Distribution and Behavioral Ecology of Manatees in Southeastern Georgia. Kings Bay Environmental Monitoring Program Cumberland Island National Seashore.

摘要

A significant number of the U.S. population of manatees uses coastal Georgia Salt marshes. There is considerable interchange of manatees between Brevard Co., Florida and Georgia. Two industrial warm-water discharges in the Cumberland Sound region are used by manatees during the cold season. The proportion of time in which manatees engage in Spartina-feeding, resting, and cavorting is not similar during all tidal stages. Also, resting and algal-feeding do not occur in equal proportions between cold and warm seasons. Manatee activity patterns are rhythmic in response to the twice-daily tidal cycle. Manatees feed on S. alternifora at high tide. At low tide, when Spartina is not accessible, manatees rest or cavort more than at other tide stages. The proportion of time that manatees moved was similar during all tide stages. Spartina-feeding sessions were longer during the cold season, but the durations of resting, cavorting, and moving sessions were similar between seasons.