{"id":311,"date":"2012-10-26T11:21:55","date_gmt":"2012-10-26T15:21:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worthy.cos.ucf.edu\/wordpress\/?page_id=311"},"modified":"2016-10-26T11:09:54","modified_gmt":"2016-10-26T15:09:54","slug":"manatee-studies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/","title":{"rendered":"Manatee Studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

Studies Investigating the Reproduction, Energetics, and Nutrition of the Sirenia<\/h2>\n

Manatees and dugongs (Order: Sirenia), while often referred to as \u201cmarine mammals\u201d, have no evolutionary relationship with any of the other marine mammal groups (Orders: Cetacea and Carnivora).\u00a0 The four extant sirenian species are the only megaherbivores that are completely aquatic and are found in fresh and salt-water habitats of subtropical and tropical West Africa, Central and South America, Florida, the Caribbean, Australia, and the Indian Ocean basin.\u00a0 There is currently little known about the physiological ecology of any of these endangered species and this limitation is potentially limiting recovery plans.<\/p>\n

The Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Laboratory has a specific on-going commitment to address questions pertaining to the endangered West Indian manatee.\u00a0 Through the\u00a0SIRENS<\/strong>\u00a0program (S<\/strong>tudies I<\/strong>nvestigating the\u00a0R<\/strong>eproduction,\u00a0E<\/strong>nergetics and\u00a0N<\/strong>utrition of the\u00a0S<\/strong>irenia) we have begun to document basal metabolic rate and how it changes with maturation and growth, to assess seasonal changes in thyroid hormone production, to monitor changes in the seasonal limits of the thermoneutral zone (TNZ), the relationship between body mass and TNZ<\/a>, and to measure the composition and insulative quality of the blubber layer.\u00a0 We have completed\u00a0studies on whether manatees can drink seawater and assessed their capabilities for living in both fresh and salt water and the implications of them moving from one environment to the other.\u00a0 We have assessed the relationship between assimilation efficiency<\/a> and food composition and are using the stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen to examine current and historical trophic interactions<\/a> of wild manatees and their relative dependence on fresh and salt water habitats.\u00a0 We have also started to examine their specific nutritional requirements, cost of reproduction, cost of lactation, calf metabolism and growth, and milk composition and to attempt to better understand what physical criteria manatees use to select acceptable warm water refugia.<\/p>\n

We still have much to learn about the physiological ecology these endangered animals.\u00a0 To this end, PEBL has on-going research interests in various facets of sirenian physiology with the goal of better understanding how they cope with their natural environment. Current projects include examining manatee use of warm-water refugia <\/a>and analyzing manatee habitat utilization.\u00a0 We are also initiating collaborative projects with the University of Queensland in Australia to apply some of our methodologies to the study of dugongs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Studies Investigating the Reproduction, Energetics, and Nutrition of the Sirenia Manatees and dugongs (Order: Sirenia), while often referred to as \u201cmarine mammals\u201d, have no evolutionary relationship with any of the other marine mammal groups (Orders: Cetacea and Carnivora).\u00a0 The four … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":0,"parent":305,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-311","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nManatee Studies - Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Manatee Studies - Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Studies Investigating the Reproduction, Energetics, and Nutrition of the Sirenia Manatees and dugongs (Order: Sirenia), while often referred to as \u201cmarine mammals\u201d, have no evolutionary relationship with any of the other marine mammal groups (Orders: Cetacea and Carnivora).\u00a0 The four … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-10-26T15:09:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/\",\"name\":\"Manatee Studies - Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-10-26T15:21:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-10-26T15:09:54+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Current and Recent Research\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Manatee Studies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/\",\"name\":\"Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab\",\"description\":\"The Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab (PEBL) is part of the Conservation Biology Program of the Department of Biology at the University of Central Florida.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Manatee Studies - Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Manatee Studies - Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab","og_description":"Studies Investigating the Reproduction, Energetics, and Nutrition of the Sirenia Manatees and dugongs (Order: Sirenia), while often referred to as \u201cmarine mammals\u201d, have no evolutionary relationship with any of the other marine mammal groups (Orders: Cetacea and Carnivora).\u00a0 The four … Continue reading →","og_url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/","og_site_name":"Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab","article_modified_time":"2016-10-26T15:09:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/","name":"Manatee Studies - Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png","datePublished":"2012-10-26T15:21:55+00:00","dateModified":"2016-10-26T15:09:54+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2012\/10\/header5.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/manatee-studies\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Current and Recent Research","item":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/current-research\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Manatee Studies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/","name":"Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab","description":"The Physiological Ecology and Bioenergetics Lab (PEBL) is part of the Conservation Biology Program of the Department of Biology at the University of Central Florida.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/311\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/biology\/PEBL\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}