Searching for relations between manatee Trichechus manatus manatus calf strandings and environmental degradation in two Northeastern Brazil estuaries

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00332

Abstract

Northeast Brazilian populations of the Antillean manatee are threatened by different causes, where the frequent stranding of calves is possibly an indirect result of anthropic environmental degradation. In this study we surveyed the spatial-temporal stranding patterns of newborn manatee calves at the coast of the state of Rio Grande do Norte and identified potential abiotic and anthropic determinants. To do so, we investigated changes in the mangrove cover and extension of salt evaporation ponds and shrimp farms along two estuaries, Apodi-Mossoró and Piranhas-Açu, during 1998 - 2018. The incidence of strandings increased throughout the study period, especially in Apodi- Mossoró, suggesting that the growing salt and shrimp farming industries are significant contributors to the observed mangrove deforestation. Thus, our findings suggest a correlation between manatee calf stranding patterns and environmental degradation from salt and shrimp production in two Northeast Brazilian estuaries.

Author Biographies

Mariana M. Moreira-Lima

¹ Laboratório de Ecologia Pesqueira, Instituto de Ciências do Mar (Labomar), Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

³ Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Marinhas Tropicais (PPGCMT), Instituto de Ciências do Mar (Labomar), Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

Leonardo M. Pinto

2 Laboratório de Ecologia Aquática e Conservação, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

3 Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Marinhas Tropicais (PPGCMT), Instituto de Ciências do Mar (Labomar), Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

Augusto C. B. Freire

4 Projeto Cetáceos da Costa Branca, Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

Fernanda L. N. Attademo

5 Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio/CMA), Santos, SP, Brasil

6 Laboratório de Ecologia, Comportamento e Conservação, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brasil

Flávio J. L. Silva

4 Projeto Cetáceos da Costa Branca, Universidade do Estado do Rio Grande do Norte, Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

Fábia O. Luna

5 Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos, Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio/CMA), Santos, SP, Brasil

Danielle S. Garcez

1 Laboratório de Ecologia Pesqueira, Instituto de Ciências do Mar (Labomar), Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

3 Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciências Marinhas Tropicais (PPGCMT), Instituto de Ciências do Mar (Labomar), Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brasil

Cover of Vol. 19 No. 1 depicting the face of a West Indian manatee taken underwater in the tannin-rich waters of the Tatumunha River, Alagoas, Bazil. Photo Credit: Enrico marcovalid/FMA Collection

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Published

2024-04-28

How to Cite

Moreira-Lima, M. M., Pinto , L. M. ., Freire , A. C. B. ., Attademo, F. L. N. ., Silva, F. J. L. ., Luna , F. O. ., & Garcez , D. S. . (2024). Searching for relations between manatee Trichechus manatus manatus calf strandings and environmental degradation in two Northeastern Brazil estuaries. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals, 19(1), 100-111. https://doi.org/10.5597/lajam00332

Issue

Vol. 19 No. 1 (2024): Special Issue on the Biology and Conservation of Manatees

Section

Articles

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