Abstract
There are three extant sirenian species of the Trichechidae family and one living Dugongidae family member. Given their close ties to coastal and often urbanized habitats, sirenians are exposed to many types of anthropogenic activities that result in challenges to their well-being, poor health, and even death. In the wild, they are exposed to direct and indirect local pressures as well as subject to large-scale stressors such as global climate change acting on regions or entire genetic stocks. In captivity, they are subject to husbandry and management practices based on our collective knowledge, or in some cases lack thereof, of their needs and welfare. It is therefore reasonable to consider that their current imperiled status is very closely linked to our actions. In this chapter, we identify and define human interactions that may impact dugongs and manatees, including hunting, fisheries, boat interactions, negative interactions with man-made structures, disease and contaminants, and global climate change. We examine techniques used to investigate these impacts and the influence of sirenian biology and of changing human behaviors on potential outcomes. We examine how this differs for dugongs and manatees in the wild and for those held in captivity. Finally, we provide possible mitigation strategies and ways to assess the efforts we are making to improve the welfare of individuals and to conserve these species. This chapter identifies how the welfare of these species is intrinsically linked to the human interactions these animals experience, and how the nature of these interactions has changed with societal shifts. We proffer suggested ways to minimize negative impacts. Current knowledge should be used to minimize negative human interactions and impacts, to promote positive impacts, and to protect these animals for the future.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Adimey NM, Hudak CA, Powell JR, Bassos-Hull K, Foley A, Farmer NA, White L, Minch K (2014) Fishery gear interactions from stranded bottlenose dolphins, Florida manatees and sea turtles in Florida, USA. Mar Pollut Bull 81:103–115
Bauer GB, Colbert DE, Gaspard J, Littlefield B, Fellner W (2003) Underwater visual acuity of Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). J Comp Psychol 16:130–142
Beck CA, Barros NB (1991) The impact of debris on the Florida manatee. Mar Pollut Bull 22:508–510
Beck CA, Bonde RK, Rathbun GB (1982) Analyses of propellor wounds on manatees in Florida. J Wildl Manag 46:531–535
Beck CA, Reid JP (1995) An automated photo-identification catalog for studies of the life history of the Florida manatee. In: Population Biology of the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). National Biological Service, p 120–134
Bonde RK, Aguirre AA, Powell J (2004) Manatees as sentinels of marine ecosystem health: are they the 2000-pound canaries? EcoHealth 1:255–262
Bonde RK, O’Shea TJ, Beck CA (1983) Manual of procedures for the salvage and necropsy of carcasses of the West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus). USGS-Biological Resources Division, Florida, p 175
Borges JCG, Alves LC, Faustino MAD, Marmontel M (2011) Occurrence of cryptosporidium spp. in Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus) and Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis) from Brazil. J Zoo Wildl Med 42:593–596
Bossart GD, Baden DG, Ewing RY, Roberts B, Wright SD (1998) Brevetoxicosis in manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) from the 1996 epizootic: gross, histologic, and immunohistochemical features. Toxicol Pathol 26:276–282
Butler JRA, Tawake A, Skewes T, Tawake L, McGrath V (2012) Integrating traditional ecological knowledge and fisheries management in the Torres Strait, Australia: the catalytic role of turtles and dugong as cultural keystone species. Ecol Soc 17(4):34
Calleson CS (2014) Issues and opportunities associated with using manatee mortality data to evaluate the effectiveness of manatee protection efforts in Florida. Endanger Species Res 26:127–136
Castelblanco-Martinez DN, Barba E, Schmitter-Soto JJ, Hernandez-Arana HA, Morales-Vela B (2012) The trophic role of the endangered Caribbean manatee Trichechus manatus in an estuary with low abundance of seagrass. Estuar Coasts 35:60–77
Crouch J, McNiven IJ, David B, Rowe C, Weisler M (2007) Berberass: marine resource specialisation and environmental change in Torres Strait during the past 4000 years. Archaeol Ocean 42:49–64
Delisle A (2013) A socio-economic investigation of the Torres Strait indigenous dugong and turtle fisheries doctor of philosophy. James Cook University, Australia
Driscoll CT, Mason R, Chan HM, Jacob DJ, Pirrone N (2013) Mercury as a global pollutant: sources, pathways, and effects. Environ Sci Technol 47:4967–4983
Eros C, Marsh H, Bonde RK, O’Shea TJ, Beck CA, Recchia C, Dobbs K, Turner M, Lemm S, Pears R, Bowater RO (2007) Procedures for the salvage and necropsy of the dugong (Dugong dugon), Second edn. Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Australia
Forrester DJ (1992) Parasites and diseases of wild mammals in Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville
Gaspard JCI, Bauer GB, Reep RL, Dzuik K, Read L, Mann DA (2013) Detection of hydrodynamic stimuli by the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). J Comp Physiol A 199:441–450
Geraci JR, Lounsbury VJ (2005) Marine mammals ashore: a field guide for strandings, Second edn. National Aquarium in Baltimore, Baltimore
Harr KE, Szabo NJ, Cichra M, Phlips EJ (2008) Debromoaplysiatoxin in Lyngbya-dominated mats on manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) in the Florida King’s Bay ecosystem. Toxicon 52:385–388
Lightsey JD, Rommel SA, Costidis AM, Pitchford TD (2006) Methods used during gross necropsy to determine watercraft-related mortality in the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). J Zoo Wildl Med 37:262–275
Marmontel M, Guimaraes JP, Mari RB, Beck C, Bonde RK (2016) Atlas de anatomia de peixe-boi Amazônico, Trichechus inunguis Natterer, 1883. Instituto de Desenolvimento Sustentavel Mamiraua, Brazil
Marsh H, Grayson J, Grech A, Hagihara R, Sobtzick S (2015) Re-evaluation of the sustainability of a marine mammal harvest by indigenous people using several lines of evidence. Biol Conserv 192:324–330
Marsh H, O’Shea T, Reynolds JE (2011) Behaviour and habitat use. In: Ecology and conservation of the Sirenia: dugongs and manatees. Cambridge University Press, New York, p 145–208.
McNiven IJ, Bedingfield AC (2008) Past and present marine mammal hunting rates and abundances: dugong (Dugong dugon) evidence from Dabangai bone mound, Torres Strait. J Archaeol Sci 35:505–515
Meager JJ, Limpus C (2014) Mortality of inshore marine mammals in eastern Australia is predicted by freshwater discharge and air temperature. PLoS One 9(4):e94849. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0094849
Nielsen KA, Owen HC, Mills PC, Flint M, Gibson JS (2013) Bacteria isolated from dugongs (Dugong dugong) submitted for postmortem examination in Queensland, Australia, 2000-2011. J Zoo Wildl Med 44:35–41
O’Shea TJ, Beck CA, Bonde RK, Kochman HI, Odell DK (1985) An analysis of manatee mortality patterns in Florida, 1976-81. J Wildl Manag 49:1–11
O’Shea TJ, Moore JF, Kochman HI (1984) Contaminant concentrations in manatees in Florida. J Wildl Manag 48:741–748
O’Shea TJ, Poche LB (2006) Aspects of underwater sound communication in Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris). J Mammal 87:1061–1071
O’Shea TJ, Rathbun GB, Bonde RK, Buergelt CD, Odell DK (1991) An epizootic of Florida manatees associated with a dinoflagellate bloom. Mar Mamm Sci 7:165–179
O’Shea, TJ, Tanabe S (2003) Persistent ocean contaminants and marine mammals: a retrospective overview. In: Toxicology of marine mammals. Taylor and Francis, London, p 99–134.
Odell DK, Reynolds JE (1979) Observations on manatee mortality in South Florida. J Wildl Manag 43:572–577
Queensland Government (2016) Shark control equipment and locations. https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/fisheries/services/shark-control-program/shark-control-equipment-and-locations. Accessed 23 Dec 2016
Rommel SA, Costidis AM, Pitchford TD, Lightsey JD, Snyder RH, Haubold EM (2007) Forensic methods for characterizing watercraft from watercraft-induced wounds on the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). Mar Mamm Sci 23:110–132
Sarko DK, Reep RL, Mazurkiewicz JE, Rice FL (2007) Adaptations in the structure and innervation of follicle-sinus complexes to an aquatic environment as seen in the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris). J Comp Neurol 504:217–237
Sulzner K, Johnson CK, Bonde RK, Gomez NA, Powell J, Nielsen K, Luttrell MP, Osterhaus A, Aguirre AA (2012) Health assessment and seroepidemiologic survey of potential pathogens in wild Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus). PLoS One 7. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0044517
Watkin L, Kim F, Delisle MK, Stoeckl N, Marsh H (2016) Setting the table: indigenous engagement on environmental issues in a politicized context. Soc Nat Resour. doi:10.1080/08941920.2016.1150541
Wells ML, Trainer VL, Smayda TJ, Karlson BSO, Trick CG, Kudela RM, Ishihawa A, Bernard S, Wulff A, Anderson DM, Cochlan WP (2015) Harmful algal blooms and climate change: learning from the past and present to forecast the future. Harmful Algae 49:68–93
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bonde, R.K., Flint, M. (2017). Human Interactions with Sirenians (Manatees and Dugongs). In: Butterworth, A. (eds) Marine Mammal Welfare. Animal Welfare, vol 17. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46994-2_17
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46994-2_17
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46993-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46994-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)