1. Threats to aquatic mammals may occur in isolation or in combination, leading to cumulative effects on populations and their ecosystems. Thus, conservation actions must consider the complexity of factors involved in patterns of habitat use, including feeding ecology, such as ontogenetic, spatial and temporal dietary shifts.2. The Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) occurs in a variety of environments, such as várzeas and igap os (flooded areas) and estuaries. Different environments can lead to variation in the diet of manatees according to the availability and abundance of plant species.3. Stable isotope analysis (δ 13 C and δ 15 N) of manatee teeth was performed to assess spatio-temporal, ontogenetic and sex-related patterns in resource use. Mixing models were applied to identify the most consumed plant groups.4. In várzeas, there were significant interactions between sex and ontogenetic class and ontogenetic class and time series for δ 13 C values. For manatees sampled from 1994 to 2004, males and adults showed the highest δ 15 N values, and aquatic C 3 , followed by C 4 plants, were the groups that most contributed to the species' diet. 5. Comparisons among the environments showed the highest δ 13 C values for manatees from várzeas and the lowest values for manatees from igap os. Várzeas
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