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From
the Field:
The Earthwatch
'Manatees in Belize' Research Project
Supported
by the Earthwatch Institute, the 'Manatees
in Belize' research project is based out of a rustic camp
on Spanish Lookout Caye in the Drowned Cayes. Earthwatch sends
a team of up to eight volunteers for two-week periods to assist
in data collection.
The
volunteers, who come from many different countries and backgrounds,
pay for their trip through scholarships, corporate fellowship,
or by self-funding. Between
one and three internships are also offered to marine science
students, who assist in the research and in field camp logistics.
Caryn
Self-Sullivan (Texas A&M University) and Katherine
LaCommare (University of Massachusetts, Boston) are
the project's principal investigators and have been studying
manatees in Belize since 1998. The West Indian manatees - one
of three manatee species in the world - are separated into two
subspecies: the Florida manatees and the Antillean manatees
found on the Atlantic coasts of Central and South America. While
much is known about the West Indian manatees in Florida, little
study has been undertaken on the Antillean subspecies.
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images to enlarge. Manatees are found in warm,
shallow seas and rivers (top). These large, slow
moving marine mammals are vegetarians that feed mostly
on seagrasses. Their closest relative is the dugong (bottom),
found in the Indo-Pacific. Manatees are currently protected
in every country they are found.
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Caryn
is studying their behavioural ecology and is addressing questions
such as: How many manatees are found in the study area? What
are their social interactions? How do they use the different
habitats available?
Katherine
is investigating the impact that the manatees have on the ecology
of seagrass beds. She is also looking for differences in the
features of the seagrass beds in places where manatees feed
and in places where they don't.
Click
here to learn more about this and other Earthwatch projects.
Belize
Belize
is a small Central American country bordered by Mexico, Guatemala
and the Caribbean Sea. Belize has two main seasons: a dry season
from February to May and a wet season from June to January.
Hurricanes batter the coast from July to November.
Coral
reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests dominate the country's
shallow coastal waters. Belize boasts the second longest barrier
reef in the world in addition to a number of coral atolls and
smaller reefs. Many Belizeans rely on a healthy marine environment
for their livelihood. Fishermen catch lobster, conch, and many
types of fish including snapper, barracuda and grouper. Others
benefit from the thousands of tourists drawn to Belize to visit
the reef and the cayes (pronounced keys) for diving,
snorkeling, fishing and other activities.
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