Florida Manatees: Biology, Behavior, and Conservation by John E. Reynolds III

Author:John E. Reynolds III
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Published: 2017-05-14T04:00:00+00:00

Florida manatees, such as this visitor to a warm-water refuge, have rather rough skin, which facilitates the attachment and growth of organisms. Dugongs and Amazonian manatees have much smoother skin, similar to that of dolphins.

On the other hand, manatees may die quickly from exposure to intense cold, in which case a diagnosis as to the cause of death may be extremely difficult. In humans, uncoordinated contractions of the heart muscle (myocardial fibrillation) can cause death in individuals whose body temperature drops below 82°F (~28°C). Also, diseases such as pneumonia or bronchitis may occur in cold-stressed manatees, as they do in humans.

A confounding variable when dealing with the effects of cold on manatees involves individual variations among these animals. Just as some people are better able to withstand cold weather due to their body’s insulation, proportions (the surface-area-to-volume ratio), resting metabolic rate, health status (including that of their circulatory system), nutritional status, or other variables, the same appears to hold true for manatees. Some manatees seek warm water in October, at the first sign of cold, whereas others may rarely, if ever, visit a warm-water refuge.

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