Winter Movements and Use of Warm-water Refugia by Radio-tagged West Indian Manatees Along the Atlantic Coast of the United States

Deutsch, Charles J. (2000) Winter Movements and Use of Warm-water Refugia by Radio-tagged West Indian Manatees Along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Gainesville, FL, Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit , University of Florida,

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Abstract

The West Indian manatee's metabolic physiology constrains it to subtropical and tropical regions. In waters of the United States, a manatee's ability to find reliable warm-water refugia during winter cold periods is critical to its survival. This report documents how radio-tagged manatees used a network of 14 industrial and 3 "natural" warm-water sites along the east coast of Florida and Georgia duringwinter. Most industrial sites were powerplant discharges but also included pulp mill effluents. TheU. S. Geological Survey's SireniaProject tracked 71 manatees over 12 winter seasons (1986-1998) using field-based VHF radio-telemetry and Argos satellite based telemetry. Thirty-seven individuals weretracked over periodsofat least 100days between November and March of a given winter, manyfor multiple years. Presence at a warmwaterrefugewasdefined as a location occurring within 200m (for a VHF field observation) or within 1 km (for a satellite-determined location) ofthe site. (133 page document)

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