E: OH NO WHATS HAPPEND

cya edited this message on 03/04/2010 4:39AM

BobTheSqueakyWeasel Posted:

shhhhhhhhhh

mums the word

Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. They are noted for their friendly nature, up to 4 meter size, and paddle-like flippers. The name manatí comes from the Taíno, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean, meaning “breast”.[1]

Taxonomy

Manatees comprise three of the four living species in the order Sirenia. The 4th is the Eastern Hemisphere’s dugong. The Sirenia are thought to have evolved from four-legged land mammals over 60 million years ago, with the closest living relatives being the Proboscidea (elephants) and Hyracoidea (hyraxes).[2]

The Amazonian’s hair color is brownish gray and they have thick, wrinkled skin, often with coarse hair, or “whiskers.” The West African Manatee is the least studied of the three. Photos are rare; although very little is known about this species, scientists[who?] think they are similar to West Indian Manatees. The name in Songhay, the local language, is “ayyu”.

Description

Manatees have a mean mbum of 400 to 550 kilograms (880 to 1,200 lb), and mean length of 2.8 to 3 metres (9.2 to 9.8 ft), with maximums of 3.6 metres (12 ft) and 1,775 kilograms (3,910 lb) seen (the females tend to be larger and heavier). When born, baby manatees have an average mbum of 30 kilograms (66 lb). They have a large flexible prehensile upper lip that acts in many ways like a shortened trunk, somewhat similar to an elephant’s. They use the lip to gather food and eat, as well as using it for social interactions and communications. Manatees have shorter snouts than their fellow sirenians the dugongs. Their small, widely-spaced eyes have eyelids that close in a circular manner. Manatees are believed[who?]to see in color. The adults have no incisor or canine teeth, just a set of cheek teeth, which are not clearly differentiated into molars and premolars. Uniquely among mammals, these teeth are continuously replaced throughout life, with new teeth growing at the rear as older teeth fall out from farther forward in the mouth. At any given time, a manatee typically has no more than six teeth.[3] Its tail is paddle-shaped, and is the clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs; a dugong tail is fluked, similar in shape to a that of a whale.[4]

Like horses, they have a simple stomach, but a large cegreat times, in which they can digest tough plant matter. In general, their intestines are unusually long for animals of their size[citation needed].

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Ecology

Range and habitat

Approximate distribution of Trichechus; T. manatus in green; T. inunguis in red; T. senegalenis in orange

Manatees inhabit the shallow, marshy coastal areas and rivers of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico (T. manatus, West Indian Manatee), the Amazon Basin (T. inunguis, Amazonian Manatee), and West Africa (T. senegalensis, West African Manatee). A fourth species, the Dwarf Manatee (T. “pygmaeus”Log in to see images! was recently proposed for a population found in the Brazilian Amazon,[7] although some believe it to be an immature Amazon Manatee.[8]

They enjoy warmer waters and are known to congregate in shallow waters, and frequently migrate through brackish water estuaries to freshwater springs. Manatees cannot survive below 15°C (288 K; 60°F). Their natural source for warmth during winter is warm-spring fed rivers.

A group of 3 manatees

West Indian

The coast of Georgia is usually the northernmost range of the West Indian Manatee because their low metabolic rate does not protect them in cold water. Prolonged exposure to water temperatures below 68 °F (20 °C) can bring about “cold stress syndrome” and death.[9]

Florida manatees can move freely between salinity extremes.

Manatees have been spotted as far north as Cape Cod, and as recently as the late summer of 2006, one made it up to New York City and Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay, as cited by The Boston Globe. According to Memphis, Tennessee’s The Commercial Appeal newspaper, one manatee was spotted in the Wolf River harbor near the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, on October 23, 2006, though it was later found dead ten miles downriver in McKellar Lake.

The West Indian Manatee migrates into Florida rivers such as the Crystal River, the Homosbuma River, and the Chbumahowitzka River. The head springs of these rivers maintain a 22°C (299 K; 72°F) temperature year round. During November to March, approximately 400 West Indian Manatees (according to the National Wildlife Refuge) congregate in the rivers in Citrus County, Florida.

Manatees often congregate near power plants, which warm the waters. Some have become reliant on them and have ceased migrating to warmer waters. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to find a new way to heat the water for manatees that are dependent on plants that have closed. The main water treatment plant in Guyana has four manatees that keep storage canals clear of weeds; there are also some in the ponds of The National Park in Georgetown, Guyana.

Studies suggest that Florida manatees must have some access to fresh water for proper osmoregulation.

Florida manatees (T. manatus) number between 1,000 and 3,000. Accurate population estimates of the Florida manatee are notoriously difficult and have been called scientifically weak[10]; with widely varying counts from year to year, some areas show increases and others decreases, with very little strong evidence of increases except in 2 areas. Manatee counts are highly variable without an accurate way to estimate numbers:in Florida in 1996, a winter survey found 2,639 manatees; in 1997 a January survey found 2,229; and a February survey found 1,706.[6]

Population viability studies carried out in 1997 found that decreasing adult survival and eventual extinction is a probable future outcome for Florida manatees, without additional protection.[11]

Fossil remains of Florida manatee ancestors date back about 45 million years.

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hreats
Human activity represents an existential threat to all three manatee species.
Florida manatee deaths caused by humans have increased through the years, and now typically account for 20%-40% of recorded deaths.[13] There were 417 manatee deaths in 2006 with 101 attributed to human causes according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Ship strikes


A sign advising boaters to go slow enough that their motor leaves no wake
Their slow-moving, curious nature, coupled with dense coastal development, has led to many violent collisions with propellers from fast moving recreational motor boats, leading frequently to maiming, disfigurement, and even death. As a result, a large proportion of manatees exhibit propeller scars on their backs. They are now even identified by humans based on their scar patterns. Some are concerned that the current situation is inhumane, with upwards of 50 scars and disfigurements from boat strikes on a single manatee.[6][14] Often the cuts lead to infections, which can prove fatal. Internal injuries stemming from hull impacts have also been fatal.
Manatees hear on a higher frequency than what would be expected for such large marine mammals. Many large boats emit very low frequencies which confuse the manatee and explain their lack of awareness around boats. National Geographic has done experiments proving that when a boat has a higher frequency the manatees rapidly swim away from danger.[15]
In 2003, a population model was released by the U.S. Geological Survey that predicted an extremely grave situation confronting the manatee in both the Southwest and Atlantic regions where the vast majority of manatees are found. It states,
“In the absence of any new management action, that is, if boat mortality rates continue to increase at the rates observed since 1992, the situation in the Atlantic and Southwest regions is dire, with no chance of meeting recovery criteria within 100 years.”[16]
A 2007 University of Florida study found that more than half of boat drivers in Volusia County, Florida, sped through marked conservation zones despite their professed support for the endangered animals. Little difference was found among the ski boats, pontoons, and fishing vessels. In the study, 84 percent of the 236 people who responded claimed to obey speed limits in manatee zones during their most recent boating experience, but observers found that only 45 percent actually complied.
“Hurricanes, cold stress, red tide poisoning and a variety of other maladies threaten manatees, but by far their greatest danger is from watercraft strikes, which account for about a quarter of Florid[b][size=28]a manatee deaths,” said study curator John Jett.[17]
The current main threat [/b][/size]in the United States is being struck by boats or slashed by propellers. Sometimes manatees can live through strikes, and over fifty deep slashes and permanent scars have been observed on some manatees off the Florida coast.[6] However, the wounds are often fatal, and the lungs may even pop out through the chest cavity.[6]
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i saw a manatee once

Mister Pugs Posted:

i ****ing hate christianity but love veggie tales what the **** is wrong with me

BobTheSqueakyWeasel Posted:

i ****ing hate christianity but love veggie tales what the **** is wrong with me

i really gotta agree with that statement

veggie tales is ****ing amazing and so are manatees imo, i get to see them irl all the time Log in to see images!