Geology topics

L.W. Lefebvre

Publications and source records attributed to L.W. Lefebvre.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2001

Status and distribution of the West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus, in Colombia

Historical and recent information on the status and distribution of West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus, in Colombia was reviewed. Opportunistic and systematic interviews were also conducted. Historical information suggested that the distribution of manatees had been reduced in the Caribbean basin. Manatees can be found in the Atrato, Sinu??, San Jorge, Cauca, Cesar and Magdalena rivers and the Cie??naga Grande de Santa Marta marsh in the Caribbean basin, and in the Meta River in the Orinoco basin. The Magdalena riparian system provides the largest area of suitable habitat, which also has the highest frequency of captures. Most animals (81.20%) were killed for sale or to share meat in a subsistence base. Hunting is apparently increasing but capture with nets still represents the species' major direct threat. Habitat destruction occurs in all areas. International and national laws protect the species, however, funding is inadequate for effective enforcement of present laws. ?? 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biological Conservation↗

USGS2000

Characterizing Manatee habitat use and seagrass grazing in Florida and Puerto Rico: Implications for conservation and management

The Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic coast of Florida, USA, and the east coast of Puerto Rico provide contrasting environments in which the endangered West Indian Manatee Trichechus manatus experiences different thermal regimes and seagrass communities. We compare Manatee feeding behaviour in these two regions, examine the ecological effects of Manatee grazing on a seagrass community in the Indian River Lagoon, describe the utility of aerial surveys, radio tracking, and seagrass mapping to study Manatee feeding patterns, and develop hypotheses on sirenian feeding strategies in temperate and tropical seagrass communities. In both the Indian River Lagoon and Puerto Rico, Manatees were typically observed grazing in water depths = 2.0 m and more frequently on the most abundant seagrasses present in the community: Halodule wrightii in the Indian River Lagoon and Thalassia testudinum in eastern Puerto Rico. Where both H. wrightii and Syringodium filiforme were consumed in the Indian River Lagoon, Manatees tended to remove more S. filiforme than H. wrightii rhizome + root biomass. Even though 80 to 95% of the short-shoot biomass and 50 to 67% of the rhizome + root biomass were removed, grazed patches of H. wrightii and S. filiforme recovered significantly between February and August. H. wrightii may be both more resistant and resilient than S. filiforme to the impacts of Manatee grazing. Despite the significantly greater abundance of T. testudinum in Puerto Rico, Manatees exhibited selective feeding by returning to specific sites with abundant H. wrightii. They also appeared to feed selectively on T. testudinum shoots associated with clumps of the calcareous alga Halimeda opuntia. We hypothesize that Florida Manatees are less specialized seagrass grazers than Manatees in tropical regions like Puerto Rico. Continued research on Manatee grazing ecology in temperate to tropical seagrass communities will enable better protection and management of these vital and unique marine resources.

Florida↗

USGS1999

Manatee response to boating activity in a thermal refuge

Thermal refuges are important for the endangered Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) during winter cold periods in temperate latitudes. However, little research has examined impacts on manatees from human disturbance during these critical periods. We studied the effect of recreational boating activity on manatee use of established sanctuaries in the natural thermal refuge created by warm-water springs in Kings Bay, Crystal River, Florida. We examined the relationship among manatee use of the study area and sanctuaries, temperature, and level of boating activity. Manatees continued to use the Bay regardless of the number of boats present; however, their use of sanctuaries in the southern portion of the Bay increased (P<0.001) as number of boats increased. Temperature, as expected, was inversely related to manatee use of the study area. Human activity patterns were variable, with significantly greater numbers of boats in the study area on weekends (x??=32.7, SE=2.71) than on weekdays (x??=10.7, SE=1.23). We concluded that recreational boating influenced manatee distribution, sanctuaries are important to manatees in Kings Bay, and sanctuaries are an effective management tool to reduce the impact of boating activities on manatees.

Wildlife Society Bulletin↗

USGS1996