Conservation initiatives Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center

1 conservation initiatives

1.1 rescue , stranding response
1.2 rehabilitation , veterinary care
1.3 population research
1.4 community outreach , education

conservation initiatives

prmcc implements manatee conservation initiatives in 4 main fronts or programs:

rescue , stranding response

up 15 cases of stranded manatees reported in puerto rico each year. of these cases involve animals have died near shore, either natural causes or human related accidents. others cases reported consist of live manatees, whether ill, injured or orphaned in need of veterinary attention. prmcc deputized both commonwealth , federal governments respond these stranding events, , conduct investigation on cause of death, including necropsy, or rescue , transport live animal prmcc s rehabilitation facility veterinary treatment , care.

through dedicated stranding , mortality research , monitoring, prmcc has documented on 120 manatee deaths in puerto rico, via salvage , necropsies. pathology , disease processes in these cases have been documented cooperatively veterinary pathologist gregory bossart of georgia aquarium , manatee biologist robert bonde of geological survey (usgs) sirenia project in gainesville, florida. during 2015, 2 successful rescues conducted, including 1 manatee calf in condado lagoon of san juan bicycle tire on torso , 1 newborn calf got separated mother in town of isabela.

rehabilitation , veterinary care

manatee being rescued in rio grande, puerto rico.

the prmcc 1 of 12 facilities federally deputized in hold , care manatees , 1 of 5 critical care manatees facilities. these facilities conform manatee rehabilitation partnership, includes following organizations: cincinnati zoo, columbus zoo, disney worldwide conservation fund, florida fish , wildlife conservation commission, homosassa springs state wildlife park, hubbs-seaworld research institute, jacksonville zoo , gardens, miami seaquarium, mote marine laboratory, puerto rico manatee conservation center, puerto rico zoo, save manatee club, sea shore alliance, sea world orlando, south florida museum, tampa s lowry park zoo, usfws, usgs sirenia project, university of florida’s college of veterinary medicine, , walt disney world’s seas.

as 1 of critical care authorized facilities, prmcc receives ill, injured or orphaned manatees , provides them veterinary treatment , rehabilitation care main purpose of returning them habitat once have been cleared of admission condition , can survive on own.

a team of experienced marine biologists, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, , caretakers of volunteers, provide treatment , care around-the-clock on full-time basis. cases require minor treatment, while others, particularly orphaned calves, require 3 years of care @ prmcc, additional 6 months in sea pen re-adaptation, , 1 year monitoring in wild.

since 1989, prmcc has tended on 30 rescue , rehabilitation cases of manatees in puerto rico, , offered assistance more 2 dozen cases in caribbean (british virgin islands, cayman islands, colombia, cuba, dominican republic, guatemala, guyana, mexico, turks , caicos, , venezuela), amazon (peru , colombia), taiwan , gabon, africa. in puerto rico, 4 manatees have been released after rescue, 3 have been released after rehabilitation (moisés, rafael , tuque) , 4 @ present in rehabilitation (guacara, aramaná, yuisa , tureygua). aramaná , yuisa slated release in 2016, while tureygua has 2 more years of rehabilitation before considered candidate release. guacara, florida, permanent resident of prmcc, can not release wild due floatability problems caused boat injury right lung in 2008.

population research

research on ecology, life history, genetics, distribution, habitat use , movement of manatee population in puerto rico have been conducted on past years in local, national , international cooperative fashion, particularly colleagues usgs sirenia project. these efforts have resulted in edited book (sirenian conservation: issues , strategies in developing countries), , on 56 joint publications, analyzing major causes affecting survival of species. of recent peer reviewed publications in prmcc has participated are:

acoustical , anatomical determination of sound production , transmission in west indian (trichechus manatus) , amazonian (t. inunguis) manatees.
genital papillomatosis associated 2 novel mucosotropic papillomaviruses florida manatee (trichchus manatus latirostris).
phylogeography , sex-biased dispersal across riverine manatee populations (trichechus inunguis , trichechus manatus) in south america.
disseminated toxoplamsosis in antillean manatees trichchus manatus manatus puerto rico.
puerto rico , florida manatees represent genetically distinct groups.
manatees rescue, rehabilitation , release efforts tool species conservation.
sirenian pathology , mortality assessment.
the role of scientists in sirenian conservation in developing countries.
west indian manatees (trichechus manatus) in wider caribbean region.
iucn red list of threatened species: trichechus manatus.
evidence of shark attack on west indian manatee (trichechus manatus) in puerto rico.
manatee mortality in puerto rico.

the new frontier in manatee research pivots on population health assessment , habitat use through use of radio-telemetry. thus, in coming years, prmcc focus research on manatees through cooperative project titled puerto rico manatee health assessment , telemetry project . research led prmcc inter american university, prdner, usfws, usgs sirenia project, puerto rico’s environmental quality board (preqb), san juan bay estuary program (sjbep), university of florida’s veterinary school, , georgia aquarium. since detrimental activities have led manatee endangerment include habitat degradation, in turn influences manatee health , particular use of specific habitats, prmcc seeks ascertain effects of these 2 factors in survival of manatee in puerto rico. study conducted in 2 important estuarine habitats species: jobos bay , san juan bay. health assessments valuable tool determine fitness, related environmental , medical issues of population of wildlife. telemetry studies provide hard evidence on preference , use of wildlife specific habitat , use of resources (food, water, shelter, etc.) needed survival. wild manatees medically examined , tested signs of health issues. once examined , samples collected analysis, manatees fitted satellite tag monitor movement , habitat preference year.

community outreach , education

extensive community outreach efforts have been priority prmcc, including education of school children , general public, , production of brochures , posters free distribution. 2 books young children have been printed in 2010 , 2011, educating plight survival of manatees in caribbean waters.

aunque viva en el agua.
el manatí de puerto rico.

new educational material children boaters, kayakers, divers , jetskiers, being produced in cooperative effort prdner, usfws, sjbep, preqb, puerto rico’s sea grant college program , ngos para la naturaleza , arrecifes pro ciudad. additional educational material available teachers , can downloaded general public on prmcc s website www.manatipr.org.

a public service announcement (psa) campaign in 2 major local newspapers (el nuevo día , primera hora) used make community aware of need of conservation efforts manatees in island.

through prmcc s encouragement , active campaign, puerto rico’s government declared law in 2013 manatee national mammal of commonwealth of puerto rico , assigned each year 7 september day caribbean manatee conservation in island. designation through law 127 of 31 october 2013 first official designation of national wildlife symbol puerto rico. during first , second celebration in 2013 , 2014, on 50 schools , 20,000 students celebrated 7 september manatee day environmental activities, talks, , writing of advocacy letters in manatee conservation in island. during week of 7 september 2015, prmcc 300 elementary , secondary school teachers, impacted on 45,000 students in island regarding manatee s plight survival , need conservation measures prevent extinction.

part of prmcc’s community outreach efforts include involving students volunteers, , inviting college interns practice , gain experience in marine wildlife conservation initiatives @ prmcc. biology, marine sciences, , environmental sciences students participate in daily activities of prmcc, including husbandry, veterinary care, scientific research, conservation, , community outreach , education. on 90 volunteers , interns associated prmcc s activities, learning first hand on manatee conservation. prmcc arranges technicians , volunteers gain experience in internships abroad collaborative institutions such florida marine mammal pathobiology laboratory, dolphin discovery, sea shore alliance, , georgia aquarium.

prmcc facility elementary, middle , high school children, university students, public , tourists may visit observe first hand research , rehabilitation work in way inspire them involved in environmental conservation through community service. on 5,000 visitors come through prmcc each year receive short lecture on manatee conservation , see work behind scenes species survive.

news media, tv , newspapers, regularly cover prmcc s conservation activities , progress of manatee patients under veterinary care. result of coverage , prmcc s community outreach efforts, environmental protection agency awarded network environmental quality award in 2004. national geographic documented work television series earth pulse, aired worldwide in 2002 , 2003. in 2012, syndicated abc television program ocean mysteries jeff corwin filmed prmcc’s manatee conservation efforts , episode aired 1.5 million viewers in in march 2013. in 2014, windfall films recorded section pbs , england’s channel 4 program born in wild featuring prmcc’s work on manatee calf rearing. episode seen during summer of 2014 821,000 viewers in united kingdom, , on 1.2 million viewers in us.