USGS Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:

The USGS Florida Integrated Science Center administers the Sirenia Project, which encompasses a team of scientists dedicated to long-term research on the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) in Florida.

Why save the manatee? It boils down to a fundamentally basic concept: Manatees are part of a system. If you remove any component from a system, you have changed something. Change something and you see an effect on something else. An example of this concept is what we worry about most for manatee survival; that is, what if we kill most of the plants? If we do, the manatees will not be able to eat and they will die. On the other hand, manatees help control the vegetation that can choke Florida waterways. They also provide a benefit by processing the vegetation they eat and passing it back out into the environment as a form of fertilizer.

Ecotourism forms the basis for a flourishing tourist industry in Florida. Close to 70,000 people visit Crystal River every year just to see and swim with manatees, thus helping the local economy.

There is an aesthetic value to manatees as well. They are fun to watch and we can learn a lot from their non-aggressive, passive demeanor.

Manatees are indeed gentle giants. Making laws to protect the manatees, like slowing boats in waterways, also makes it safer for people. Many boaters tend to travel too fast anyway, and having a law to slow them down will make it safer for everyone. “No Entry” zones or sanctuaries set up for manatees protects many kinds of plants and animals in the water. Building codes to make construction in Florida comply with laws to protect manatees also helps fish and bird life.

Protecting endangered and threatened species and restoring them to a secure status in the wild is the primary objective of the endangered species program of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. The Endangered Species Web site can be accessed at http://endangered.fws.gov/.