Marine Science – submit this alternate for “Sea Turtle Rehab” (Honors Caretta Caretta Turtle Rehab)…
It's unclear if the manatees’ sweet looks can save them. In their favor is the fact that we’re no longer deliberately chasing them down, unlike how humans hunted to extinction their long-lost relative, the Steller’s sea cow, in the 18th century. But even slight disturbances to their lifestyles can do irreparable harm.…
In 1947 it was reported that over 40,000 Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles were nesting along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and today only 200 Kemp Ridley’s remain on those grounds, making these sea turtles one of the most endangered animals in the United States. When I was younger I remember visiting South Padre Island and seeing holes a long the shore line with little eggs inside them, I also remember this man who drove up and down the beach looking for those eggs in a golf cart. I asked my mom “Why is this man taking away these eggs, won’t the momma be sad?” my mom then told me that these were in fact the eggs of the Kemp’s Ridley. I had no idea how that was relevant, I was six…
The species interaction in the Florida Everglades had gone through difficult times, but the awareness of the needs of this area have made it possible to help build a healthy living species. The fresh water that is currently coming into the Florida Bay from the Everglades is creating perfect conditions for beds of turtle grass and algae formation that are the foundation for animal life. Sea turtles and manatees eat the grass, and worms, clams, and other mollusks eat the algae formations and microscopic…
Manatees are one of the luckiest and unluckiest mammals in the world. However, their predators are very strong and powerful. Killer whales, sharks, and alligators are a few of their predators, but their biggest predator is man. Man cause 39% of deaths. Nets and boat propellers are the main reason of their deaths. Since manatees are injured by man, there are laws that save them from extinction.…
the Manatee often known as the "sea cow", is a gentle giant sea creature that has been floating around for 60 million years A warmblooded mammal the Manatee must travel to survive many manatees live near Kings bay Florida. In the summer, they leave florida and head to the gulf of Mexico for millions of years the manatees survival depended only on finding warm waters Unfortuneatly, humans are now there greatest thret…
(1985) examined mortality patterns of manatees in Florida. To better understand these mortality patterns in Florida, four areas along the coastline were analyzed. A carcass salvage program was initiated in 1974 to document causes of death in manatees in Florida (O’Shea et al. 1985). Carcasses were recorded from these different areas and the cause of death was determined. Two categories of mortality showing greatest increases were boat collisions and death of dependent calves (Garrett et al. 1994). Winter plays a major role in the survival of manatees that live in Florida. The years 1977 and 1981 showed the highest rate of manatee mortality that have occurred in the winter months in Florida (O’Shea et al.…
A manatee is a big marine mammal with a roundish egg kind of head, flippers and a flat tail. Manatees are also called sea cows. They call them sea cows because they're slow, lolling nature; and they get eaten by other sea creatures sharks and crocodiles. Did you know that cows can swim well they can so sea cows and cows are mostly the same except manatees live underwater cows well they live on land manatees can’t breathe underwater but they can still hold their breath underwater. The natural diet of a manatee; manatees love sea grasses that makes manatees herbivores. Manatees live in slow moving rivers they consume freshwater vegetation. Manatees also likes algae according to National Geographic, a manatee will most likely eat tenth of his/her…
The destruction caused by Mother Nature cannot be prevented, but what can change is the destruction we humans are causing. I feel that it is important to try and reach out to every individual to get them to fully understand the dilemma, we need to make the public more aware of the situation at hand and its severity on marine animals and plants, and we also need to emphasize the affects it could end up having on humans and society. In order to do this I think it would be important to start small and work my out. Another aspect that would help greatly is to create more marine reserves, which protects the habitat and the animals and plants. In marine reserves no mining is allowed, no fishing, and no fish farming. (MarineBio, n.d.). The habitat are preserved and safe. This is not going to save all marine habitats, but any positive action, is a step in the right direction. The first steps I would take in educating the greater population would be to find those who want to conserve marine habitats and who are willing to dedicate their time to the project. Once I have a team built in my town we will work together to set up meetings in the neighborhoods, and at the schools. Going about setting up meetings would take a great deal of time because my team and I would have to research the affects we have had on marine…
The Florida manatee continues to be exposed to a lack of warm water habitats, injury due to boat strikes, and lack of access to healthy sea grasses and other food sources. Also, there are few areas for them to raise their babies.…
To start off, it’s difficult to protect and conserve fish and other ocean creatures (compared to land animals) because it’s hard to go down in subs, scuba diving and much more. You need to have trained personnel with a lot of equipment; also you have to spend money on getting fuel for the boat or submarine and may even pay for boat itself to get out. It costs more money to run marine wildlife protections for things such as advertising help for more employees and workers to save our animals, which costs money and for the company to buy more equipment for the newcomers getting coast guards out to inspect for violations of killing of marine wildlife. Money also gets spent on underwater nest and water barriers to stop people from boating past that area to fish and kill them.…
Manatees are a highly talked about animal in our society today due to the fact that they love to reside in shallow waters along the coast of Florida, thus exposing the top of their bodies to possibly getting hit by boaters. This has sparked a heated debate as to what actions should and shouldn't be taken to protect the West Indian Manatee.…
A lot of humans and businesses depend on the Coral Reef as a food supply, protection and for jobs, especially on the islands of Hawaii were most of time people spend their time in or under the water. Hawaii is known as Paradise Island because of its healthy and beautiful Coral Reef and understanding how to keep it healthy is extremely important to me because Coral Reefs are lowly depleting and I want to know why and what there is I can help do to save them, cause they are a great defense, buffering the waves, storms and potential floods which in turn help property damage and erosion. Coral Reefs help support commercials and businesses that support tourism and popular fishing and surfing that takes place around the islands coast. The 21st century has relied on the Coral Reef heavily calling it the “Medicine Cabinet” with the Coral Reef plants and some of the animals that live in it new sources of medicine to help treat major diseases like Cancer, heart disease, arthritis and viruses. The protection of the coral reef means a lot to me and although I haven’t been on the island long I am putting myself in those who have and look back on tragic events that have damaged the coral reef like the February 5th 2009 USS Port Royal ship grounding that destroyed millions of dollars of coral reef and not only did the ship do that but they also dumped their waste that was stored on the ship in the nearby waters which also polluted the water and killed hundreds of fish and possibly the remaining coral reef in that area, now for someone to destroy that much of the history gets me…
When these tiny plants undergo an algal bloom, they are consumed in enormous quantities, generally by clams, mussels, and oysters, which are filter-feeding animals. These animals consume large quantities of water and filter the food, often leaving behind a high concentration of the harmful algae in their system. After a shellfish consumes the algae, a human will often consume the shellfish, leading to problems. This is why humans are often warned not to consume certain seafood in an area affected by a red tide. Cormorants (large diving birds) and pelicans died in large numbers because they were eating small fish that contained the toxic chemicals from zooplankton. Even large whales can be poisoned by algal toxins. Florida hit a new record in 2013 for 803 manatee deaths. The leading killer of these endangered mammals was the toxin in the algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico.( ) 803 manatee deaths were documented between January 1st, 2013 to December 13th, 2013. ( ) That is 16 percent of 5,000 manatees in the state. In 2014, thousands of fish were killed In Florida’s waters because of the algae bloom in the Gulf of Mexico. ( ). Red tides were officially recorded in 1844 in…
If there are no existing protections, you have the option to launch a petition. In order to launch a petition, you will need substantial data showing manatee endangerment and get an endorsement from FWC. You will need significant manatee data to compel support from FWC. Therefore, you want to make sure you document any danger to manatees, humans, and/or property. You and your neighbors also need to document manatee sightings and vessel sightings, and if there are close calls between the two. Once you believe you have collected sufficient information, you can send it to Scott.Calleson@myfwc.com. You are also welcomed to send Save the Manatee Club this information for us to keep on file and utilize it when there is a speed zone…