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Appendix v: west indian manatees stock assessments- florida and antilles stocks west indian manatee (trichechus manatus latirostris): (2000).
| Content Provider | CiteSeerX |
|---|---|
| Author | Stock, Florida |
| Abstract | Manatees are typically found in the temperate and equatorial waters of the southeastern U.S., the Caribbean basin, northern and northeastern South America, and equatorial West Africa. Their near relative, the dugong (Dugong dugon), is found in the Indo-Pacific region. At present, manatees of the genus Trichechus are represented by three allopatric species: T. senegalensis, the West African manatee, T. inunguis, the Amazonian manatee, and T. manatus, the West Indian manatee. The West Indian species is subdivided into two subspecies, the Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) and the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1989). Such subspeciation may reflect reproductive isolation brought on by the intemperate northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico and characteristically strong currents found in the Straits of Florida (Domning and Hayek, 1986). Historically, the winter range of the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) was thought to focus on south Florida, with some animals ranging north of Charlotte Harbor on Florida's west coast and north of Sebastian on Florida's east coast. Extralimital movements occurred and were typically seasonal, with animals travelling north during warmer periods and travelling south as temperatures declined. While most manatees wintered in south Florida, some were known to winter in natural spring areas to the north (Hartman, 1974). With the advent of artificial warm water refugia, the spread of exotic submerged aquatic vegetation, and increased protective measures, the manatee's winter range has expanded significantly (Beeler and O'Shea, 1988). On the east coast, manatees are now known to winter as far north as southeastern |
| File Format | |
| Publisher Date | 2000-01-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
