Measures for population management and habitat protection specify the need for data from radio-tagged manatees on manatee movements and habitat utilization. Other specific tasks include determination of manatee food habits, mapping the distribution of seagrass beds and sources of fresh water, and establishing monitoring procedures for important habitat components. As no manatee telemetry studies had been conducted in Puerto prior to this study, what little was known of their distribution and movements was mostly obtained through aerial and ground surveys of particular areas. Remotely monitoring movements of manatees by satellite tracking provides the first insight to the ecology of manatees outside of the U.S. Digitizing near shore habitats using aerial photographs enables correlation of manatee use patterns with critical resources. Location databases are handled using the same procedures as those developed for the Atlantic Coast telemetry study conducted by this office.
Progress continues on updating, error-checking and characterizing telemetry databases.
The PTT telemetry database now encompasses the period from April 1992 through September 1995. Field personnel monitoring the newly tagged individuals have been trained in VHF tracking techniques. Final reports for the mapping effort are in preparation. Copies will be provided to the Navy, Puerto Rico DNR, and other interested cooperators. Annual reports to the PR DNR and the U.S. Navy describe the field methods, databases and preliminary results on movements and spatial use patterns.