Manatee Marvels

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s), Parent, Adult Learners, Homeschool/Family, Learning Pod; Public Library: Library Patrons, Library Staff

 🐾 Topics

Career & Technical Education (CTE), Economics/Business, Health & Physical Education, Industrial Technology, Professional Development, Science, STEM, Technology/Information Science

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge: Introduction to manatees and other marine mammals, encouraging learners to share any facts or insights they’ve gathered beforehand.

• Segment 1 - MOOZ*: Meet our resident West Indian Manatees, while learning about the physical characteristics, behaviors, and adaptations of marine mammals. (*Manatee Observation Outreach Zooms)

• Video 1 - Manatee Care and Husbandry: A short video is shown, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the specialized research and husbandry practices for manatees at the aquarium.

• Segment 2 - Manatee Toys: Explore Environmental Enrichment Devices (EEDs) used in the manatee habitat and learn how stimulating natural behaviors and providing novel challenges are vital for the well-being of animals in zoos and aquariums.

• Video 2 - Save the Manatees: Watch a brief video about the research and rescue of manatees.

• Segment 3 - Q&A Session: The program concludes with an interactive Q&A session, where participants can ask questions and engage in discussions about manatees, marine mammals, and conservation.

• Segments may vary due to weather and veterinary priorities. We will make every effort to deliver the segments as described but may use a combination of live and recorded video when necessary.

🎯 Objectives

1. Identify key characteristics of manatees and other marine mammals through interactive segments and videos.

2. Describe the research and conservation efforts conducted by Mote to protect manatees, based on presented information and discussions.

3. Analyze the challenges faced by manatees due to human activities and propose potential conservation strategies.

4. Engage in a Q&A session to discuss and ask questions about manatee behavior, care, and conservation efforts.

✏️ Standards this program supports

Next Generation Science Standards

• ESS3C 3–5 –– Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners explore how boat strikes, pollution, and habitat loss affect manatees and how rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts help conserve these threatened animals.

• ESS3C 6–8 –– Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners analyze the impacts of water quality, climate change, and human development on manatee populations, and examine how science-based rescue programs and trained husbandry staff mitigate those threats.

• ESS3C 9–12 –– Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners evaluate the effectiveness of rescue, rehabilitation, and long-term monitoring efforts in addressing human-caused threats to manatees and sustaining population recovery.

• LS1A 3–5 –– Structure and function. Learners investigate manatee adaptations such as paddle-shaped tails, dense bones, and bodies that support movement, feeding, and buoyancy in aquatic environments.

• LS1A 6–8 –– Structure and function. Learners examine how manatee sensory and respiratory systems support survival in low-visibility and shallow water habitats.

• LS1A 9–12 –– Structure and function. Learners analyze mammalian adaptations in manatees, such as lung capacity, vibrissae (whiskers), and large digestive tracts, and how these traits support survival as aquatic herbivores.

• LS1B 3–5 –– Growth and development of organisms. Learners explore the life cycle of manatees, including calf dependence on mothers and the importance of care during early development.

• LS1B 6–8 –– Growth and development of organisms. Learners examine how environmental conditions and health challenges affect manatee development in the wild and in rehabilitation.

• LS1B 9–12 –– Growth and development of organisms. Learners evaluate how growth, health, and reproduction in manatees are supported by veterinary care, husbandry practices, and science-informed interventions in managed care settings.

• LS2A 3–5 –– Interdependent relationships in ecosystems. Learners discover how manatees help maintain aquatic plant ecosystems and how they rely on freshwater springs and seagrass beds for survival.

• LS2A 6–8 –– Interdependent relationships in ecosystems. Learners analyze how manatees’ movements, diets, and habitat use affect and are affected by the health of aquatic ecosystems.

• LS2A 9–12 –– Interdependent relationships in ecosystems. Learners assess manatees’ ecological roles as herbivores, and how ecosystem shifts—caused by algal blooms, cold snaps, or seagrass decline—impact their survival and conservation strategies.

Ocean Literacy Principles

• 1. Ocean Literacy Principle #3 – The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.

  2. Ocean Literacy Principle #5 – The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.

  3. Ocean Literacy Principle #6 – The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.

UN SDG

• 4. 14 - Life Below Water

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.3.L.15.1 – Classify animals into major groups based on physical characteristics and behaviors. Application: Students learn about manatees as vertebrates, their classification as mammals, and how they differ from other animals.

• SC.4.L.17.4 – Recognize ways plants and animals, including humans, can impact the environment. Application: The program discusses how manatees and organisms interact with their environment and the effects of human activities on them.

• SC.5.L.15.1 – Describe how, when the environment changes, differences between individuals allow some plants and animals to survive and reproduce while others die or move to new locations. Application: Students learn about mammal adaptation and resilience in changing environments.

• SC.6.L.15.1 – Analyze how organisms are classified based on shared characteristics. Application: Students examine manatees within the Linnaean classification system and their distinguishing biological traits.

• SC.7.L.17.3 – Describe limiting factors in an ecosystem and their impact on populations. Application: The program investigates factors affecting manatee populations, such as water quality, habitat availability, and disease.

• Barnacles: Small, hard-shelled marine animals that attach to surfaces like rocks, boats, or even manatees.

• Behavioral Research: The study of animal behavior, often used to understand and improve their care and conservation.

• Blubber: A thick layer of fat beneath the skin of some marine animals that provides insulation and energy storage; manatees have very little blubber and rely on warm water to survive.

• Buoyancy: The ability of an animal to float or remain suspended in water, often aided by adaptations such as large lungs or specialized body density.

• Conservation: The protection and preservation of natural resources, including endangered species like manatees.

• Dugong: A close relative of the manatee, found in the Indo-Pacific region, with a fluked tail like a whale and similar herbivorous diet; both are members of the order Sirenia.

• Ecosystem: A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

• Endangered Species: A species at risk of extinction due to various factors, including habitat loss and human activities.

• Environmental Enrichment Device (EED): A tool or object used to create stimulating activities and challenges in an animal’s habitat to encourage natural behaviors and mental stimulation.

• Herbivore: An animal that eats only plants; manatees are herbivores that feed on seagrasses and freshwater vegetation.

• Hindgut Digestors: Animals like manatees that digest plant material through fermentation in a specialized section of the intestine called the hindgut, allowing them to extract nutrients from fibrous plants.

• Husbandry: The care, cultivation, and breeding of animals, particularly in a controlled environment like an aquarium.

• Manatee: A large, aquatic marine mammal known for its slow-moving nature and herbivorous diet.

• Marching Molars: A unique feature of manatees in which worn teeth are continuously replaced from the back of the jaw forward as older teeth fall out.

• Monkey Biscuit: A nutrient-dense supplemental food used in zoos and aquariums, originally formulated for primates but used for many species, including manatees, to support balanced nutrition.

• Positive Reinforcement: A training method that uses rewards to encourage desired behaviors, helping animals voluntarily participate in their own care.

• Prop Scars: Injuries caused by boat propellers, often visible on manatees’ backs, used by researchers to identify individuals and track health history.

• Warm Water Refuge: Areas such as natural springs or power plant outflows where manatees gather during cold weather to stay warm, critical for their survival due to their low tolerance for cold temperatures.

• Rehabilitation: The process of providing medical care and support to injured or stranded animals to restore their health.

• Sea Cow: A nickname for manatees and dugongs, reflecting their slow movements and grazing behavior, similar to how cows feed on grass.

• Seagrass: A type of flowering plant that grows in shallow marine waters and forms critical habitat and food sources for herbivores like manatees.

• Sirenian: A group of aquatic mammals that includes manatees and dugongs, known for their herbivorous diet and slow-moving nature.

• Stranding: The event in which a marine animal is found beached or stuck on land, often requiring rescue.

• Thermoregulation: The process by which animals maintain a stable internal body temperature; manatees are vulnerable to cold stress due to limited fat and rely on warm water habitats.

• Vibrissae: Sensitive facial bristles (whiskers) found around a manatee’s snout, used to detect textures, vibrations, and food in murky water.

• Vocalization: The sounds produced by animals, such as manatees, for communication; manatee calves and mothers often use squeaks and chirps to stay in contact.

Play Manatee Bingo

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to reinforce key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• Mote Animal Encyclopedia: Manatees

• Manatee Research at Mote

• Mote Stranding Investigations

• Deutsch, C.J. & Valade, J. 2024. Trichechus manatus ssp. latirostris. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T22106A43794045. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22106A43794045.en.

📚 Books & Publications

High/Adult

• The Florida Manatee: Biology and Conservation by By Roger L. Reep and Robert K. Bonde

📰 Mote News

• Calling Out: Experimenting with Manatee Communication — Fall 2022 Mote Magazine

• More Mote News: Manatees

🖥️ Videos

• Helping manatees: Mote scientist on PBS