NUMBER 41

IN THIS ISSUE: AMAZONIAN MANATEE CATCH STATISTICS RE-
EVALUATED (p. 3)

STATUS OF DUGONGS IN THE COMORO ISLANDS
AND MOZAMBIQUE (pp. 5, 12)

DUGONG STATUS REVIEWED

Helene Marsh, Helen Penrose, and Carole Eros have recently published a
comprehensive assessment of dugong "status, threats, and research and conservation
actions in 37 countries and territories" throughout the species' range, "based on published
information and the expert opinions of about 100 scientists and managers. These people
were contacted by email ... between 1997 and 2001 as part of the process leading to the
development of a global status and action plan for the dugong...." The principal
conclusions of this survey deserve repeating: "On the basis of the largely anecdotal
information supplied to us ..., we have evaluated the prospects of the dugong[']s
surviving throughout its range and tentatively conclude that:
it is at risk of extinction in East Africa, India and Sri Lanka, Japan and Palau;
its prospects are uncertain in the Arabian Gulf, East and South-east Asia and the
Pacific Islands;
its prospects are probably reasonable in the Red Sea;
it is probably secure in Australia, except in the urban coastal waters of
Queensland, and regions close to major Indigenous hunting communities."

Sirenews No. 41

APRIL 2004

April 2004

For the details, see: Marsh, H., H. Penrose, and C. Eros. 2003. A future for the dugong?
In: N. Gales, M. Hindell, and R. Kirkwood (eds.), Marine mammals: fisheries, tourism
and management issues. Collingwood, CSIRO Publishing: 383-399. (This well-produced,
multi-authored hardback volume is available for AU$145.00 from CSIRO Publishing, P.
0. Box 1139, Collingwood, Victoria 3066, Australia; .)

SIRENIAN STATUS WORKSHOP IN 2005

The status assessments of the living sirenian species provided in the IUCN Red
List are due for revision by 2006. A workshop to re-evaluate these species' status, and
decide what changes in the assessments may be needed, will be convened by the IUCN
Sirenia Specialist Group at the 9th International Mammalogical Congress (IMC9),
Sapporo, Japan, 31 July-5 August 2005. Further details will be provided as plans for this
meeting develop. For current information, contact Dr. John Reynolds
. For congress registration and other matters, visit
.

TETHYTHERIA SYMPOSIUM IN 2005

Also at IMC9, synergistically with the above workshop, there will be a
symposium on "Tethytheria: Recent Taxonomic and Natural History Findings", which
will cover work on the Proboscidea, Sirenia, and Desmostylia, both living and extinct. If
you are interested in participating in the Sirenia-Desmostylia portion of the symposium,
please contact Dr. Norihisa INUZUKA .

ABSTRACTS OF 2003 MARINE MAMMAL CONFERENCE

As those who attended can attest, the 15th Biennial Conference on the Biology of
Marine Mammals, held in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, 14-19 Dec. 2003, was a
great success. Several dozen (!) papers and posters were devoted to sirenians. Copies of
the abstract volume are still available. The price of each copy is US$20 and includes
shipping and handling. An order form is available at
; it can be printed and mailed to:
Marine Mammal Conference, P. 0. Box 692042, Orlando, FL 32869-2042 USA.
Payment can be made by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or checks
drawn on U.S. banks. Credit card orders may be faxed to 1-407-352-3459.

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

LOCAL NEWS

BRAZIL

New Amazonian Manatee
Captive Birth. A new baby manatee
has been born at the Aquatic Mammal
Lab of INPA, Manaus, Brazil. The
mother is our 30-year-old female, Boo,
in captivity since 1974 and mother of
Ere, our first manatee born in captivity
in 1998 (see Sirenews No. 30). This is
the third successful birth in our lab, but
the first with an induced and controlled
pregnancy. Boo has been monitored in
the last 3 years for hormone studies
(Nascimento et al., in prep.). After she
stopped nursing a pair of orphans for 2
years (see Sirenews No. 40), and started
ovulating, we introduced the male Tupy
into her tank. She was receptive between
the 4th and 14th of February 2003. The
pregnancy was monitored throughout
gestation. On 3 February 2004, after
about 6 hours of intense labor, a male
calf (12 kg 86.5 cm) was born. In
contrast to all our other animals, this
baby, in addition to the white spot on his
belly characteristic of the species, also
has white spots on his nostril and
flippers.
The calf went straight to the
surface to breathe; records of the
sounds revealed that mother and calf
were vocalizing all the time. He started
feeding about 5 hours after birth. Both
mother and baby are fine. Vera M.
F. Da Silva

How Many Manatees Really
Were Killed in Brazil by Past
Commercial Exploitation? Domning
(1982) assembled published statistics
on the commercial exploitation of
Brazilian manatees, ca. 1785-1973, and
attempted to estimate the number of

dead manatees that the statistics
represented. This attempt was seriously
impaired by the lack of hard data on
how much meat or other products an
average manatee yielded. Nonetheless,
his estimates have been quoted
elsewhere in discussions of the
historical impact of commercial hunting
on manatee populations. Since these
estimates ran as high as between 3,000
and 7,000 Amazonian manatees killed
per year from the 1930s into the 1960s
(not counting subsistence hunting), the
implications are significant, and it is
important to know how close to reality
these estimates are.
The most recent and relevant
period of commercial killing extended
from 1954 to 1973, when the main
manatee product in Amazonian
commerce was fresh meat. For
interpreting these statistics, Domning
(1982) used a somewhat arbitrary
conversion factor of 40 kg of usable
meat per manatee carcass. This was a
low estimate based on the statement of
Carvalho (1967: 26-27) that a manatee
normally furnished 40-60 kg of meat
excluding fat. However, Carvalho cited
no actual data to support this statement.
Recently, two of us (Kendall
and Orozco), working in the Colombian
Amazon, have collected relevant data in
the course of interviewing manatee
hunters. These data point to higher meat
yields per carcass, and hence
significantly smaller numbers of
manatees killed in the past, than
Domning (1982) estimated.
Three former manatee hunters,
who have killed more than 120 animals
among them, gave the following
categories for size of the manatee

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

compared to meat yield (without fat or
bone):
Length approx. 200 cm: 60-90 kg of
meat (young adult)
Length approx. 250 cm: 100-130 kg
of meat (full-grown adult)
Length approx. 280 cm or more:
120-180 kg of meat (large manatee)
They agreed that there could
exceptionally be animals yielding up to
200 kg.
Some specific size/yield figures
from hunter interviews done over the
last 4 years are as follows:
190 cm 35 kg
190 cm 60 kg
200 cm 90 kg
approx. 250 cm 80 kg
250 cm- 110 kg
250 cm- 130 kg
300 cm 120 kg
300 cm 180 kg
300 cm 200 kg
Clearly, these estimates vary a lot. The
hunters say that this is typical; animals
yield very different amounts of meat
and fat according to their condition.
(They say that an average adult will
yield about one lata or one and a half
latas of fat, maybe even two for a big
animal. One "lata", or can, traditionally
holds about 20-25 kg.) Also, people are
often not too accurate in their
measurements. We have not had the
opportunity ourselves to accurately
measure the meat obtained from a
carcass as it was being butchered. Our
work (Kendall and Orozco) aims to
reduce hunting, and we consider we
would be delivering a contradictory
message if we were present during or
soon after a hunting event to solicit
data. However, it would be useful for
anyone in a position to do so to collect
such data (from manatees or dugongs),
in order to increase the accuracy of the

conversion factors used with old
statistics.
As a rough guide to the size/age
structure of 55 animals hunted, 23%
were up to 150 cm in length, 51% from
150 cm to 250 cm; and 26% over 250
cm in length (Orozco, 2001). The size
distribution of animals hunted has
probably changed considerably in
recent years because of the use in the
Puerto Narifio area of fishing nets that
are more likely to trap smaller animals.
Also, fishermen say there are fewer
really big animals than there used to be
when they were young.
However, if we take 200 cm as
roughly the length of an "average"
Amazonian manatee taken by hunters,
then even a conservative estimate
places its expected meat yield closer to
80 than to 40 kg. This would cut
approximately in half Domning's
(1982) estimates of many thousands of
manatees killed between 1954 and
1973. Really large manatees, possibly
more frequently taken in the past, could
easily yield twice as much again, in the
neighborhood of 160 kg.
In contrast, Domning's (1982)
estimates of comparably high numbers
of manatees killed for their hides
between 1935 and 1954 were based on
a conversion factor of 20 kg/hide,
derived from data in Pereira (1944) that
included total numbers and weights of
hides recorded in five consecutive years
(1938-1942). These numbers would
seem to be more firmly based than
Carvalho's (1967) estimate of meat
yields.
If, then, we accept the figure of
some 6,300 manatee hides exported
from the State of Amazonas, Brazil,
alone in the peak year of 1940, and
halve the 1954-73 estimates based on
meat, the resulting picture (cf.

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

Domning, 1982: fig. 1) more
convincingly depicts a significant
decline in the take after 1940, with
some apparent recovery in the take
around 1960 followed by still further
decline. This pattern, no doubt, is at
least partly an economic artifact, with
the decline in hide production in the
1940s and early 1950s driven by
demand and linked to the new
availability of synthetic substitutes, and
the sudden peak in meat exports in the
late 1950s possibly due to newly
available refrigerated transport. The
subsequent decline may reflect real
depletion of the population.
Whatever the correct
interpretation, however, we now think
the estimates of 6,000-7,000
Amazonian manatees killed for meat
per year circa 1960 are erroneous and
should be reduced by at least half.
Likewise, Domning's (1982) estimate
of commerce in meat from up to 25
Antillean manatees on the northeastern
coast of Brazil in the same period
should also be reduced, probably by
considerably more than half since T.
manatus grows larger than T. inunguis.

References

Carvalho, J.C. de M. 1967. A
conservacgo da natureza e recursos
naturais na Amaz6nia Brasileira. Atas
Simpos. Biota Amaz. 7: 1-47.

Domning, D.P. 1982. Commercial
exploitation of manatees Trichechus in
Brazil c. 1785-1973. Biol. Conserv.
22(2): 101-126.

Orozco, D.L. 2001. Manati Trichechus
inunguis: Caza, percepci6n y
conocimiento de las comunidades del
municipio de Puerto Nariho, Amazonas.

Thesis in Ecology, Pontificia
Universidad Javeriana, Bogota.

Pereira, M.N. 1944. 0 peixe-boi da
Amaz6nia. Bol. Minist. Agric. (Rio de
Janeiro) 33: 21-95.

- Daryl Domning (Howard University,
Washington, D.C., USA), Sarita
Kendall, and Diana Luz Orozco
(Fundaci6n Omacha, Bogota,
Colombia)

COMORO ISLANDS

A Preliminary Assessment of
the Status and Conservation of the
Dugong (Dugong dugon) in the
Lagoon of Mayotte (Comoros
Archipelago, Mozambique Channel,
Indian Ocean). The dugong is
relatively poorly known in the western
Indian Ocean. Around the island of
Mayotte, the most eastern of the
Comoros archipelago, there is no
documented reference to dugongs
before the late 1990s. Information on
the status, distribution and threats to
dugongs in the lagoon of Mayotte was
gathered from opportunistic sightings
and interviews with local fishermen
(n=35), with ultra-light aircraft (n=l),
and from dive operators (n=6).
Between 1999 and 2003, 12
opportunistic dugong sightings were
recorded by the Service des Peches et
de l'Environnement Marin (SPEM) and
the association MEGAPTERA Ocean
Indien. The largest group size was 3
individuals, last sighted in 2000.
Dugongs were observed associating
with Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins
(Tursiops aduncus) in 1999, and a
mother-calf pair was observed in April
2000. The most recent incident was on
21 September 2003 when a dugong was

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

caught accidentally in a bottom-set
gillnet.
74% of fishermen interviewed
had observed a dugong at least once,
3% had heard of but had never seen one
and 23% had never heard of a dugong.
Respondents, especially elders,
confirmed that before the early 1980s,
one or two dugongs were sold at the
market of Mamoudzou every week and
dugongs were relatively abundant at
that time. However, they were now said
to have become increasingly rare.
Observations were made most
frequently inside the 1,100 km2 lagoon.
Other important areas highlighted by
respondents included: Sada and
adjacent areas; the bay of Boueni; areas
adjacent to Petite Terre (south and
north); and the southern barrier reef
area. Respondents cited incidental net
captures as the greatest threat to this
species.
Aerial surveys (focusing on
turtles) were conducted during 2002
and 2003 from a micro-light aircraft. In
2002, dugongs were observed on 12
occasions between August and
September. These included a group of
5-7 individuals and two mother-calf
pairs which were observed off the west
coast near the bay of Boueni and in the
north of Sada. In 2003, dugongs were
seen on 4 occasions off the east coast of
the island at Bouzi.
Between 2000 and 2003, divers
observed dugongs on 8 occasions. All
sightings were of single animals on the
east of the island, where the main dive
sites are located.
The results indicate that
dugongs are present in small numbers
within the lagoon waters of Mayotte.
Since Mayotte is surrounded by deep
water and is 115 km from Anjouan, the
nearest Comorian island, it is likely that

Sirenews No. 41

these animals are resident or semi-
resident. The most important habitats
for dugongs are the shallow waters of
the lagoon and the seagrass beds in the
bay of Boueni, Passe en S, off the
southern coast of Petite Terre and at
Saziley.
The main threats to dugongs in
Mayotte are incidental capture in fish
nets (mostly gillnets), habitat
destruction, pollution, disturbance, and
boat collisions. Systematic aerial
surveys and an intensive research
program are needed to determine
population dynamics and movements,
assess extent of habitat and minimize
the threats. Conservation measures
include creation of protected areas for
dugongs (and marine turtles) where use
of gillnets is regulated, awareness-
raising among the general public,
establishment of a Western Indian
Ocean dugong research and
conservation network, and development
of an integrated land use and
management plan for Mayotte.
Jeremy J. Kiszka'2'', Catharine Muir 4
& Michel Vely 2 (1 Service des PNches et
de l'Environnement Marin,
Observatoire des Mammiferes Marins,
Pointe Mahabou, Mamoudzou,
Mayotte, France; 2 MEGAPTERA
Ocean Indien (Observation,
Knowledge, and Conservation of
Marine Mammals in the Indian Ocean),
BP 609, Mamoudzou, Mayotte, France;
3 University du Littoral de la C6te
d'Opale, p6le de Calais, DEA Interface
et Dynamique en Environnement,
filiere Ecosystemes Littoraux et
C6tiers; 4 Mafia Island Turtle &
Dugong Conservation Programme, P 0
Box 23, Mafia Island, Tanzania; e-
mail : .)

April 2004

FLORIDA
(NOTE: For detailed coverage of
manatee matters in Florida, read Manatee
News Quarterly, published by the Florida
Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission.)

Marine Industries Manatee
Symposium Transcripts Available. -
On 31 January 2003, the Marine
Industries Association of South Florida
(MIASF) sponsored a scientific
symposium, "Manatee 2020", on
manatee population and conservation.
A full transcript of the symposium is
now available at . As
some supporting documents are
available as hard copy only, please call
MIASF at 1-954-524-2733 to request
this information, or send an e-mail to
Martha Lord or
Gordon Connell .
The symposium participants
included: Dr. Lemnuel Aragones,
University of Miami; Lucy Keith,
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWCC); Dr. Bruce
Ackerman, FWCC; Dr. Edmund
Gerstein, Florida Atlantic University;
David Arnold, FWCC; Benji Brumberg,
Florida Department of Environmental
Protection; Mary Ann Gray, Manatee
Survival Foundation; and Frank
Herhold, MIASF. Audience members
included county manatee protection
plan authors, university professors, law
enforcement agents, environmental
groups, and marine-industry
representatives. Among the topics
covered in the day-long session were
food resources and manatee-habitat
interactions, avoidance technology,
warm-water wintering sanctuaries,
recruitment, catastrophic environmental
occurrences, and interaction of
manatees with boats. (Source: PR

Newswire Association, Inc., Feb. 6,
2004)

Dissertation on Manatee
Protection in Florida. A doctoral
dissertation by Theresa L. Goedeke,
entitled "The Role of Science in the
Creation of Endangered Species Law
and Policy: The Case of the West
Indian Manatee" (Department of Rural
Sociology, University of Missouri -
Columbia, 2003), provides an
interesting and insightful analysis, by
an "outside" observer, of Florida
manatee conservation from its
beginnings up to the present.
Based in part on extensive
interviews with participants in these
conservation efforts, this is a valuable
contribution to the historical
documentation and sociological
understanding of events still unfolding,
and the roles of some key individuals
still active in the manatee science and
protection communities. Of particularly
contemporary relevance are Goedeke's
views on the decline of the spirit of
interagency cooperation since the
1990s; the primacy of Federal over
State regulation of manatee protection
having been "irrevocably" regained as a
result of the lawsuits in 2000; and the
likelihood that the influence of
scientists on manatee policy will
continue to decline relative to that of
managers.
Dr. Goedeke can be contacted at
.

Manatee Hotline Connects to
Wrong Wildlife. For years, the Florida
Marine Patrol advertised a toll-free
number so callers could report injured
and dead manatees, boating violations,
illegal dumping and other problems.
When the patrol was absorbed into the

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

new Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission five years
ago, the number changed. But the old
800 number lives on, posted throughout
Florida on boater education signs,
printed in park brochures and included
on Web sites for everything from
SeaWorld to the Humane Society.
Recently, a newspaper ad for the Miami
Seaquarium included the old number,
not the new one. Trouble is, someone
else owns that 800 number now.
Someone with a different definition of
wild life.
Starting in October, callers
trying to report an injured manatee
using the old 800 number were referred
to another 800 number, which turned
out to be a sex-talk line called Intimate
Encounters. A woman's voice promised
a chat with "fantasy girls" in exchange
for a credit card.
"That's not the kind of wildlife
violation they respond to," quipped
Suzanne Tarr of the Save the Manatee
Club, which is replacing its old signs
with new ones showing the new
number.
One irate caller eventually got
hold of state wildlife biologist Penny
Husted. "She was very upset," Husted
said. "She said a lot of people are not
going to go through the trouble she
went through to report an injured
manatee."
This is not the first time
Intimate Encounters has turned a
hotline into a party line. It has taken
over old toll-free numbers from the
conservative journal Policy Review, the
World Wildlife Fund, Alltel's wireless
customer service and rape crisis lines in
Maine and Arizona. A spokesman for
the Philadelphia company did not
respond to calls seeking comment.

Tom Pitchford of the wildlife
agency's Florida Marine Research
Institute said he could not figure out
how Intimate Encounters would attract
paying sex-line customers from people
reporting dead animals.
Agency biologists had urged
their bosses to hang onto the old
number because it was so well known,
he said. Before the sex-line connection,
callers to the number got no answer,
which also prompted complaints, he
said.
Being hooked up to a sex line
"only adds to the levels of frustration
felt by our field staff and FWC
dispatchers, it's making us look really
bad to the public," Elsa Haubold, in
charge of the marine institute's manatee
program, wrote in an e-mail to agency
officials.
The agency kept the 800
number for four years after the demise
of the Florida Marine Patrol, noted
Major Kent Thompson of the wildlife
agency's law enforcement division.
Until July, callers to the line got a
recording referring them to the new
number. Then, the company that owns
the 800 listings apparently sold it to
Intimate Encounters, he said.
Now, Thompson said, "we want
to see if we can get that number back
again."
The situation had agency
spokesman Henry Cabbage shaking his
head. "You've got to admire the
American spirit when it comes to
figuring out a way to make a buck," he
said. "We're just geniuses at that."
The correct toll-free number to
report problems to the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission is
1-888-404-FWCC. Craig Pittman
(St. Petersburg Times, November 30,

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

2003. Times staff researcher Caryn
Baird contributed to this report.)

FRANCE

First Birth of Twin Sea Cows
in Captivity. A zoo in central France
is now the proud home to a world first:
the birth of twin sea cows in captivity.
The manatees came into the
world on November 4, at the Beauval
ZooParc in the town of Saint-Aignan.
The director, Rodolphe Delord, said it
was the first known birth of twin sea
cows in a zoo or animal park.
He said each of the arrivals
weighed around 20 kg (45 pounds) and
were around a meter (three feet) long.
One, a male, was named Quito. The
other, a female, was called Luna.
In the wild, the sea cows they
are descended from are found in
brackish rivers in the southern United
States and Central America. (Source:
Agence France Presse, December 3,
2003)

INDONESIA

Death of Dugong at Surabaya
Zoo. The single female dugong held
at the Surabaya Zoo died in the fall of
2003. The cause of death was probably
old age. This animal was caught in
1974 in the area of Banyuwangi, south
coast of East Java. According to Mr.
Bambang Suhardjito, Director of the
Surabaya Zoo, this survival of a dugong
in captivity for nearly 30 years is a new
record. Ismu Sutanto Suwelo
(National Foundation for Ocean
Development, Indonesia)

JAPAN

Dugong Workshop. A
workshop on "The Biology and
Research Methods of Dugongs" was
held on 26 March 2004 at the National
Institute of Polar Research in Tokyo,
Japan. The primary purposes of the
workshop were to review the biology of
dugongs and report on the research on
dugongs that is being carried out in
Japan and overseas, especially in
Thailand and the Philippines, by
Japanese researchers. There were three
reports about the biology of dugongs,
on "Stomach content analysis of
dugongs from Okinawa, southern
Japan," "Contents of the
gastrointestinal tract of dugong in
Kumamoto, Japan", and "Reproductive
hormones of dugong in captivity".
Also presented were five reports about
methods of dugong research, "The
relationship between dugongs and
seagrass beds method of the feeding
trails of dugongs", "DNA analysis of
dugongs", and "Acoustical analysis of
dugong voice". Many proposals about
future research on dugongs were
offered by workshop participants,
which included up to sixty people.
- Kana Aketa, Ph.D, Research
Scientist, Japan Wildlife Research
Center, 3-10-10, Shitaya, Taito-Ku,
Tokyo 110-8676, Japan (tel.: +81-3-
5824-0967; fax: +81-3-5824-0968; e-
mail: )

Churaumi Aquarium Manatee
Baby Named Yuma. Churaumi
Aquarium in Motobu Memorial Park,
Okinawa, is now one of the very few in
the world that has managed to have a
baby manatee born in captivity. The
happy event actually took place about
two years ago when the American

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

manatee mother, Maya, produced a
healthy manatee baby with father
manatee, Yukatan. Both parents were
originally captured in Mexico.
After the baby was born, the
question of what to name it naturally
arose. The management at the
Aquarium finally decided to ask for
help from the public and organized a
vote among visitors to the facility.
A total of 5,247 people sent
their suggestion by postcard, and the
baby was finally named Yuma in a
ceremony. Yuma comes from the first
syllables of the names of its parents,
and 137 people had sent the same
suggestion.
Yuma also got an official
godfather from among those 137
persons. Kenichi Tamura from Ibaraki
Prefecture was selected by raffle at the
ceremony and will get a certificate
officially naming him with the honor.
Meanwhile, Yuma didn't seem to get
overly excited about the event,
concentrating on munching on seaweed
instead. And baby Yuma has grown
indeed, being currently 193 cm long
and weighing 220 kg. (Source: Japan
Update, November 28, 2003)

LOUISIANA

Lake Pontchartrain Attracting
Manatees. The West Indian manatee
is being spotted more often in Lake
Pontchartrain and other Louisiana
waters, according to a biologist with the
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and
Fisheries.
There were 93 manatee
sightings reported to the state between
1995 and 2003, compared with only 20
from 1929 to 1994, Louisiana Natural
Heritage Program zoologist Ines Maxit
said during an environmental law

seminar at Tulane Law School, New
Orleans, on 3 April 2004.
The manatees, more likely to be
seen in Florida's west coast waters,
seem to be attracted to the lake's cleaner
water and recovering seagrass beds, she
said. The lake has seen an
environmental revitalization during the
past 15 years, the result of a state halt in
dredging for clamshells, which left the
water more clear, and a reduction in
contaminants entering the lake from
rainwater runoff and sewage-treatment
plants on the lake's north and south
shores.
Maxit said it's unclear whether
the number of manatees is increasing,
or whether people are simply becoming
more aware of the unusual animals.
However, officials say scientific
surveys point to an increase in the
population of manatees throughout the
Gulf of Mexico. But that's not been
enough to overcome the threats to the
mammals from natural and human
causes. The manatee's lack of speed and
maneuverability makes it vulnerable to
boat traffic, the cause of 25 percent of
recorded manatee deaths since 1990.
Louisiana has begun posting
signs saying "Manatee area, proceed
with caution," with the phone numbers
for reporting sightings -- (225) 765-
2821 or (800) 442-2511 - in marinas
in the Lake Pontchartrain area, but
many have been stolen, probably as
souvenirs, Maxit said. Her office also
has begun a program to educate boaters
to avoid destroying seagrass, in part
through the issuance of "Manatee Sea
Grass Beds" certificates.
The state also has entered into a
contract with the Audubon Aquarium of
the Americas to conduct aerial surveys
that will gauge how many manatees are
in Louisiana, and to act as a

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

rehabilitation center for injured
animals, Maxit said. Mark
Schleifstein (The Times-Picayune, New
Orleans, LA, 4 April 2004)

MEXICO

Rehabilitation of a Manatee
Calf (Trichechus manatus) in
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. -
On Sunday, 14 September 2003, staff of
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur
(ECOSUR) responded to a report of a
manatee calf that was found alone in
Guerrero Lagoon, which is located
about 25 km from Chetumal city. As
the calf could not swim very well and
an adult manatee that could be its
mother was not found, staff from
ECOSUR decided to take care of it to
avoid its death from starvation. It was
kept in an inflatable kiddy's pool in
Chetumal city, where it was examined.
The male calf was in good condition. It
was thought to be about 2 weeks old,
measured 108 cm and weighed 20 kg. It
was named "Daniel".
Next day the calf was taken to
Dolphin Discovery, an aquatic park in
Puerto Aventuras, Quintana Roo, where
the staff has experience with marine
mammals in captivity. He was assessed
and fed by Dr. Roberto Sanchez, and
blood samples were taken. On 16
September the calf was taken back to
ECOSUR in Chetumal, where he has
been kept since then in a 3 m circular
pool with a filter system and a boiler to
maintain the water clean and warm.
A group of volunteers feed the
calf with milk every 3 hours. Every
week Daniel is taken out of the pool to
take measurements and samples for
clinical analysis. He is growing well
and is beginning to bite lettuce. At 6

months old in March 2004, his length is
130 cm and he weighs 50 kg.
Local people, groups of
children, students and tourists visit
Daniel every day to learn about the
manatees which inhabit Chetumal Bay.
Daniel will be in ECOSUR
facilities until April 2004, when the
cold north wind season ends. In
agreement with local government, it is
intended to keep him in a pen in
Guerrero Lagoon about 8 months at
least, rearing him in a natural
environment and introducing him to
aquatic vegetation. Then, when Daniel
is released, he will be tagged with a
radio-transmitter to monitor his
movements in his natural habitat. This
will be part of the manatee project
research activities of ECOSUR.
People in charge of Daniel are:
Benjamin Morales (manatee researcher
at ECOSUR), Marco Benitez (vet of
African Safari), Rafael Estrada, Daniel
Rovelo and Janneth Padilla (manatee
research assistants at ECOSUR). The
advisory group are: Roberto Sanchez,
Fabian Vanoye, Antonio Mignucci,
Greg Bossart, and Robert K. Bonde.
This is the first manatee calf
rehabilitation venture for B. Morales
and his group. Save the Manatee Club
has been the main provider of funding.
Patty Thompson helped to get us these
funds. For further information or to
contribute towards this rehabilitation
program, contact Janneth Padilla

, or visit
/index.htm>. Janneth Padilla-
Saldivar and Benjamin Morales-Vela
(El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Av.
Centenario km 5.5. CP 77900,
Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico)

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

MOZAMBIQUE

Dugong (Dugong dugon)
Population Trends in the Bazaruto
Archipelago National Park,
Mozambique, 1990-2003. From 1969
until 2003 there have been several
reports of dugong sightings in the
vicinity of the Bazaruto Archipelago
(Hughes, 1969; Tinley, 1969; Santos
Dias, 1971; Dutton and Zolho, 1990;
Dutton, Cockcroft, and Guissamelo,
1990; Cumming, Mackie, Magane, and
Dutton, 1995; Cockcroft and
Guissamelo, 1997; P. Dutton and S.
Dutton, 1997; Guissamelo and
Cockcroft, 1997; Dutton, Correia, and
L. Zivane, 1998; Mackie, Correia,
Magane, and Zivane, 1999; Mackie,
Guissamelo, Nhantumbo, and Bento,
2001; Dutton and C. Zivane, 2002;
Marsh, 2002; Cockcroft and Young,
1998; Dutton, Muchenne, Niels, and
Margett, 2003).
The intensification of large-
mesh gill-netting from 1976, coupled
with lack of law enforcement, has been
the principal cause of the decline of
dugongs in Mozambique. The
southernmost population of Africa's
dugong at Inhaca, once numbering
about 20 (Rod Salm, pers. comm.), is
now extinct, with small numbers being
reported at Inhambane. The situation
further north at Angoche, where
Hughes (1969) witnessed daily sales of
dugong meat at the local market, is not
known. However, my own enquiries
and visits indicate that the dugong is
now extinct on Mozambique's northern
coast.
Current reports from Tanzania
and Kenya are no less alarming. It
evident that the ENEP, WWF and most
scientists have thrown in the towel in
trying to save the beleaguered dugong

in the western Indian Ocean. This is
borne out by Dr. Amini Ngurasu,
dugong research coordinator for WWF,
saying that donors and universities are
reluctant to fund research on dugongs
because there are so few of them left
(George Mwangi, Associated Press, 31
July 2003).
Bazaruto's population of
dugong, once estimated at 133 from a
sample of 80 in 1990 (Dutton & Zolho
1990), is now less than 23 according to
air surveys carried out by Dutton and
cetacean specialist Dr. Almeida
Guissamelo in 2003. Of this population
only two had juveniles. Although it is
illegal to kill dugongs in Mozambique,
carrying a fine of 50,000,000 Meticais
(US$ 5,000) (Decreto No. 12/2002 de 6
de Junho), no convictions are on record
to date.
Methodology: Since 1990,
systematic dugong surveys within the
Bazaruto area have regularly been
carried out by various researchers using
different methodologies and search
intensities, with aircraft flying at
altitudes varying between 100 m to 150
m along selected transect lines with
sample strip widths varying from 368 to
500 m. Low tide and calm periods were
preferred for counting. The average
flight time covering the study area
varied from 3 to 5 hours. Despite these
varying methodologies, a useful
indication of dugong population trends
nevertheless emerges.
Whereas it was possible during
the earlier surveys to derive reasonable
estimates using statistical analysis, the
current sparse and unevenly distributed
population makes this impractical. For
this reason the most recent survey
(March 2003) involved increased search
intensity (survey lines 4 km apart and

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

5-hour flight) in an attempt to do a total
count.

Results: The following graph
illustrates the trend in dugong
populations since 1990.

Dugong Population Trends, Bazaruto Archiplego: 1990-2003

140
2 120
= 100
S so E Actual count
60 o0 Estimate
f 40
U 20
0

1990 1995 1997 1998 1999
Years

Recommendations: The
seriousness of the dugong situation in
the Bazaruto Archipelago area calls for
urgent and drastic measures to prevent
the loss of this, probably the last
remnant population for the entire East
African Indian Ocean region. For this
to succeed it will require coordinated
and cooperative input from all relevant
Mozambique government agencies,
NGOs, local tourism enterprises and
local people. Immediate measures
should follow a three-pronged
coordinated approach to prevent further
decline of the dugong: extension and
education; vigilance and law
enforcement; and civil society
involvement.

Selected References

Cumming, D.H.M., and C.S. Mackie.
1995. Aerial census of dugongs,
dolphins and turtles in the proposed
Greater Bazaruto National Park,
Mozambique. WWF (Harare) Project
No. MZ0006, Report 1: 9 pp.

2001 2002 2003

Dutton, T.P., and R. Zolho. 1990.
Conservation Master Plan for
Sustainable Development of the
Bazaruto Archipelago. WWF report 1:
90 pp.

Dutton, T.P. 1993. Past and present
status of dugong in the Bazaruto
Archipelago and other known habitats
on the Mozambique Coast. Report for
the DNFFB, 1: 3 pp.

Dutton, T.P. 1997. Mermaids in
distress. African Wildlife 51(6): 22-23.

Dutton, T.P. 1998. East African
dugongs disappearing. Sirenews No. 29.
1 p.

Dutton, T.P., and C. Zivane. 2002.
Dugong Survey: Bazaruto National
Park, Mozambique. Spreadsheet, 1 p.

Guissamelo, A., and V. Cockcroft.
1997. Aerial survey of dugong in the
Bazaruto Archipelago. Report for the
DNFFB.

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

Hughes, G.R. 1969. Dugong status
survey in Mozambique. World Wildlife
Yearbook (WWF) 1969: 137-139.

Korrubel, J., and V. Cockcroft. 1998.
Mermaids and Sirens. Divestyle 34: 36
pp.

Mackie, C.S., A. Correia, S. Magane,
and L. Zivane. 1999. Aerial census of
dugongs, dolphins and turtles in the
proposed Greater Bazaruto National
Park, Mozambique. WWF Project No.
MZ0006. Report 1:6 pp.

Mackie, C.S., A. Guissamelo, D.
Nhantumbo, and C. Bento. 2001. Aerial
census of dugongs, dolphins and turtles
in the proposed Greater Bazaruto
National Park, Mozambique. WWF
(Harare) Project No. MZ0006, Report
1: 12 pp.

Marsh, H., H. Penrose, C. Eros, and J.
Hugues. 2001. Dugong: Status reports
and action plans for countries and
territories. IUCN/SSC Sirenia Specialist
Group. 1: 162 pp.

Tinley, KL.1969. Proposed maritime
national parks and marine sanctuary in
the Paradise Islands region of the
Mozambique Coast. Centro de
Investigagdo Ecologica, Parque
Nacional da Gorongosa, Report 1: 11
pp.

Travassos Santos Dias, J.A. 1971.
Reconhecimento bioecologica
preliminary do Arquipelago do Bazaruto.
Concelho de Proteccao da Natureza,
Lourengo Marques, Report 1: 22 pp.

- Telford Paul Dutton (e-mail:
)

PHILIPPINES

Newspaper Story Helps Stop
Slaughter of Dugongs. An Inquirer
story on the possible extinction of sea
cows in the 21,000-hectare Pujada Bay
at Mati, Davao Oriental, has fortunately
led to a stop in the killing of the
mammals. The story, which reported
the hunting and slaughtering of the
animals and the dangers they face from
garbage dumping, came out in the
Inquirer Mindanao in 2002.
David Pajarillaga, Mati
community environment resources
officer (CENRO), said local fishermen
realized that massive hunting was
decimating the already low dugong
population. Fishermen also found out
that hunting the animals for their meat
was illegal. Catching and slaughtering
dugongs are punishable by
imprisonment of six months and a fine
ranging from P1,000 to P2,000.
Since the massive information
campaign triggered by the Inquirer
story, Pajarillaga said residents of
Barangays Lawigan, Mamali and Bad-
as stopped hunting and slaughtering the
animals. The slaughter of dugongs was
common in these villages.
"There is no more massive
catching and slaughtering of the
endangered dugong in Pujada Bay since
the Inquirer came out with a story on
the massive catching and slaughtering
of dugongs here. They realized that
dugongs, which are endangered marine
mammals, must be preserved," said
Pajarillaga.
Former President Fidel Ramos
declared Pujada Bay a protected
seascape and landscape in 1994. Alfeo
Piloton, chief of the Bureau of Fisheries
and Aquatic Resources here, said
Pujada Bay is the dugong's sanctuary.

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

Pajarillaga said what
complicates the dugong preservation
program is the locals' liking for its
meat. "Dugong meat tastes very much
like that of cow but sells much
cheaper," he said. At local wet markets
in the province, dugong meat sells for
P50 to P100 a kilo compared to about
P130 for lean beef.
Garbage is also threatening the
animals. Pajarillaga said after the story
came out, Mayor Francisco Rabat
banned the dumping of garbage in the
bay. Ferdinand 0. Zuasola (PDI
Mindanao Bureau. Source: Philippine
Daily Inquirer, November 25, 2003)

THAILAND

Second Stranding of a Dugong
Calf in Phuket, Thailand. A female
dugong calf (107 cm long) stranded in a
river mouth north of Phuket Island,

Thailand, on the afternoon of 6
February 2004. She was released back
into the sea on the same day. We had
hoped that she could find her mother
soon after being released.
Unfortunately, she came into a shallow
area again at the beginning of March.
She was found very weak and thin, and
had a large wound on her muzzle.
Obviously orphaned at this stage, she
could have gotten lost from her mother
or her mother may have died. We don't
believe she had had any food since 6
February. We currently have her in
rehabilitation, where we are treating the
wound and feeding her a milk formula
prepared in consultation with a
veterinarian. Kanjana
Adulyanukosol (Phuket Marine
Biological Center, Phuket, Thailand; e-
mail:
)

ABSTRACTS

The following abstract is of a paper given at the 2003 International
Papillomavirus Workshop in Mexico City:

Isolation of a Novel Close-to-root Papillomavirus Using Degenerate Primer PCR and Multiply-
primed Rolling Circle Amplification: the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)
Papillomavirus or TmPV-1.
Rector, A., Ghim, S-J., Bossart, G.D., Jenson, A.B., and Van Ranst, M.
(GDB: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, 5600 U.S. 1 North, Ft. Pierce, Florida 34946 and
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149; phone:
(772) 465-2400 ext. 556; fax: (772) 466-4853; e-mail: )
A skin lesion biopsy from a Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) was examined for
the presence of papillomavirus DNA using a combination of degenerate primer PCR and multiply-primed
rolling circle amplification (RCA). Degenerate cutaneous papillomavirus-specific primers were developed
based on an alignment of the LI and El nucleotide sequences of selected animal and human benign
cutaneous papillomaviruses. Primers were chosen in the most conserved parts of these sequences and
degenerate positions were incorporated where necessary. Using these degenerate primersets, we obtained
partial LI and El sequences of a novel papillomavirus from the manatee sample. We used a novel
multiply-primed RCA protocol to amplify the complete papillomaviral DNA. Whereas no papillomaviral
DNA could be detected by restriction enzyme digestion of the original sample, SalIl digestion of the RCA
product showed a single band of approximately 8kb. The complete genome of this papillomavirus was
determined via direct primer-walking sequencing on the RCA product, starting from the partial El and LI
sequences that were determined with the degenerate primers. The Trichechus manatus latirostris PV
(TmPV-1) contains 7722 basepairs, and shows the classical PV genome organization with the 7 major open

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

reading frames, and one upstream regulatory region. The phylogenetic position of TmPV-1 was examined
by constructing a neighbor-joining phylogenetic tree, based on an amino acid alignment of the L sequence
of TmPV-1 and 55 other animal and human PVs. The TmPV-1 genome shows only distant relationship to
other PV sequences in GenBank, and appears in our phylogenetic tree as a close-to-root papillomavirus.

The following abstracts are of presentations at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the
American Society of Mammalogists, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, 21-25 June
2003:

Definition of Endangered: The Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris), a Case Study
Holly H. Edwards, Elsa M. Haubold, Charles J. Deutsch, Richard 0. Flamm, Bruce B. Ackerman, Meghan
E. Pitchford, Cheri A. Keller, and Sentiel A. Rommel (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission, Florida Marine Research Institute, 100 8th Ave SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA)
The process of designating species as endangered can be controversial. In the case of the manatee
and other species in the state of Florida, this controversy is confounded by the fact that independent
endangered species lists and criteria for them are maintained at both the federal and the state levels.
Recently, a biological status review of the Florida manatee was conducted to reassess its status at the state
level. To make the listing process objective, the state of Florida adopted criteria in 1999 for designating
species as endangered, threatened, or of special concern. These criteria are identical to the IUCN
designations of critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable species, respectively. An eleven-member
Stakeholder Working Group compiled generic, quantifiable criteria for classifying at-risk species in the
state of Florida. The Florida manatee was grandfathered onto the state list, having been originally
classified as endangered in 1967. The recent status review revealed that the manatee does not meet the
state's criteria for classification as endangered. It does meet the criterion for a threatened species, however,
based on a 20% probability of a population decline of at least 50% over the next 45 years (3 generations).
Conversely, the most recent federal manatee recovery plan (2001) defines measurable biological
benchmarks for down-listing. The manatee has not yet met those goals, indicating that the manatee will
remain on the federal endangered list. Although state and federal wildlife agencies share the goal of
recovery of the species, the fact that the designations and listing criteria are different may confuse the
public. It is yet to be determined what impact a change of status at the state level will have on the future of
manatee protection in Florida, but it will likely highlight problems that can ensue when separate
government agencies have different criteria for designation of endangered species.

Florida Manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) and the Caloosahatchee River, Lee County,
Florida: A Regional Assessment
Sara L. McDonald and Richard 0. Flamm (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida
Marine Research Institute, 100 8th Ave. SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701)
We used a "weight-of-evidence" approach to provide environmental managers with a
comprehensive analysis of Florida manatee use of the Caloosahatchee River, Florida, eastward to the W.P.
Franklin Lock and Dam. We examined human use of the river, habitat features, large- and fine-scale
manatee movements (from telemetry data), manatee distribution and relative abundance (from aerial
surveys), and manatee deaths (from FWC carcass recovery data). The section of the river between Shell
Point and the Edison Bridge (mid region) constitutes an important travel corridor. It connects a secondary
warm-water site and important feeding areas at the mouth (west region) to the feeding and resting areas and
a primary warm-water refuge east of the Edison Bridge (east region). The importance of each region
changes seasonally, but manatee use of the east region is highest during winter (December-February).
While traveling upriver or downriver, manatees appear to use shallow areas near seawalls in urbanized
locations for feeding, drinking, resting, or thermoregulation. Data indicate that manatees travel relatively
close to the shoreline and cross the river in the narrow areas of Redfish Point and Shell Point. While en
route, manatees sometimes stop at secondary aggregation areas. There is high overlap of manatees and
vessel traffic at the mouth of the river. Based on 13 years of carcass recovery location data (1989-2001),
watercraft-related manatee mortality has increased at a faster rate in the Caloosahatchee River than in either
southwest Florida or the state as a whole. Evidence suggests the following: in winter the east region may

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

be a sink for fatally injured manatees, and manatees are more likely to be harmed by motorboats at the
mouth of the river, San Carlos Bay, Redfish Point, and Matlacha Pass than in other waters of Lee County.
Copies of the full report can be downloaded from .

The following two papers were given at the 12th Annual Conference of South East
Asian Zoos and Aquaria Association (SEAZA), held at the Indonesia Safari Park,
Cisarua, Bogor, 8-11 December 2003:

Seagrass, the Dugong Food
Moh. Husni Azkab* and Ismu Sutanto Suwelo** (*Research Centre for Oceanography, Indonesian
Institute of Sciences; **Indonesian National Foundation for Ocean Development)
Seagrasses are the main food of dugongs, although marine algae are occasionally eaten,
particularly when seagrasses are not available. In captivity, dugongs do not have a feeding time; they may
feed any time, whenever food is available.
Feeding experiments with an adult female dugong in the Surabaya Zoo showed that the animal
preferred Halophila uninervis over Cymodocea rotundata, Syringodium isoetifolium, and Thalassia
hemprichii. At Sea World Indonesia, a dugong consumes 18-20 kg wet weight of Syringodium isoetifolium
and is fed four times daily.
Throughout the world, seagrasses are recognized as an important component of coastal
productivity. Studies indicate that approximately 60 species of this flowering plant have colonized the sea.
The leaves are most often straplike (turtle grass), but may be cylindrical or oval (manatee grass).
Seagrasses occur in the lower intertidal zone down to about 30 m depth in tropical to subpolar
seas. Their greatest species diversity occurs in the Indo-West Pacific. This paper will discuss the diversity
of seagrass (lamun ar rumput laut) in Indonesia's seas.

Blunt Trauma Recovery, Gastrointestinal Disorder and Medical Management of a Captive
Adolescent Male Dugong (Dugong dugon) at Sea World Indonesia
Linda Tjin* and Sumitro** (*Sea World Indonesia; **Jaya Ancol Oceanarium, Jakarta)
An adolescent male dugong about 150 cm long, assumed to be about a half to one year old, was
found along the Bojonegara coast, Serang, 120 km west of Jakarta, on 7 Oct. 1999. Initial physical
examination revealed that the animal had several net scars along its dorsal skin surface, and a hematoma in
its right pubic area. Impact against a hard object was thought to be the cause of the lesion. The dugong was
lethargic, presumably caused by heatstroke following exposure to direct sunlight while housed in a shallow
pond for several hours prior to the initial examination. The animal was then placed in an 8 m-diameter and
2 m-deep concrete pool, owned by the Installation of Agricultural Technology Development, a government
institution situated on Bojonegara, Serang.
A perforation of the hematoma was found during the second observation a couple weeks later.
Ischemia followed by dermal necrosis was suspected to be the aetiology of the perforation. A long-acting
oxytetracycline (20%) injection was administered intramuscularly at the dose of 20 mg/kg BW, Q 3 days
for 4 treatments to prevent a secondary bacterial infection. Hydrogen peroxide (3%) topical rinses, and
topical applications of levertrans +1% twice a week for the next 7 weeks. Wound healing was evident by
the third week, and dermal reformation took place by the 10th week. The trauma resulted in an
asymmetrical body wall when observed dorsally and caudally from the trunk axis. (See Sirenews No. 34.)
The dugong was transported to the Sea World Indonesia (SWI) facility 7 months later. It weighed
78 kg and had a 94 cm pectoral girth, 114 cm abdominal girth, and 163 cm length. Its temporary exhibit
tank is an acrylic cylinder 4.5 m in diameter and 2.5 m deep. The animal was fed seagrasses 4 times daily.
In the wild, dugongs spend much of their waking time grazing. One dietary study on another captive
dugong in Indonesia (De longh, Kiswara, and Bauer, 1996, in Plant-herbivore interactions between
seagrasses and dugongs in a tropical small island ecosystem: 19-34) revealed that Halodule uninervis and
Halophila ovalis were the preferred species for that individual. Our dugong was fed Syringodium
isoetifolium since it is abundant, easier to collect, and can be stored for longer periods of time. Routine
procedures included total tank water replacement twice weekly along with the administration of
multivitamins, iron and other trace minerals. Oxfendazole (450 mg) was also given every 8 weeks to

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

prevent gastrointestinal nematodiasis. As a result of this regime, the animal's hemoglobin concentration
improved from 30% to 80-90% on Talqvist hemoglobin measurement.
Several bouts of gastrointestinal disorders (bloat, diarrhea, constipation) occurred during the first
year and a half that this animal was in captivity. The dugong, when fed ad libitum, consumed up to 20 kg
seagrass daily. Limiting the quantity of Syringodium isoetifolium fed daily to 13-15 kg wet weight reduced
the incidence of the gastrointestinal disorders.

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cautiverio. Simposio Internacional sobre Delfines y Otros Mamiferos Acudticos
de Venezuela, Memorias (Caracas): 145-158.

Mignucci-Giannoni, A.A., R.A. Montoya-Ospina, and M. Velasco-Escudero. 2003.
Status of semicaptive manatees in Jamaica. Latin American Journal of Aquatic
Mammals 2(1): 7-12.

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April 2004

Mondolfi, E. 1995. Plan de acci6n para la investigaci6n y protecci6n de poblaciones de
manati en Venezuela. Simposio Internacional sobre Delfines y Otros Mamiferos
Acudticos de Venezuela, Memorias (Caracas): 97-108.

Olivera-Gomez, L.D., and E. Mellink. 2002. Spatial and temporal variation in counts of
the Antilean manatee (Trichechus m. manatus) during distribution surveys at
Bahia de Chetumal, Mexico. Aquatic Mammals 28(3): 285-293.

Ortiz, R.M., and G.A.J. Worthy. 2004. Could lower body fat mass contribute to cold-
water susceptibility in calves of the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)?
Marine Mammal Science 20(1): 176-183.

Paludo, D. 1998. Estudos sobre ecologia e conservacgo do peixe-boi marinho (Trichechus
manatus manatus) no Nordeste do Brasil. Inst. Brasil. Meio Ambiente e Recursos
Naturais Renovdveis, Serie Meio Ambiente em Debate No. 22: 1-70.

Sorice, M., C.S. Shafer, and D. Scott. 2003. Managing endangered species within the
use/preservation paradox: understanding and defining harassment of the West
Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). Coastal Management 31: 319-338.
[Reprints available from .]

Stefen, C. 2003. Hydrodamalis gigas (Mammalia, Sirenia, Dugongidae) material in the
Museum fur Tierkunde, Dresden. Zoologische Abhandlungen Staatliches
Museum fur Tierkunde in Dresden 53(1): 205-214.

Thoisy, B. de, T. Spiegelberger, S. Rosseau, G. Talvy, I. Vogel, and J. Vie. 2003.
Distribution, habitat, and conservation status of the West Indian manatee
Trichechus manatus in French Guiana. Oryx 37(4): 1-6.

Williams, M.E., and D.P. Domning. 2004. Pleistocene or post-Pleistocene manatees in
the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Marine Mammal Science 20(1): 167-176.

Williams, E.H., A.A. Mignucci-Giannoni, L. Bunkley-Williams, R.K. Bonde, C. Self-
Sullivan, A. Preen, and V.G. Cockcroft. 2003. Echeneid-sirenian associations,
with information on sharksucker diet. Journal ofFish Biology 63: 1176-1183.

SIRENIAN WEBSITE DIRECTORY
(NOTE: Not all of these sites have been visited recently by your Editor, and some may
no longer be active, or their addresses may have changed.)

Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority & Institute's Manatee Research Program:

The Call of the Siren (Caryn Self Sullivan):

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

Caribbean Environment Programme, Regional Management Plan for the West Indian
Manatee:

Caribbean Stranding Network:

Columbus (Ohio) Zoo manatee exhibit: manateecoast/index.html>

Dugongs:

Dugong necropsy manual (available for downloading): corp_site/info_services/publications/research_publications/rp64/index.html>

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Bureau of Protected Species
Management:

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Marine Research Institute
(Florida manatee mortality data):

Friends of the Manatee Association, Manaus & Balbina, Brazil: dopeixe-boi.org.br/english/Ing_index2.htm> [Includes a bibliography of INPA aquatic
mammal project publications and abstracts]

Fundaci6n Salvemos al Manati de Costa Rica:

Great Barrier Reef dugongs: publications/dugong/index.html>

IBAMA manatee project, Brazil:

Jacksonville University (Florida) Manatee Research Center Online:

Manatee neuroanatomy:

"Manatee Watchers" Internet discussion list: /MANATEE>

News clippings on Florida manatees: enmanate.htm>

Philippines Dugong Research and Conservation Project: com.ph>

Save the Manatee Club:

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

Sea World of Florida:

SEMARNAP, Secretaria de Medio Ambiente, Recursos Naturales y Pesca, Mexico:

Sirenews (texts of current and recent issues): snews.htm>; (for archive of most older
issues)

Sirenia Project, U.S. Geological Survey: or www.nfrcg.gov/sirenia>

Sirenian International, Inc.: [Includes a bibliography of
sirenian literature, and an archive of Sirenews issues.]

Smithsonian Institution sirenian bibliography: nmnh/sirenia.htm> [This is a relatively short bibliography, compiled by Joy Gold, that
provides a very good introduction to both the technical and the popular literature.]

Steller's sea cow: < http://home.t-online.de/home/rothauscher/steller/steller.htm>;
also the website [in Finnish] of Dr. Ari Lampinen, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland:

West African manatee in Chad (Jonathan H. Salkind): manatee-index.html >

CHANGES OF ADDRESS

Dr. Lemnuel V. Aragones, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science,
University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33149 USA (phone: 1-305-361-4682; fax: 1-305-
361-4675; e-mail: )

Rowan Byrne, 61 Offington Ave., Sutton Dublin 13, Ireland

Dr. Thomas J. O'Shea, National Biological Service, 2150 Centre Ave. Bldg. C, Fort
Collins, Colorado 80526-8118 USA

Dr. James A. "Buddy" Powell, Director for Aquatic Conservation, Wildlife Trust, 15
Paradise Plaza #369, Sarasota, Florida 34239 USA (cell phone: 1-727-418-9136; e-mail:
)

Sirenews No. 41

April 2004

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