4b. Manatee behavioral response to boats

Rycyk, Athena M; Deutsch, Charles J; Barlas, Margaret E; Hardy, Stacie K; Frisch, Katherine; Leone, Erin H; Nowacek, Douglas P

ISSN: 0824-0469; DOI: 10.1111/mms.12491

Marine Mammal Science. 2018, Vol.34(4), p.924-962

This study investigates manatee behavior to approaching boats to gain a greater understanding of the factors that lead to boat strikes. Big data used included: digital acoustic recording tags (DTAGs), Argos-linked GPS tags on 18 manatees, and mapping of local boat traffic. Suites of manatee behavioral, environmental, and boat-related factors were recorded during boat passes. The authors then constructed linear mixed models to determine which factors accounted for variation in occurrence, number, and timing of manatee behavioral changes during boat passes.

4c. Applying marketing to conservation: A case study on encouraging boater reporting of watercraft collisions with Florida manatees

Richard O. Flamm, Karin Braunsberger. Aug 2014.

DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.04.026

Ocean & Coastal Management.

V96, P20-28.

The aim of the study was to assess why boaters do not call the authorities after their boat strikes a manatee and what can be done to increase the reporting rate. Results of an online survey suggested that most boaters do not know who to call or do not have the correct contact number. Based on the findings, the implementation of a decal to be positioned in a vessel's cockpit displaying the number to call to report a manatee incident was suggested.

Sea surface temperatures and seagrass mortality in Florida Bay: Spatial and temporal patterns discerned from MODIS and AVHRR data

Carlson, D. F., Yarbro, L. A., Scolaro, S., Poniatowski, M., McGee-Absten, V., & Carlson, P. R. (2018). Remote Sensing of Environment, 208, 171–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.014

Manatees need plentiful seagrasses to survive. This study found that extended exposure to unusually warm water temperatures and large, rapid changes in temperature contribute to seagrass mortality. It concludes that the survival of seagrass beds in Florida Bay under projected warming scenarios depends on both the magnitude of warming and on the bathymetry and density of the seagrass.