NDLI: The Trophic Role of the Endangered Caribbean Manatee Trichechus manatus in an Estuary with low Abundance of Seagrass

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Castelblanco Martínez, Delma Nataly Barba, Everardo Schmitter Soto, Juan Jacobo Hernández Arana, Héctor Abuid Morales Vela, Benjamín
Copyright Year	2011
Abstract	Chetumal Bay is a refuge for the manatee, Trichechus manatus, a large and strictly herbivorous aquatic mammal. The ecosystem is notoriously poor in subaquatic vegetation, the main components of manatees’ diet. Due to the constant presence of manatees in the bay and their ability to consume large volumes of plant material, it is assumed that the species has a relevant trophic impact on the system. A mass–balance trophic model was designed to describe the flows of energy and matter in the bay, with the goal of assessing the role of manatees in the system. The system was aggregated in eight effective trophic levels. The biomass was intensely concentrated in the detritus, suggesting that the matter on the bottom sediment is the main regulator of the energy flow in the system. Primary producers comprised of detritus, mangrove, benthic autotrophs, and phytoplankton. The apex predators were dolphins and large piscivorous fishes. Manatees occupied the trophic level 2.0. Manatees were directly or indirectly impacted by autotrophs, mangrove, and detritus; but the competition between manatees and other groups was insignificant. In comparison to other ecosystems where manatees occur, Chetumal Bay (BCh) has the lowest relative biomass of seagrasses. Several ecological and behavioral mechanisms to compensate the lack of macrophytes biomass (or a combination of several) are suggested. Ecopath with Ecosim models are useful to describe the flow of energy and matter in the ecosystems. However, there are still critical gaps in the knowledge of BCh and its manatee population. It is difficult to assess the uncertainty associated with the estimates obtained; therefore, results should be interpreted with caution. Improving this preliminary model with robust local information on the Chetumal Bay ecology and its manatee population is recommended.
Starting Page	60
Ending Page	77
Page Count	18
File Format	PDF
ISSN	15592723
Journal	Estuaries
Volume Number	35
Issue Number	1
e-ISSN	15592731
Language	English
Publisher	Springer-Verlag
Publisher Date	2011-06-11
Publisher Place	New York
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Manatee Chetumal Bay Trophic model Grazing Ecology Ecopath with Ecosim Nature Conservation Environment Freshwater & Marine Ecology Coastal Sciences Environmental Management
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology Aquatic Science Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
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4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
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