SUMMARY 



Low altitude aerial surveys were conducted at approximately monthly intervals 

 from July to December 1979 to count West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) and 

 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in western peninsular Florida. Sightings of sea 

 turtles, turtle tracks, and a crocodile were also noted. A total of 554 manatees was 

 observed in 297 groups. Fifty-eight percent of the manatees were sighted in the Collier- 

 Monroe Counties area in shallow, brackish inshore areas. A total of 1,383 bottlenose 

 dolphins was observed in 431 herds, including 700 (in 146 herds) in the Gulf of Mexico, 491 

 (in 185 herds) in bays, and 192 (in 100 herds) in marsh-river habitats. Fifty-eight sea 

 turtles (including 45 loggerheads, Caretta caretta) and 30 sets of turtle tracks were 

 counted. One crocodile, probably Crocodilus acutus , was sighted in the Everglades 

 National Park. 



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