Marine Mammals & More

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) 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 Overview: Learners are invited to share what they already know about marine mammals, setting the stage for deeper exploration of adaptations, behaviors, and conservation efforts.

• Segment 1 – What Is a Marine Mammal? Learners explore what makes a marine mammal unique and how they are suited to life in the ocean.

• Segment 2 – Manatees and Dolphins: Learners discover how Mote scientists research and protect Florida manatees through aerial surveys, photo ID, and rehabilitation efforts. And they see how the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program investigates dolphin behavior, social structure, and threats such as boat strikes and red tides.

• Segment 3 – Sea Turtle Conservation: Learners investigate how scientists protect sea turtles through nest monitoring, research, and outreach campaigns like “Go Slow for Those Below.” They learn how Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program responds to wildlife calls and rescues stranded animals. They consider actions they can take, such as reducing plastic use and avoiding balloon releases, to help protect marine life.

• Questions and Answers: Wrap up with a live Q&A session where learners can ask questions about marine mammals, sea turtles, or any of the research and rescue efforts they explored.

🎯 Objectives

1. Identify the key steps involved in the rescue, rehabilitation, and release of marine mammals such as manatees, dolphins, and sea turtles.

2. Explore how Mote Marine Laboratory uses tools like aerial surveys, photo-identification, and health assessments to monitor and protect marine species.

3. Recognize the threats marine mammals face from human activities, including boat strikes, pollution, and habitat loss.

4. Discuss the role of marine conservation in protecting biodiversity and promoting healthy ocean ecosystems.

5. Reflect on how individual and community actions, such as responsible boating and reducing plastic use, can support marine animal conservation.

✏️ Standards this program supports

• ESS3C 6–8 — Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners examine how threats like boat strikes, marine debris, and noise pollution affect marine mammals and sea turtles, and consider how research, outreach, and policy can reduce those impacts.

• ESS3C 9–12 — Human impacts on Earth systems. Learners evaluate the cumulative effects of human activities on marine species and habitats, exploring how technologies like photo ID and satellite tagging inform rescue, rehabilitation, and conservation strategies.

• LS2C 6–8 — Ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience. Learners investigate how marine mammal populations respond to changes in their environment, including injury, pollution, and habitat disturbance, and how conservation and rehabilitation efforts support ecosystem recovery.

• LS2C 9–12 — Ecosystem dynamics, functioning, and resilience. Learners explore how the loss or protection of key species like manatees and dolphins influences broader marine ecosystems, and how long-term monitoring informs management decisions.

• LS2D 9–12 — Social interactions and group behavior. Learners examine how social behaviors in marine mammals, such as communication, parental care, and group defense, affect survival and reproductive success in dynamic environments.

• LS4C 9–12 — Adaptation. Learners study how adaptations help marine mammals survive in aquatic environments, such as streamlined bodies, blubber, and specialized breathing, and how these traits are challenged by environmental changes.

• LS4D 6–8 — Biodiversity and humans. Learners explore why conserving species like manatees, dolphins, and sea turtles is important to maintaining biodiversity, and how human actions can both threaten and support marine life.

• LS4D 9–12 — Biodiversity and humans. Learners assess the value of marine mammal biodiversity to ecosystems and human communities, examining ethical considerations and the role of conservation science in sustaining populations under threat.

Ocean Literacy Principles

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

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

UN SDGs

• • 13 - Climate Action

  • 14 - Life Below Water

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.7.E.6.6 – Identify the impact that humans have had on Earth, such as deforestation, urbanization, desertification, erosion, air and water quality, and changing the flow of water. Application: Learners examine how boat traffic, pollution, and shoreline development affect manatees, dolphins, and sea turtles, and explore how conservation efforts and public outreach reduce these impacts.

• SC.7.L.17.1 – Explain and illustrate the roles of and relationships among producers, consumers, and decomposers in food webs. Application: Learners investigate the ecological roles of manatees as grazers, dolphins as predators, and sea turtles as both prey and habitat influencers within marine food webs.

• SC.7.L.17.3 – Describe and investigate various limiting factors in ecosystems and their impact on native populations, including food, shelter, water, space, disease, parasitism, predation, and nesting sites. Application: Learners explore how access to seagrass beds, clean water, and protected nesting beaches affects the survival and reproductive success of marine mammals and sea turtles.

• SC.8.E.5.10 - Assess how technology is essential to science for such purposes as access to outer space and other remote locations, sample collection, measurement, data collection and storage, computation, and communication of information. Application: Learners explore how tools like satellite tags, aerial surveys, and digital photo-ID databases are used in marine mammal monitoring and conservation.

• SC.912.L.17.1 – Discuss the characteristics of populations, such as number of individuals, age structure, density, and pattern of distribution. Application: Learners analyze population data from manatee aerial surveys, sea turtle nesting records, and photo-ID studies of dolphins to understand how marine mammal populations are monitored.

• aerial survey: A method of observing and recording wildlife or habitats from aircraft, often used to count populations of marine animals like manatees.

• aerosolization: The process by which tiny particles or droplets become suspended in the air, sometimes carrying harmful substances like algal toxins.

• antibiotic: A type of medicine used to treat bacterial infections in both humans and animals, including marine mammals.

• boat-strike: An injury that occurs when a boat collides with a marine animal, commonly affecting manatees and sea turtles.

• climate change: Long-term changes in temperature, weather patterns, and ocean conditions.

• circle hooks: A type of fishing hook designed to reduce injury to marine animals and increase the chances of safe catch-and-release.

• conservation: The protection and preservation of marine ecosystems and species to prevent their decline or extinction.

• ecosystem: A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their physical environment, such as a coral reef or seagrass bed.

• endangered: A status describing species at risk of extinction due to factors like habitat loss, pollution, or human activities.

• entanglement: A situation where marine animals become trapped in fishing gear or other debris, often leading to injury or death.

• habitat: The natural environment where an organism lives and gets the food, water, and shelter it needs to survive.

• hatchling: A young animal that has just emerged from its egg, such as a baby sea turtle.

• husbandry: The care and management of marine animals in a controlled environment, including feeding, health monitoring, and habitat maintenance.

• immunology: The study of the immune system and how organisms defend against disease, important in diagnosing and treating sick marine animals.

• lethargic: A state of low energy or sluggishness, often a sign of illness or stress in marine animals.

• marine mammals: Aquatic animals like dolphins, manatees, and seals that are adapted to living in marine environments and require specialized care and conservation efforts.

• monofilament: A single-strand plastic fishing line that can be dangerous to marine life if lost or discarded in the ocean.

• photo-identification: A research method that uses photos of unique markings, scars, or fin shapes to identify individual animals over time.

• polarized: Describes light waves that travel in a specific direction; polarized sunglasses help reduce glare off the water and are useful for spotting marine animals.

• Red Tide: A harmful algal bloom that can produce toxins affecting marine life and human health.

• release: The act of returning rehabilitated marine animals back to their natural habitat.

• rescue: The act of saving marine animals from harmful situations or injuries, such as entanglement or boat strikes.

• rehabilitation: The process of treating and caring for injured or sick marine animals to restore their health and prepare them for release.

• satellite tag: A tracking device placed on an animal that uses satellites to transmit location data, helping scientists monitor movements and behavior.

• stranding: The occurrence of marine life being washed ashore or becoming trapped in shallow waters, often in need of rescue.

• stressors: Environmental or human-caused factors, such as pollution or noise, that can negatively affect the health of marine animals.

• veterinarian: A medical professional who diagnoses, treats, and cares for animals, including those in marine rehabilitation programs.

Play Bingo

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

• Online

• On paper/PDF

🌐 Websites

• Marine Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation

• Sea Turtle Conservation & Research

• Marine Immunology

• Manatee Research

• Stranding Investigations

• Ruth DeLynn Cetacean Osteological Collection

• Sea Turtle Protection Zone (STPZ)

• Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Hospital

• Animal Patients

• Sarasota Dolphin Research Program

📚 Books & Publications

• Florida Manatees: Biology, Behavior, and Conservation by John E. Reynolds III

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

• Animal Helpers: Aquariums by Jennifer Keats Curtis

🖥️ Videos

• Florida Red Tide

• Mote Marine Laboratory's Dolphin, Whale & Sea Turtle Hospitals

• From The Field | Turtle Patrol

• Mote Welcomes New Sea Turtle Patients

• Sea turtle hatchlings released!

• Mote's Sea Turtle Hospital takes in 6 cold-stunned sea turtles

• Manatee mother and calf release in Sarasota, June 18, 2020

• Mote Marine Lab rescues new sea turtle patient Joyce

• New turtle patient at Mote Marine Laboratory's sea turtle hospital

• From the Field | Manatee Research

• Salem the bottlenose dolphin at Mote Marine Laboratory

• Update on Salem the bottlenose dolphin - Feb. 4, 2019

• Stranded Dolphin MM72

• Don't Feed Wild Dolphins

• A Dolphin's Return video and Study Guide (Elementary, Middle, High)

• Changing Seas: Toxic Waters

• Changing Seas: Saving Florida's Starving Manatees

• Changing Seas: Sentinels of the Seas