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2012 COURSE DATES: AUGUST 4 – 17, 2012 - Sirenian International

2012 COURSE DATES: AUGUST 4 – 17, 2012 - Sirenian International

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in aerial surveys. There are two principal reasons why these factors may not affect<br />

visibility of manatees from boats. From a boat, observers search for manatees across the<br />

horizontal plane of the water looking for signs of the manatees’ body (a nose, tail or back)<br />

breaking through the surface of the water. Water clarity isn’t going to affect this to the<br />

same extent as aerial surveys in which observers are searching for manatees within the<br />

water column. In extremely turbid water, like that found in “black water” lake and river<br />

systems of the Amazon, lower vantage points allow better visibility of an animal breaking<br />

the surface of the water than do higher vantage points (Aragones et al. in press). Sea state<br />

may not impact visibility because when surface choppiness is slight <strong>–</strong> sea state of zero or<br />

one <strong>–</strong> any disturbance to the surface of the water is noticeable and therefore manatees will<br />

be spotted. Because manatees need to rise their nose above the water to breathe, when<br />

there is a sea state of two or three <strong>–</strong> choppy conditions <strong>–</strong> manatees will raise their entire<br />

head out of the water (Personal observation, KSL and CSS) which facilitates the observer’s<br />

ability to spot manatees and negates the impact of sea state on visibility. Surveys were not<br />

conducted in a sea state higher than three. It is not clear why surface glare does not impact<br />

visibility. There are three possible explanations. Surveys are conducted between 9:30 am<br />

and 4:30 pm when surface glare, due to a sun low on the horizon, is at a minimum.<br />

Multiple trained observers searching for manatees may reduce the negative effects of sun<br />

glare. And, manatees usually surface multiple times during a 30-minute search duration<br />

which increases the possibility of spotting a manatee even during difficult observation<br />

conditions.<br />

The biggest concern with our study was that number of volunteers had a negative<br />

effect on our ability to spot manatees. The greater the number of volunteers the fewer<br />

15

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