerstein2@aol.com)
A
comprehensive series of controlled underwater psychoacoustic tests was
conducted to measure and document the overall hearing abilities of the West
Indian manatee. Pure tones, complex
noise and real-world sounds were presented to captive manatees under various
acoustical conditions. These studies yielded the first behavioral audiogram,
directional hearing and masked threshold measurements for any sirenian
species. The results from more than
30,000 threshold trials definitively measured the manatees’ overall range of
hearing, sensitivity, signal-to-noise thresholds, critical ratios, and
directional hearing. Complementing these investigations, underwater acoustical
measurements of manatee habitats and vessel noise propagation in these
environments were conducted to evaluate the acoustical factors that can render Florida
manatees vulnerable to repeated collisions with vessels. Physical boundary
effects in manatee habitats severely limit the acoustical propagation of the
dominant low frequency spectra produced by most watercraft. The manatees’ auditory constraints together
with shallow water and near surface propagation limits dictate that the noise
produced by slow-moving boats is more difficult for manatees to hear and locate
than the louder and higher frequency spectra produced by cavitating
faster-moving vessels. In clear-water habitats, where boaters and manatees can
effectively see and actively avoid each other, slow speed zones may be effective
and appropriate. Unfortunately, this strategy and other measures that are
reliant upon visual feedback or surveillance are not effective during periods
of poor visibility or in turbid water conditions, and do not address the
underlying acoustical challenges manatees and other passive listening marine
mammals face. Ironically, such intuitive strategies, derived by visually biased
species such as ourselves, can be counter-productive. Slow speed zones
implemented in turbid waterways can exacerbate the problem, making vessels more
difficult or impossible for manatees to hear, while increasing vessel transit
times and the subsequent opportunities for collisions. Acoustical masking from
typical ambient conditions, and the noise of distant faster-moving boats, can
further obscure the quieter sounds of approaching slow-moving vessels. With all these auditory detection challenges,
perhaps the most deceptive acoustical challenge manatees and even the “great
whales” share is “acoustical shadowing.”
This phenomenon occurs when the noise produced by a ship’s propellers is
blocked from projecting forward by the ship’s hull. The effect is prominent when propellers are
positioned above keel level. In these
instances a large silent area (an acoustical shadow) is cast directly ahead (at
the bow) of an approaching tug, barge or large ship. Animals swimming or resting near the surface
in a direct path with such a vessel will not hear its approach, while animals
off to the side that can detect the vessel may then seek refuge by swimming
directly in front of the approaching vessel where it is quiet.
By exploiting the manatee’s best hearing
capabilities, a very low intensity, highly directional, and thus
environmentally sensitive acoustic warning device has been developed for
attachment to boats, barges and larger slow-moving vessels. While manatees are
not adapted for hearing or locating the dominant spectra from these watercraft,
they are very well equipped to detect and locate higher-frequency modulated
sounds. This hearing sensitivity
provides a narrow sensory window through which to alert manatees of approaching
vessels. The efficacy of this
technological approach will be evaluated through controlled tests with wild
manatees. A similar directional array
that utilizes modulated ship noise is under development to selectively fill-in
acoustical shadows ahead of vessels to alert whales near the surface of
approaching ships.
Characterization of
Boat Traffic Patterns and Boater Compliance
Jay Gorzelany (Mote Marine Laboratory)
A
better understanding of recreational boating patterns and boater behavior is
critical to the long-term survival of the Florida
manatee. A great deal of effort at the federal, state, and local levels has
been placed on reducing collisions with manatees by regulating boating through
the use of speed-restricted zones and exclusion areas. In spite of recent protection efforts, boat
strikes remain the most significant problem faced by manatees in Florida
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2001), and still account for 25-33% of the
annual manatee mortality. Along with human pressure on Florida’s
natural system comes increasing recreational pressure; primarily more boats and
increased access to waterways. Consequently a great deal of effort has been
placed on reducing manatee boat-strike deaths by regulating boating through the
use of speed-restricted zones and exclusion areas. Speed zone effectiveness,
and the extent to which speed zones change boater behavior, are unclear.
A
series of recreational boat traffic and boater compliance studies have been
performed in southwest Florida
over the past eight years. These studies have included both aerial boat traffic
surveys, and fixed-point boat traffic and compliance studies. Aerial surveys are useful in determining the
spatial distribution of boat traffic within a specific area. This includes the
identification of popular boating destinations, high-use areas, and travel
corridors. Temporal patterns can also be identified, including daily, weekly,
and seasonal use patterns. Aerial survey data are also used to create GIS
layers which can be merged with other database layers to identify areas of
potential resource conflict. This also serves as an important management tool
which can be used to characterize boater use patterns – an important component
in the development of manatee protection plans.
Finally, these data may be used to identify and document potential
changes in boater behavior and travel patterns resulting from regulatory
changes in a given area.
Studies
of boater compliance are useful in determining the effectiveness of a posted
speed-regulated area. Results to date have indicated the levels of compliance
tend to be site-specific, and may be
related to variations in local use patterns, traffic volume, vessel
composition, sign placement, level of regulation, and enforcement presence. The relative proportion of boater compliance
may be less important than the absolute number of non-compliant boaters in a
given area. In high-traffic areas, for
instance, the level of compliance may be high, but the absolute number of
non-compliant boaters may still pose a significant threat to manatees.
Acceptable levels of non-compliance have not been established. A more
reasonable determination may be to assess the level of non-compliance an area
can sustain before manatee protection becomes a serious concern, and this will
likely vary from location to location. Recently, compliance studies conducted prior
to newly established regulatory sign placement have provided additional insight
as to their effect on reducing boat speeds. Additional studies of boater
compliance in other areas are likely needed in order to 1) provide important
baseline information for the development of future management plans, 2) test
and evaluate the effectiveness of existing management plans, and 3) assist in
the identification and assessment of areas of potential human/manatee resource
conflicts.
Immunohistochemical
Localization in Wounded Manatee Integument
*Graham, AR., *Samuelson, D.A. and *Lewis, P.A. (*University of Florida)
Through
the use of a number of antibodies, both monoclonal and polyclonal, it was the
hope of this research to understand wound response in the integument of the Florida
manatee that could possibly lead to the development of a wound healing
timeline. To detect the occurrence of angiogenesis, polyclonal antibodies for
vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (VEGFR-1) and vascular
endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2) were used. To determine if there was any wound
contraction going on the monoclonal antibody for smooth muscle actin was used.
Monoclonal antibodies for matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 (MMP2, MMP9) were
applied to wounded tissues to observe active breakdown and/or reconstruction of
the extracellular matrix within the dermis.
All
wounded tissue samples were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for 24
hours, placed into phosphate buffered saline solution, and routinely processed
for paraffin embedding. Sections were cut at 6 microns, deparaffinized and
appropriately prepared for immunohistochemical localizations. Localization
procedures varied in the use of antibodies, detection kits, incubation times,
and chromagen used. Negative controls were used in all localizations, and
normal manatee specimens were used for a comparison. All immunohistochemical
localizations were successful and yielded positive results. All of the wounded
samples reacted positively more than the reaction of normal samples. The
wounded samples varied with expression of antibodies based on the stage of
wound healing. Although a timeline is not yet possible to develop due to the
preliminary nature of the study, this research has formed a solid baseline for
continued investigation on the wound healing of the Florida
manatee. Moreover, the successful localization of both VEGF receptors and both
MMPs, 2 and 9, in the skin encourages the further use of commercially available
antibodies for future immunolocalization studies in this species.
Histological Comparison of Manatee and
Elephant Integument
Graham, AR*,
Samuelson, DA*, Isaza, R*, and Lewis, PA* (*Univ. of Florida College of Veterinary
Medicine)
The integument of mammals is in direct contact with an
external, shaping environment that serves to determine its structure and
functions. In mammals the skin acts as a
barrier to the environment but also has several other roles, such as preventing
dehydration and temperature regulation. In marine mammals, specifically, the
skin is involved in drag reduction and buoyancy control. Modifications of the
skin can be used for reproductive or feeding purposes as well.
The
manatee’s closest living terrestrial relative is the elephant. These two
mammals have different external appearances and live in completely different
habitats. The manatee is completely aquatic, and the elephant is completely
terrestrial. Elephants have been known to be attracted to the water; even to
depths well over their heads. Fossil evidence and molecular data have provided
the association between these seemingly unrelated orders of mammals. The
specialized, unique morphology of the wrist bones organized serially, their
horizontal tooth replacement, and experiments with amino acid sequencing of
proteins all have proven the manatee and elephant are related.
Samples were collected from 25
sites of the body, including both dorsal and ventral regions where applicable.
Analogous sites of the elephant were used for this histological
comparison. These samples were analyzed
morphologically through paraffin embedding, using a variety of stains including
special stains for the extracellular matrix. The manatee and elephant have some
similarities in their integuments, including epidermal organization and overall
thickness. It is interesting to note that the stratum granulosum of the
epidermis is mostly underdeveloped in the elephant and non-existent in the
manatee. Though similar in some ways the manatee skin is more irregular with
respect to its hyperplastic characteristics of the epidermis as well as hyperkeratosis.
The dermis of the manatee and elephant vary in anatomical architecture and
density as well, being more organized and pronounced in development in the
manatee, especially in specific regions such as the fluke.
Vascularization of the Cornea in the Florida Manatee
J.Y. Harper, D.A.
Samuelson, and P.A. Lewis (Department of
Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of
Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610-0126)
This
study continues the investigation of corneal angiogenesis of the Florida
manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). We have consistently found the presence of
blood vessels within the corneas of every animal that has been examined. In all
specimens, no signs of infection or injury were present. In order to determine
the amount of angiogenesis that has occurred in these individuals and observe
possible vascular patterns within the anterior stroma and adjacent epithelium,
that may or may not result in visual hindrance, corneas from a mixed population
of Florida manatees were assessed
both histologically and by three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction.
Twenty-six
eyes from 22 manatees including one fetus were provided by the Florida Marine
Research Institute (FMRI) in St. Petersburg, FL
along with additional information, including gender, size, location and time
when the animal was found. All eyes were preserved in 10% formalin. Corneal
specimens were measured and notched for orientation and embedded in paraffin.
Each cornea was serially sectioned having used a frontal approach. Sections
were stained with Masson’s trichrome and 3-D reconstructions of the vasculature
where performed, all at 25X (Fig. 1) and 3 at 200X, the latter having been
divided into dorsal, ventral, medial and lateral quadrants. Vessels were
morphometrically evaluated for percent volume of total tissue.
Blood
vessels were found in all corneas, having varied in location and to a lesser
extent in shape and size even between corneas of the same individual. A network
of vessels was observed in both corneas of the fetus. Vasculature at 200X was
similar to that at 25X in that the vessels did not form repeating patterns and
appeared randomly distributed in the examined region. The vascular patterns at
200X occupied more volume, 0.1-5.3% vs. 0.1-1.2%, and were smaller in average
diameter, 27 mm vs. 84 mm. Additionally, vessels could be observed frequently
penetrating the anterior epithelium from the stroma with the higher
magnification reconstructions. The level of detailed vascularization could not
be detected at 25X. Examination of the specimens at 400X and 1000X revealed the
presence of small blood vessels next to and within the anterior epithelium.
The
statistics were calculated using the SAS computer program by means of a one-way
ANOVA. The effect of gender (male versus female), age class (calf, juvenile, or
adult), coast found (east versus west), and season found (Spring, Summer, Fall,
or Winter) based on blood vessel as a percent of the total volume (which was
calculated using the MCIP computer program) of tissue was examined in 20
individuals. The unknown and fetus
samples were not used. In the case of three individuals where both eyes were
examined, the average between the two eyes was taken. There was no significant
gender effect found (F1,18=1.34, P=0.2622); no significant age class effect
found (F2,17 =0.82, P=0.4588); no significant coast effect found (F1,18=0.07,
P=0.7996); and no significant season effect found (F3,16=0.30, P=0.8259).
In the absence of edema, inflammation, or any other
abnormalities, the presence of blood vessels in all specimens including the
fetus suggests that corneal vascularization in the Florida manatee is a developmental process, possibly related to an
usually thick tear film. The greater amount of vessels detected at the highest
magnification was due to the ability to visualize and trace small vessels. The
size and density of the small vessels were most likely too small to interfere
with light transmission and are most likely not affecting manatees’ ability to
survive in their different aquatic environments.
Acute Phase Proteins
Harr, K.E. (Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Florida, Gainesville,
FL 32610)
Inflammation
is a response to a perceived pathogen or severe tissue trauma that enables the
body to maintain homeostasis. The acute phase response (APR) is a nonspecific
component of inflammation (infection, autoimmune disease, etc.) or tissue
damage (trauma, surgery, or tumors).
Leukocyte (white blood cell) count and fever are relatively sensitive
indicators of systemic, innate inflammation and infection in many mammalian
species including humans. In a few species, e.g., cattle and manatees,
leukocytosis and left shifting (increased immature cell types) do not occur
unless disease is severe and then may rapidly progress to leukopenia as
leukocyte utilization exceeds bone marrow production. For this reason,
leukocyte count, though occasionally useful in bovids and manatees, is not a
sensitive indicator of inflammation.
Additionally, adequately assessing the core temperature of a 500 kg
aquatic animal is inaccurate at best. Positive APR proteins (serum amyloid A
(SAA), haptoglobin, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, alpha1 acid glycoprotein,
and others) are produced by the liver during APR in response to cytokines
released at the site of injury to either protect the body or to combat a
potential pathogen. In humans, APR proteins (APP) are nonspecific indicators of
disease similar to fever or leukocyte counts.
Plasma concentrations of the individual proteins change at different
rates after the initial insult thus providing useful information not only about
the inflammation, but also about duration of disease. Sequential measurement can also aid in
assessment of treatment response.
Acute
phase response (APR) proteins, such as SAA and haptoglobin, are used as a
primary indicator in horses and cattle because APR proteins have proven to be
sensitive measures of internal inflammation/infection. In Europe, appropriate
APR proteins are used as screening tests for inflammatory disease in
livestock. SAA has proven to be a
valuable screening diagnostic for inflammation in manatees.
Several
practical factors must be considered when identifying and validating an APR
protein for diagnosis of inflammation in manatees. These include physiologic
activity of the protein within manatees, stability of the protein over time
during transport with potential temperature change, accuracy of the methodology
employed in identifying the protein in this species, and clinical use in
different disease states specific to manatees.
All of these factors must be evaluated prior to clinical use as a
diagnostic test.
Serum Amyloid-A. Serum
amyloid-A (SAA) is produced by the liver in inflammatory states and circulates
complexed to a lipoprotein. It is also elevated in many autoimmune diseases,
polyarthritis, granulomatous disease, and neoplasia. Deposits of amyloid-A (AA)
protein are most often found in the kidneys, liver, and spleen in chronic disease
states but may be found in any organ. In
horses, SAA has been reported to be a very sensitive indicator of
inflammation. In equine species, SAA is
found in trace amounts in healthy animals and increases dramatically in
nonspecific inflammatory states, especially bacterial and viral infections.
Haptoglobin. Haptoglobin (Hp) is an
alpha2-glycoprotein that irreversibly binds hemoglobin (Hb). Hp-Hb complexes are large enough to prevent
or greatly reduce renal filtration of free Hb in plasma and its iron. The complexes are removed rapidly by
hepatocytes and Kuppfer cells which degrade the proteins, and iron and amino
acids are reutilized. The Hp-Hb complex is also a peroxidase that hydrolyzes
peroxides released by neutrophils at sites of inflammation. Hp also functions as a natural bacteriostatic
agent for iron-requiring bacteria by preventing the utilization of hemoglobin
iron by these organisms.
Haptoglobin
is quickly consumed in hemolytic syndromes. Severe hepatocellular disease also
results in decreased synthesis of haptoglobin. It is increased during the acute
phase response. In humans, it is also increased in response to exogenous
glucocorticoid and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) administration,
during some protein losing syndromes such as nephrotic syndrome, and during
severe biliary obstruction. Haptoglobin is undetectable in the blood of healthy
cattle. In cattle with inflammation or infection, e.g., mastitis, metritis,
pyometra, traumatic reticulitis, abomasal displacement, bacterial nephritis,
and hepatic lipidosis, haptoglobin levels increase markedly. It has proven to
be a sensitive indicator of inflammatory disease in cattle.
Fibrinogen. Fibrinogen was the first APR protein
recognized. Increased production by the liver results in increased levels in
inflammatory states, as well as pregnancy. It is integral in platelet
aggregation. In the coagulation cascade,
it is cleaved by thrombin to form fibrin, the backbone of the thrombus. Though only
mildly increased concentrations are present in many species during inflammatory
disease, it has proven very useful in detecting inflammation in ruminant
species, specifically cattle. Clinical reports from Sea World veterinarians
indicate that hyperfibrinogenemia is also the diagnostic of choice in Cetacea. Hypofibrinogenemia can occur in disseminated
intravascular coagulation, liver failure, and cachexia.
A
heat precipitation method is used as a quick estimate of fibrinogen
concentration. More accurate methods
include modifications of the Ratnoff-Menzie assay, measurement of clot weight,
and quantification of immunoprecipitate formed with specific antifibrinogen
antisera.
Techniques for Establishing a Cell Culture and Cytogenetic
Characterization of the Florida Manatee, Trichechus manatus
latirostis
¹Kellogg M.E., ²Gray B.A., ³Duke G.D., 4Pause K.C., 5Bonde
R.K., and 6McGuire P.M.
(¹Dept. of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Univ.
of Florida; ²Dept. of Pediatrics, Division of Genetics, Univ. of Florida; ³ICBR
Hybridoma Core Laboratory, Univ. of Florida; 4Dept. of Genetics, Univ. of
Florida; 5U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Caribbean Science Center,
Gainesville, Florida; 6Dept. of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Univ. of
Florida)
The
Florida manatee, Trichechus
manatus latirostris, is an endangered subspecies of the West Indian manatee
and is found in the coastal waters and lagoons of Florida. In an effort to better understand the
molecular nature of manatee chromosomes, cell cultures were established. Cartilage and kidney tissue were collected at
necropsy shortly after euthanasia on animal SWFTm9728b, an adult male with
extensive boat strike injuries. Primary
cell cultures were established, subcultured and cryopreserved. A high-resolution karyotype was prepared
using GTG-banded chromosomes. The
chromosomes from these cell cultures will facilitate additional cytogenetic
analyses.
Observations on Digesta Passage Rates in
the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Larkin, I. L. V.1, Gasson, V.2
and Reep R. L. 1 (1University
of Florida; 2University of Wales Swansea)
The
Florida manatee, Trichechus
manatus latirostris (Sirenia: Trichechidae), is an herbivorous marine
mammal found within coastal areas throughout the state of Florida,
feeding on both fresh and salt water sea grasses. Manatees, like other Sirenia, are a tropical
species with little tolerance for water temperatures below 68° F, rely on a
relatively poor nutritional food source, and have a low metabolic rate. Although manatees are hind-gut herbivores,
they are very efficient at extracting nutrients from the plants on which they
feed. Slow passage rates of digesta have
been suggested to be a factor in this increased efficiency. This study monitored the digesta passage
times and mixing of particulate digesta within the manatee digestive tract
using MicroGrits colored corn as a fecal marker. Captive Florida
manatees were fed red MicroGrits on three consecutive mornings, followed by
blue MicroGrits for a further three mornings.
Fecal samples were subsequently collected and grit pieces removed,
counted and measured. The digesta
passage times for the three manatees included in the study ranged from 5.4 – 8
days, similar to other studies previously conducted. Less than 1% of the marker fed was
recovered. Minimal to no mixing of the
two different colored markers fed and recovered suggest the digesta from a
given day traveled through the tract as a bolus It
is hypothesized that the majority of the 99% of marker not recovered was
retained in the perpendicular folds of the large intestine and digested, but
some may also have been lost to coprophagy, missed fecal samples at night, and
to the filtration system.
Vocalizations and
Hearing in Florida Manatees
*+Mann, D., ^Nowacek, D.,
+Colbert, D., +Gaspard, J., *Cook, M., *Casper, B., ~
Reep, R. and #+Bauer, G. (*University of South Florida,
+Mote Marine Laboratory, #New College of Florida, ^Florida State University,
~University of Florida)
Two
approaches to reduce boat collisions with manatees have been to study the
sounds produced by manatees so that detection devices to warn boaters could be
devised, and to study the hearing abilities of manatees to understand what
sounds they can detect.
Manatee
vocalizations are relatively stereotypical in that they are short tonal
harmonic complexes with small frequency modulations at the beginning and
end. Vocalizations range from almost
pure tones to broader-band tones with a raspy quality. The loudest frequency is typically the second
or third harmonic. Signal parameters
measured from calls of manatees from Belize
and Florida show they have
overlapping distributions of sound duration, peak frequency, harmonic spacing,
and signal intensity, indicating no obvious distinguishing characteristics
between these isolated populations. Data on vocalization rates suggest that
manatees vocalize more often in the presence of snorkelers, and in one case a
vocal interaction was recorded between a snorkeler and a manatee. The nature of manatee sounds makes them
fairly easy to automatically detect with a computer system. A real-time
signal-processing scheme for detecting manatee vocalizations was implemented
and able to detect these vocalizations.
Further research needs to be done to determine how often and under what
circumstances manatees vocalize.
Manatee
hearing was studied with auditory evoked potential (AEP) techniques, which
involve playing sounds to a manatee and simultaneously measuring the response
of the brain to the sounds. AEP
amplitudes measured from manatees are relatively small in comparison to what
can be measured from cetaceans, presumably because the manatee brain is located
deep within the head. AEP audiograms underestimate hearing thresholds measured
with behavioral techniques, however the overall audiogram shape is similar.
Temporal resolution measurements made with AEP techniques show that manatees
have a temporal resolution intermediate between that of humans and
cetaceans. Sound pathways in the manatee
body have also been mapped with AEP techniques to determine if there are
specific acoustic pathways to the ear, like those found in dolphins. Results from these studies suggest that there
are multiple sound pathways to the ear.
Manatees
and Boats Can Co-exist
Captain Tom McGill
(254 Sykes Point Lane, Merritt Island, FL 32953-3067; 321-453-1218, capttom@cfl.rr.com)
Understanding
the root cause of a problem is requisite to solving it. Solutions implemented
to protect manatees from vessel collisions have suffered from insufficient
understanding of the problem and a resistance to accept data that challenges
long-held beliefs. Despite more than a decade of slow speed restrictions, the
rate of manatee mortality associated with watercraft collisions has not
declined and it has remained constant and in some instances has even increased
following the implementation of speed restrictions. Though the collision
problem remains, sound scientific evidence vital to our understanding and which
questions speed zone policy has been ignored by regulators and the Save the
Manatee Club. Until recently, the
physics of vessel noise propagation in shallow water and irrefutable data on
manatee hearing, had been dismissed or rejected in favor of less rigorous and
anecdotal observations more in line with traditional held beliefs and
assumptions. Many of the efforts to
protect the manatee have been based on the unsupported assumptions that both
excessive vessel speed and increasing numbers of registered vessels are the
primary causes of watercraft-related mortality.
The validity of these assumptions has never been tested, and the
effectiveness of regulations based on these assumptions has never been
evaluated. The recorded increase in the manatee population during the past 30
years and the direct correlation between an increasing manatee population and the
associated increase in total mortality and the increase in watercraft-related
mortality has been ignored and distorted.
Inappropriate use and representation of available data have resulted in
prejudicial regulatory decisions based on opinion rather than actual science
and has led to a general lack of trust in a large segment of the general
population. If the driving force behind
the regulatory process can be shifted from being based on opinion to being
based on science and using available technology, then the manatee will not only
continue to co-exist with boats, it may thrive in a world where manatee-boat
collisions will be dramatically reduced.
Rehabilitation of a Manatee
Calf in Quintana Roo, México
* Morales-Vela, B.,+
Benítez-García, M., and * Padilla-Saldívar, J. A.
(* El Colegio de la Frontera Sur. Av. Centenario km 5.5, C. P. 77900.
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México; + Africam Safari. Km. 16.5 Blvd. Cap. Carlos
Camacho. Puebla, Puebla,
México)
A male manatee calf was found alone on September 14,
2003, in the Guerrero Lagoon, Quintana Roo, México. For being yet a dependent
calf and for not having found an adult manatee that could be the mother, Dr. B.
Morales-Vela decided to transfer the manatee to Chetumal city to take care of
it. Since then he is responsible for the calf’s rehabilitation and has the
support and authorization of municipal and federal authorities.
The objectives of this program are: to rehabilitate
the manatee so that it can go back and survive in the wild, and to obtain
knowledge and experience about manatee rehabilitation methods and procedures.
The calf was
named “Daniel” and was kept in a round 3 meter in diameter plastic pool at El
Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) facilities for 8 months. A filter and
temperature system was attached to the pool to have a strict water quality and
temperature control. Another PVC tubes system was put into the pool for water
circulation in the same direction of the Coriolis force.
“Daniel” was
fed each 3 hours day and night with a modified formula based on the Sea World
formula for manatees. We began with next formula: 500 gr of Multi-milk, 1 liter
of water, 60 ml of canola oil, and ½ taurine capsule. Formula was changing
because it was very dense and “Daniel” had problems to defecate. The formula
that we continue using since November 2003 is next: 200 gr of Multi-milk, 1
liter of water, and 36 ml of canola oil. Daily consumption by May 2004 was
about 1100 ml of formula. Lettuce was offered to “Daniel” but he did not like
to eat it.
“Daniel” was taken out of the pool to assess
him once a week. Weight and length were measured and clinical samples were
taken. When “Daniel” was found in September 2003, he weighted 21 kg and was 108
cm length. In May 2004 his weight was 60.5 kg and his length was 140 cm.
In May 2004
“Daniel” was transferred to a pen in Guerrero Lagoon, where his rehabilitation
program continues. The first pen was 5 X 5 meters. Night feeding was
eliminated. Besides milk formula, since July 2004 “Daniel” has been fed with
liquidized local aquatic vegetation. In November 2004, his daily consumption
reached 1.5 liters of milk and 700 ml of liquidized vegetation. Since February
2005 some vegetables (carrots, spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes) have also
been liquidized to be included in his diet.
Every two
weeks “Daniel” is taken out from the pen to weigh and measure him. Every month
blood and other samples are taken for clinical analysis. Results of these have
shown that “Daniel” is in good health condition. In September 2004 (one year
old), he weighed 66 kg and his length was 152 cm. In his last assessment in
March 2005, he reached 93 kg and 166 cm. Basic clinical treatments have been
applied to “Daniel”. Antibiotics have not been necessary.
A temperature
recorder was fixed in the pen in June 2004 for water temperature
monitoring. Records of water temperature
have varied from 27 to 33°C between June and September 2004. From October to
November 2004 temperature has varied from 24 to 26°C.
In September
2004, another pen was built so “Daniel” had more area to swim. A larger
rectangle of 4 X 7 meters in which depth varies from 1 to 1.6 meters was added.
Last March, 2005, another larger pen about 25 X 20 meters was built and “Daniel”
is beginning to use it.
Main challenges
now are that “Daniel” learn to find and eat solid aquatic vegetation by himself
and that he can survive in the wild interacting with other manatees. Plans and
procedures to achieve these objectives are now developing.
Acoustic-Based
Manatee Avoidance Technology
Christopher Niezrecki, Diedrich O. Beusse, Michael Meyer,
Richard Phillips, and Zheng Yan
The
West Indian manatee has become endangered partly because of watercraft
collisions in Florida's coastal
waterways. Several boater warning
systems, based upon manatee vocalizations, have been proposed to reduce the
number of collisions. One aspect of the
feasibility of an acoustically based system will rely upon the distance in
which a manatee vocalization can be detected. The magnitude of environmental
noise and manatee vocalizations, as well as the acoustic spreading properties
of the habitat, are required to estimate the detection range of a manatee
avoidance system. Within the
presentation, manatee vocalization levels, sound propagation within the shallow
waters of Florida, background
noise levels and sources, and detection ranges are discussed. Techniques that can be used to extend the
detection range by using background noise cancellation are also presented.
Development of Microsatellite DNA Markers for Genetic Studies on the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
+Nourisson, C., ¤Pause,
K. C., #Clark, A. M., *Bonde, R.
K., and ¤McGuire, P.M.
(+Centre d’Océanographie de Marseille, France; ¤ Department
of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Florida; #
BEECS Genetic Analysis Laboratory, Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology
Research, University of Florida; *United
States Geological Survey- Sirenia Project, Florida)
The Florida manatee is an endangered species and, in spite of its
dependence on people and artificial warm water sources during winter, appears
to be on its way to recovery. The management of this species could be improved
by incorporating genetic data into the current recovery plan. Due to
limitations of allozymes, mtDNA, and a lack of genetic diversity, previous
studies failed to resolve questions regarding the Florida manatee population structure. This low genetic
diversity could be explained by a bottleneck event due to a decreased
population size or a founder effect resulting from a recolonization of their
range after the last glaciation (approximately 12,000 years ago).
Microsatellites are known to show high levels of polymorphism, even in small
populations with low diversity, as is often the case with an endangered
species. Microsatellites are genomic DNA
markers with a repetition of a short sequence (1-5 base pairs). These markers can be used for individual
identification (DNA fingerprints), pedigree studies, assessment of general
population structure and status, and various other applications.
Microsatellites vary among different species, and therefore must be designed
and tailored to fit each species being examined.
This
study requires the development of additional microsatellite primers due to the
low allelic diversity of previously published primers. Microsatellite
libraries, previously developed for USGS, have been screened for additional
loci. Among the primers developed from these libraries, four appear to be
polymorphic for the Florida
population. These markers will be fluorescently labeled and tested on a larger
set of manatee samples from different regions throughout Florida.
Additional microsatellite libraries are being produced in an effort to identify
more polymorphic loci.
Serological Survey of
Infectious Disease Agents and Parasites in Wild Manatee (Trichechus manatus)
in Coastal Quintana Roo, Campeche
and Tabasco, Mexico
*Sanvicente,
M., *Morales-Vela, B. and **Serrano, A. (*
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, ** Universidad Veracruzana; msanvicente@animail.net,
benjamin_morales@usgs.gov, arturo_serrano@msn.com)
The West Indian manatee is
protected in Mexico
by the Ecological Act of 1994, under which it is classified as a species in
danger of extinction. Despite this, the health status of the manatee populations
has not been evaluated in the country yet. In recent years, however, some
infectious diseases such as Mycobacterium marinum, Toxoplasma gondii, and Brucella spp have been
reported in manatees in Florida.
Also, in Florida and Puerto Rico,
some endoparasites such as Heterocheilus heterocheilus and Chiorchis
groschofti are commonly
found in manatees.
The present study was aimed at
detecting the presence of infectious disease agents and parasites in manatees
living off the coasts of Quintana Roo, Campeche
and Tabasco, in Mexico.
This was done as a first step toward the evaluation of their health status. The
study sites were Chetumal Bay,
Ascención Bay in
Quintana Roo, and the delta of the Usumacinta River
in Tabasco and Campeche.
These three areas are home to the largest populations of manatees in Mexico.
To determine the presence of
antibodies of infectious agents potentially harmful to manatees and the
presence of oocytes of endoparasites, we captured 23 manatees: 15 in Chetumal
Bay; 4 in Ascención
Bay; and 4 in Tabasco.
We collected 50-ml blood samples in vacutainer tubes containing SST and Lithium
heparine. Serum samples were stored in cryovials and kept frozen at -20ºC. We
ran microscopic agglutination tests (MAT) against 12 serovars of Leptospira
interrogans and against Toxoplasma gondii. To detect the presence of
antibodies specific to Brucella abortus we ran card agglutination tests
at 3 and 8%, as well as a complement fixation test (FCT). Feces were also
collected and analyzed to determine the presence of endoparasites using the
sedimentation and McMaster test. The tests were performed at the Department of
Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
México).
Twenty of 23 manatees (87%)
tested positive to one or more of the 12 serovars of Leptospira interrogans.
This high frequency was similar between sexes: 12 of 13 females (92%), and 10
of 11 males (91%) were positive. The most common antibodies detected were those
against serovars bratislava (65%),
grippothyphosa (43%), tarassovi (30%), autumnalis (28%) and pomona
(28%). The serovars betavia, icterohaemorrhagiae, canicola, hardjo,
pyrogenes were less common with 17, 13, 9, 9, and 4% respectively. No
individual was found positive to serovars celledoni and wolffi 3705. Three females
(13%) were positive to T. gondii and only one female (4%) was positive to B. abortus. No male tested
positive to either T. gondii or B. abortus. Only two
endoparasites were found in the feces: Heterocheilus heterocheilus and
Chiorchis groschofti,
but they appeared at high frequencies (97% for H. heterocheilus
and 71% for C. groschofti). However, pathologies are rarely associated with these
parasites. Clinical signs of disease or active infections due to these
bacteria, protozoan and parasites have not been described in wild populations
of manatees. Our results suggest that further investigation is required to
elucidate the role of L. interrognas
in the health status of the Caribbean manatee in the
study region.
Cytochrome Oxidase Staining Reveals Topographical Organization of
Manatee Cerebral Cortex
*Sarko, D.K., and *Reep, R.L. (*University
of Florida, Department of Neuroscience, Gainesville, FL)
Manatee primary
somatosensory, auditory and visual areas were previously localized using
cytochrome oxidase (CO) staining on a neonatal postmortem Florida
manatee brain. In order to extend these
findings, we performed CO staining on the flattened left hemisphere of a
juvenile postmortem Florida
manatee brain, and on coronal sections from the right hemisphere. Adjacent
sections from both hemispheres were stained with cresyl violet and used for
cytoarchitectural orientation. Both the
neonate and the juvenile show similar trends overall but with some
distinctions. The frontal region of both
reveals dense CO patches that are present within, but do not span the extent
of, cytoarchitectural areas CL1, CL2, DL1, DL2, and DD. These areas represent presumptive primary
somatosensory area S1. However, in the
neonate there are four distinct patches which may represent tail, body, flipper
and face, whereas the corresponding juvenile patches appear to be blended and
extend caudally towards the lateral fissure.
The temporal lobe reveals dense CO staining that represents the
presumptive primary auditory area in areas CL1, CL2 and CL3 of both the neonate
and the juvenile. Within the occipital
lobe, CO staining is dense in areas DD2, DL3, and DL4 (presumptive primary
visual cortex) as well as area CL4 (presumptive visual association
cortex). However, distinct patches of
CO-rich visual cortex are present in the neonate but appear to be blended into
one patch in the juvenile. These
findings also hold true in the preliminary analysis of a second adult specimen
and indicate a general outline of S1, A1, and V1 topography that is consistent
across specimens as well as the possibility of some level of refinement and
reorganization through development.
Mapping and Characterizing Recreational Boating Patterns for Marine
Resource Management
*Charles Sidman, +Bill
Sargent (*Florida Sea Grant, + FWCC, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute)
Boating is a key
element in Florida's coastal
lifestyle and a major contributor to the state’s population growth. Florida
is the number one destination for marine recreation with an estimated 22
million participants in the United States.
Florida ranks third in the nation
in recreational boat registrations—one boat for every 17 residents. As the
quantity of boats that ply coastal waterways increases, so does the need for
improved waterway access and maintenance, greater public safety, improved
boater education, and enhanced resource management. Lack of adequate
information has hindered local efforts to plan for recreational boating. This
paper reports on a project to map and
characterize spatial patterns of coastal recreational boating within a
geographic information system (GIS).
We mailed a
map-based questionnaire to a random sample of 6,500 boaters that actively use
the Tampa and Sarasota
Bay boating region. The sample
design generated group-specific information for users of (1) marina wet-slips,
(2) dry storage facilities, (3) public ramps, and (4) private docks.
Questionnaire recipients identified trip departure sites, travel routes and
favorite destinations on a map. Spatial information from 1908 returned surveys
was digitized into a GIS. Also, descriptive data about boaters including
demographic (e.g., seamanship skills, local knowledge, motivations, and
perceptions) and trip information (e.g., starting time, duration, activities,
and frequency) was collected and linked to the spatial data within the GIS.
Descriptive and spatial analyses highlight use according to user-group, vessel
type, vessel draft, and activity. It is intended that this information will be
used to help locate boating infrastructure, and to support waterway management
and manatee protection plans.
Boats and Manatees: Cooperation and Coexistence – A Broken Dream?
Ken Stead (Southwest Florida Marine Industries Association, 1314 North Tamiami
Trail, P.O. Box 1510, North Fort Myers, Florida 33902; 239-656-7083/7084, ken@swfmia.com)
When public
policy is developed to influence human behavior under the umbrella of
unreasonable and unachievable laws, and those laws are interpreted by lawsuit
settlements, the process is doomed to failure.
Valuable resources are squandered, doing nothing to enhance manatee
protection. Interpreting what
constitutes a “take” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered
Species Act is the essence of the problem.
In the case of manatee lawsuit settlements the focus has primarily
concentrated on boating. New terms were
developed, such as “areas of inadequate protection”, without defining what
adequate was. Policy changes appeared to be knee-jerk reactions to manatee
mortality. Speed zones, manatee
protection plans, etc. were developed under the guidance of these settlements
without adequate data that demonstrate watercraft mortality is reduced by
Draconian measures. Boaters and Industry
question the inequity of ignoring the fact that most artificial warm discharges
also constitute a “take” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. If the focus of the Endangered Species Act is
the recovery of the species, why after decades of research, isn’t there
accurate population information? When
policy makers make decisions that are viewed as illogical or arbitrary, it
fosters a greater lack of trust and compliance. Today, boaters and the marine
industry are faced with a dilemma. In
the desire to be proactive and work on balanced solutions to protect the
manatee, hard-found compromises collectively agreed upon in good faith are not
honored and arbitrarily discarded. Manatee Forums are created by the agencies
in an attempt to bring parties together, yet manatee advocates continue to file
lawsuits that drive decisions that keep moving the bar. The end of the rope has
been reached. In Lee County,
a recently adopted consensus Manatee Protection Plan is being challenged. Assessing the effectiveness of protective
measures is paramount. There is only one
way to achieve a “buy in” by all the stakeholders and that is to restore confidence
in the applied “science” and “protection measures”. If that isn’t done, there are not enough
financial resources to “force” compliance.
Until everyone focuses on the recovery of the species with a clear goal
of what that is; stops the litigation and works openly and cooperatively, efforts
to protect the species will not work.
Supporting Science-Based Strategies in a Politically Motivated World -
An Advocacy Group's Perspective on the Boater/Manatee Conflict
Suzanne Tarr (Save the Manatee Club, Maitland, 500 N. Maitland, Florida 32751; 407-539-0990, www.savethemanatee.org)
Save
the Manatee Club advocates for science-based decisions and management
strategies that will best protect manatees and manatee habitat, and will lead
to the recovery of the species including a sustainable, viable population and
the restoration and preservation of habitat over the long-term. Advocacy groups play an important role in
supporting science-based conservation efforts by speaking up for the science,
holding decision makers accountable, and disseminating accurate information to
the community. While science should
"speak for itself," the reality is often science is not understood
by, or is ignored by groups influencing policy makers who, in turn, make
political, short-term decisions for long-living, slowly reproducing species
like the Florida manatee. Further, countless hours that could be spent
working on research and management strategies are expended in a continuing
attempt to create "buy-in" from groups who actively work against
manatee protection. In terms of the
boat/manatee conflict, this narrow focus on creating buy-in may lead to
unnecessary controversy, the weakening of much-needed protection measures, and
the diversion of funding from high priority research goals to low priority
research goals. Part of the solution to
the boat/manatee conflict is agencies must do a better job explaining the
science to the layperson, defending the science, and letting science, not
politics, dictate research and management strategies and priorities.
Fatty Acid Signature Analysis as a Potential Forensic Tool for Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and Other Marine Mammals
Wetzel, D.L.1,
Reynolds, III, J.E1 Sprinkel, J.M.1 and S.A.
Rommel2 (1Mote
Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, Florida; 2Florida
Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St. Petersburg, Florida)
Fatty
acid signature analysis (FASA) has become an important tool by which marine
mammal scientists gain insight into foraging ecology. FASA is also an extremely
promising biomarker by which marine mammalogists may be able to assess exposure
to certain natural and anthropogenic stressors. Florida
manatees are well studied, and an excellent necropsy program provides a basis
against which to ground-truth this promising tool. Preliminary results on manatees assigned to
four cause-of-death categories indicate that those exposed to or dying due to
brevetoxin exposure demonstrate a unique fatty acid profile and animals
suffering long-term health stress have certain fatty acids not found in animals
that die quickly. If further study demonstrates that exposure to harmful algal
blooms, contaminants, or other factors provides a clear and diagnostic fatty
acid profile in manatee livers, this approach could: a) provide an additional
forensic tool to assist scientists and managers to understand cause of death or
debilitation in manatees; and b) serve as a model that could be subsequently
applied to studies designed to better assess cause of death in other marine
mammals.
The Potential for Underwater Infrared Video Cameras to Reduce
Boater-Induced Mortality of the Florida Manatee
Wright, L. and Keith, E.O. (Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern
University)
In
calendar year 2004, watercraft-related mortality was the second leading cause
of death of the Florida manatee (Trichechus
manatus latirostris), accounting for 25% of total known manatee
deaths. Such watercraft-related
mortality is defined by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
as “manatees hit by boats, barges or any type of watercraft.
Death may result from propeller wounds, impact, crushing, or any combination of
the three”. In an attempt to reduce this significant cause of manatee
mortality, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute has instituted two
rounds of Manatee Avoidance Technology grants. Herein we report on the preliminary
results of the evaluation of underwater infrared video cameras to detect
captive manatees and other non-living targets.
If such cameras are found to detect manatees at sufficient distances,
they could be mounted in the bows of watercraft and the resultant images could
be projected at the helm of the vessel, enabling the vessel operator to reduce
speed, take evasive action, or both.
Two types of cameras were
examined, 1) a SeaView underwater video camera system from PowerLinx, St.
Petersburg, FL, and 2) an Atlantis underwater camera system (AUW-535C) from JJC
Communications, Inc., Englewood, NJ. Preliminary investigations of the ability
of these cameras to detect small objects indicated that their resolution
decreased with distance from the target and depth, with the highest resolution
closest to the target at the surface.
However, even at optimal depth, the maximum detection distance for the
small target with the Seaview Camera was less than 3 m, and less than 5.5 m for
the Atlantis camera. Thus, the Atlantis
camera was marginally better able to detect the small target than was the
SeaView camera.
The cameras were then tested on
a plywood silhouette of a manatee placed vertically in the water. In this case the detection distance increased
with depth, being greatest at a depth of 2 m, but in no case was the detection
distance greater than 5 m. As before,
the Atlantis camera was marginally better able to detect the plywood manatee
silhouette than was the SeaView camera.
The cameras were then tested
using living captive manatees at the Lowry Park Zoo (LPZ). Due to the clarity of the water at LPZ,
manatees were visualized by both cameras at a distance of up to approximately 5
m, independent of depth. The Atlantis
camera was better able to detect the living manatees than was the SeaView
camera. Because these cameras emit
infrared light in order to enhance their water penetration and image detection,
there was some concern on the effect of this light on the manatees. However, the infrared light emitted by the
cameras appeared to elicit no alarm or aversion from the manatees, and in fact
seemed to increase their curiosity about the cameras and to attract them to the
cameras. The larger size of the Sea View
camera also appeared to draw the attention of the animals to the camera, and to
prompt them to approach it in a playful manner.
The currently available
underwater infrared camera technologies evaluated here do not seem to have
sufficient detection distances to enable their immediate incorporation into an
operator manatee awareness system, in order to utilize the cameras as described
above. Our plans at this time are to
approach the manufacturers of these cameras to determine if the technology can
be enhanced to enable the cameras to detect manatees at sufficient distance to
enable them to be used as described above.
We also plan to evaluate the ability of these cameras to detect free-ranging
manatees, once the appropriate permits are obtained from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.
RECENT
LITERATURE
Bizzotto, B. 2005. La
struttura cranica di Prototherium
intermedium (Mammalia: Sirenia) dell’Eocene superiore Veneto.
Nuovi Contributi alla sua anatomia e sistematica. Lavori Soc. Ven. Sci. Nat. 30: 107-125.
Bonde, R.K., A.A. Aguirre, and
J. Powell. 2004. Manatees as sentinels of marine ecosystem health: are they the
2000-pound canaries? EcoHealth 1:
255-262.
Bossart, G.D., R. Meisner,
S.A. Rommel, J.A. Lightsey, R.A. Varela, and R.H. Defran. 2004. Pathologic findings in Florida manatees (Trichechus
manatus latirostris). Aquatic Mammals
30(3): 434-440.
Fertl, D., A.J. Schiro, G.T.
Regan, C.A. Beck, N. Adimey, L. Price-May, A. Amos,
G.A.J. Worthy, and R. Crossland. 2005. Manatee occurrence in the northern Gulf
of Mexico, west of Florida. Gulf and Caribbean Research 17: 69-94.
Gheerbrant, E., D.P. Domning, and P. Tassy. 2005.
Paenungulata (Sirenia, Proboscidea, Hyracoidea, and relatives). Chap. 7 in:
K.D. Rose and J.D. Archibald (eds.), The
Rise of Placental Mammals: Origin and Relationships of the Major Extant Clades.
Baltimore, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press: 84-105.
Gorzelany, J.F. 2004. Evaluation of boater compliance
with manatee speed zones along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Coastal Management 32(3): 215-226.
Haworth, R.J., R.G.V. Baker, and P.J. Flood. 2004. A 6000-year-old fossil
dugong from Botany Bay: inferences about changes in Sydney's climate, sea levels and waterways. Australian Geographical Studies 42(1):
46-59.
Heinsohn, R., R.C. Lacy, D.B. Lindenmayer, H. Marsh,
D. Kwan, and I.R. Lawler. 2004. Unsustainable harvest of dugongs in Torres
Strait and Cape York (Australia) waters: two case studies using population viability
analysis. Animal Conservation 7:417-425.
[pdf copy available from Sirenian International: <caryn@sirenian.org>.]
Marsh,
H., I.R. Lawler, D. Kwan, S. Delean, K. Pollock, and M. Alldredge. 2004.
Aerial surveys and the potential biological removal technique indicate
that the Torres Strait dugong fishery is unsustainable. Animal
Conservation 7:435-443. [pdf copy
available from Sirenian International: <caryn@sirenian.org>.]
Olivera-Gomez, L.D., and E.
Mellink. 2005. Distribution of the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) as a function of habitat
characteristics, in Bahia de Chetumal, Mexico. Biological
Conservation 121: 127-133.
Ortega-Ortiz,
J.G., A. Delgado-Estrella, and A. Ortega-Argueta. 2004. Mamíferos marinos del
Golfo de México: Estado actual del conocimiento y recomendaciones para su conservación.
In: Caso, M., I. Pisanty, and E. Ezcurra (eds.). Diagnóstico ambiental
del Golfo de México: 135-160. SEMARNAT-INE-INECOL-Harte
RIGMS. [pdf copy available from the
Instituto Nacional de Ecologia's web site: <http:/www.ine.gob.mx>]
Penders, T.
2002. Bone, antler, dentary, and
lithic artifacts. In: G.H. Doran (ed.), Windover: Multidisciplinary investigations
of an early archaic Florida cemetery. Gainesville, University Press of Florida (416 pp.): 97-120.
[Reports an atlatl weight or handle made from a manatee rib, the only
manatee bone found in a clearly dated (7400 years B.P.) archeological context
in Florida that was fashioned into a tool by Pre-Columbian
natives.]
Rector, A., G.D. Bossart, S.J.
Ghim, J.P. Sundberg, A.B. Jenson, and M. Van Ranst. 2004. Characterization of a
novel close-to-root papillomavirus from a Florida manatee by using multiply primed rolling-circle
amplification: Trichechus manatus
latirostris papillomavirus type 1. Jour. Virol. 78: 12698-12702.
United Nations Environment Programme. 2004. Towards a
Western Indian Ocean dugong conservation strategy - the status of dugongs in
the western Indian Ocean & priority conservation actions. UNEP / WWF / RCU:
68 pp. [pdf copy downloadable from WWF's
website: <http://www.panda.org/africa/eame>]
Varela, R., and G.D. Bossart. 2005. Evaluation of
biochemical analytes in vitreous humor collected after death in West Indian
manatees. Journal of the American
Veterinary Medical Association 226: 88-92.
Yamamuro, M., K. Aketa, and
S. Uchida. 2004. Carbon and nitrogen
stable isotope ratios of the tissues and gut contents of a dugong from the
temperate coast of Japan. Mammal Study 29(2): 179-183.
SIRENIAN
WEBSITE DIRECTORY
(NOTE: Not all of these sites have been visited
recently by your Editor, and some may no longer be active, or their addresses
may have changed.)
Belize Coastal Zone Management
Authority & Institute's Manatee Research Program: <http://www.coastalzonebelize.org/pr_manatee.html>
The Call of the Siren (Caryn Self Sullivan): <http://www.sirenian.org/caryn.html>
Caribbean Environment Programme,
Regional Management Plan for the West Indian Manatee: <http://www.cep.unep.org/pubs/techreports/tr35/ct35indx.htm>
Caribbean
Stranding Network: <http://netdial.caribe.net/~mignucci/>
Columbus (Ohio) Zoo
manatee exhibit: <http://www.colszoo.org/animalareas/shores/
manatee_coast/index.html>
Dugongs:
<http://www.hans-rothauscher.de/dugong/dugong.htm>
Dugong
necropsy manual (available for downloading): <http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/
corp_site/info_services/publications/research_publications/rp64/index.html>
Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission, Bureau of Protected Species Management: <http://www.floridaconservation.org/psm/>
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
Florida Marine Research Institute (Florida
manatee mortality data): <http://www.floridamarine.org/manatees/>
Friends of the Manatee Association, Manaus & Balbina, Brazil: <http://www.amigos dopeixe-boi.org.br/english/Ing_index2.htm>
[Includes a bibliography of INPA aquatic
mammal project publications and abstracts]
Fundación Salvemos al Manatí de Costa Rica: <www.fundacionmanati.org>
Great
Barrier Reef dugongs: <http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/info_services/
publications/dugong/index.html>
IBAMA manatee project, Brazil: <www.projetopeixe-boi.com.br>
Jacksonville University (Florida)
Manatee Research Center Online: <www.ju.edu/juconnect/research/marco>
Manatee
neuroanatomy: <http://www.neurophys.wisc.edu/Manatee/>
"Manatee Watchers"
Internet discussion list: <http://www.listbot.com/archive
/MANATEE>
News clippings on Florida
manatees: <http://www.n-jcenter.com/menus/
enmanate.htm>
Philippines Dugong Research
and Conservation Project: <http://www.wwf-phil.
com.ph>
Save
the Manatee Club: <http://www.savethemanatee.org>
Sea
World of Florida: <http://www.seaworld.org>
SEMARNAP,
Secretaria de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca, Mexico: <http:www.semarnap.gob.mx/naturaleza/especies/manati/descrip.htm>
Sirenews
(texts of current and recent issues): <http://www.marinemammalogy.org/
snews.htm>; <http://www.sirenian.org/sirenews.html>
(for archive of most older issues)
Sirenia
Project, U.S.
Geological Survey: <http://www.fcsc.usgs.gov/sirenia>
or <http:// www.nfrcg.gov/sirenia>
Sirenian International,
Inc.: <http://www.sirenian.org/> [Includes a bibliography of sirenian
literature, and an archive of Sirenews
issues.]
Smithsonian Institution
sirenian bibliography: <http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/
nmnh/sirenia.htm> [This is a relatively short bibliography, compiled by
Joy Gold, that provides a very good introduction to both the technical and the
popular literature.]
Steller's sea cow: < http://www.hans-rothauscher.de/steller/steller.htm>.
This site also includes a searchable database of museum collections worldwide
that contain bones of Hydrodamalis gigas:
<http://www.hans-rothauscher.de/steller/museums.htm>.
See also the website [in Finnish] of Dr. Ari Lampinen, Univ.
of Jyvaskyla, Finland: <http://www.jyu.fi/~ala/ilmasto/steller.htm>
Trichechus
senegalensis skull: <http://digimorph.org/specimens/Trichechus_
senegalensis/> [NEW SITE]. [CT imagery of an African manatee
skull and mandible, viewable as individual thin slices, 3-D rotational movies,
and slice movies. Excellent detail!]
West African manatee in Chad
(Jonathan H. Salkind): <http://members.aol.com/neebii/
manatee-index.html >
Xavier University manatee web site (Midwest Manatee Research Program;
Chuck Grossman): <www.xu.edu/manateeresearch>
[NEW]
CHANGES
OF ADDRESS
Dr. Kana Aketa, 1-15-15, Takabedai, Tondabayashi,
Osaka 584-0072, Japan (tel.
& fax: +81-721-28-2665; e-mail: <kana_aketa@yahoo.co.jp>)
Dr. George E. Heinsohn, P.
O. Box 792, Belconnen, ACT 2616, Australia
Katherine LaCommare, 145
S. Tompkins St., Howell, Mich. 48843-2041 USA
MaryAnn Stuart, 15837 118th Lane SE, Yelm, Wash. 98597-9539 USA (tel.: 1-360-458-8486)
>>>
COPY DEADLINE FOR NEXT ISSUE:
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