SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 



Three hundred and twenty-four manatees (58.5%) were sighted in the Monroe- 

 Collier County area of southwestern Florida and others were probably not observed due 

 to the complexity of the habitat and turbidity of the water. The 100 manatees counted in 

 Monroe and Collier Counties in November represent 10% of the total Florida population 

 of 1,000 animals estimated by Brownell et al. (1978). Southwestern Florida thus has an 

 important concentration of manatees that would be potentially vulnerable in the event of 

 an oil or chemical spill. Concentrations of manatees wintering near warm-water 

 effluents in Tampa Bay were identified, but a Lee County winter refuge was not surveyed 

 during the abbreviated December surveys. Southerly movements by manatees in the fall 

 have been predicted, but were not observed. 



Ninety-four percent of the manatee groups consisted of one to four animals. 

 Group size varied little by month or county. A majority of the animals were sighted in 

 marsh-river habitats and in brackish water. Few calves were sighted, and they did not 

 indicate seasonal reproductive trends. 



Numbers of bottlenose dolphins sighted increased from July to November, but 

 counts by county were inconsistent. Dolphin herd sizes differed by county and month and 

 were generally smaller than herd sizes reported by surveys of other nearshore areas. 

 Numbers of dolphins sighted per month varied significantly by habitat and salinity. Most 

 dolphins were sighted offshore in northern areas, in bay-estuary habitats in central 

 regions, and in marsh-river habits in southern areas. Relatively few calves were sighted 

 compared to other surveys and seasonal reproductive trends were not apparent. 



Most of the sea turtles sighted were loggerheads. A crocodile was observed in the 

 Everglades National Park. 



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