Goldsworthy Gomez, Lauren

The Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) is native to Florida and the
Indian River Lagoon. Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) is located in Indian
River Lagoon and is frequently visited by manatees. The Manatee Project was created in
2009 to document and photograph the manatees visiting HBOI. Analyzing photographs
of 146 manatee that visited HBOI showed that a majority of the injuries sustained were
caused by boats. 97% of the manatee had at least one propeller injury and 31% of the
manatee had at least one skeg injury. Other non-boat related injuries seen in the images
included cold stress and entanglement injuries. This study looked at the prevalence of
scar by anatomical region, the cause of injury, and compared injury locations between
male and female manatees.

The manatee project at Harbor Branch Oceanographic
Institute was established in 2009. Land-based observations
and photo-identification techniques have
been used over the last seven years. This has allowed
observers to recognize specific resident manatees
that visit this location season after season. The photographs
have been shared with the Manatee Photo-
Identification System database and several matches
were found, indicating some of the manatees are
migrants. This project focuses on the seasonal patterns
of frequently observed manatees in the Harbor
Branch Oceanographic Institute channel. Knowing
which manatees are residents allows observers to
preliminarily identify specific individuals that will be
part of a future acoustic tagging project.

The manatee project at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute was
established in 2009. Land-based observations and photo-identification techniques
have been used over the past seven years, allowing observers to recognize specific
resident manatees that visit this location season after season. The U.S. Geological
Survey’s Biological Resources Division maintains a photo-identification database of
manatees known as the Manatee Individual Photo-identification System, or MIPS.
The photographs from the Manatee Project have been shared with the MIPS database
and several manatees from the Manatee Project were matches, indicating some of the
manatees are migrants. This project focuses on the seasonal visitation patterns of
frequently observed manatees in the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute channel.
Knowing which manatees are residents allows observers to preliminarily identify
specific individuals that will be part of a future acoustic tagging project.