Analysis of body condition indices reveals different ecotypes of the Antillean manatee

Castelblanco‐Martínez, Delma Nataly; Slone, Daniel H.; Landeo-Yauri, Sarah; Ramos, Eric A.; Alvarez-Alemán, Anmari; Attademo, Fernanda Löffer Niemeyer; Beck, Cathy A.; Bonde, Robert K.; Butler, Susan M.; Cabrias-Contreras, Lesly J; Caicedo-Herrera, Dalila; Galves, J; Gómez-Camelo, I V; Gonzalez‐Socoloske, Daniel; Jiménez-Domínguez, Darwin; Luna, Fábia de Oliveira; Moná-Sanabria, Y.; Morales-Vela, J B; Olivera‐Gómez, León David; Padilla-Saldívar, Janneth; Powell, James A.; Reid, James P.; Rieucau, Guillaume; Mignucci‐Giannoni, Antonio A.

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-98890-0

Cited by 14 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 68 publications

(60 reference statements)

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“…In addition to similarities in call contour, comparisons of measured variables of the fundamental frequency of Florida and Antillean manatee calves showed few statistically significant differences. Antillean and Florida manatees are genetically distinct from one another 53 and diverged from a common ancestor approximately 1.34 Mya with some evidence for intermixing between populations 54 . Another plausible explanation for shared vocal characteristics is that West Indian manatees have similar habitats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manatee calf call contour and acoustic structure varies by species and body size

Brady

Ramos

May‐Collado

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Vocal activity and signal characteristics of mammals are driven by several factors that result in both stability and plasticity over multiple time scales. All three extant species of manatee communicate with several calls that are especially important for maintaining contact between cows and calves. Determining if calf calls differ across manatee species will provide insights into the evolution of species-specific acoustic communication traits. We investigated the interspecific differences in the vocalizations of calves of Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis) and the two subspecies of the West Indian manatee (T. manatus). Vocalizations of individual calves were recorded in rehabilitation centers in Brazil, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Mexico. The acoustic structure of calls produced by manatee calves varied between species and with body size. Amazonian manatee calves produced shorter calls with multiple notes at higher frequency while West Indian calves produced modulated calls that were lower in frequency and longer in duration. Smaller West Indian calves produced frequency modulated, hill-shaped calls that flattened with an increase in body length. Our results provide evidence for divergence in the ontogeny of vocalizations across T. manatus and T. inunguis and suggest variation in body size contributed to the evolution of differences in the characteristics of their calls.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manatee calf call contour and acoustic structure varies by species and body size

Brady

Ramos

May‐Collado

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…One explanation could be related to body size. Body condition analysis of 380 wild caught Antillean manatees from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Colombia, and Brazil revealed two distinct ecotypes that were differentiated based on body size 75 . Further, Florida manatees are generally larger than Antillean manatees 76 – 78 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vocalizations of wild West Indian manatee vary across subspecies and geographic location

Reyes-Arias,

Brady,

Ramos

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Geographic variation in the vocal behavior of manatees has been reported but is largely unexplored. Vocalizations of wild West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) were recorded with hydrophones in Florida from Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and in Belize and Panama from Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) to determine if calls varied between subspecies and geographic regions. Calls were visually classified into five categories: squeaks, high squeaks, squeals, squeak-squeals, and chirps. From these five categories, only three call types (squeaks, high squeaks and squeals) were observed in all three populations. Six parameters from the temporal and frequency domains were measured from the fundamental frequency of 2878 manatee vocalizations. A repeated measures PERMANOVA found significant differences for squeaks and high squeaks between each geographic location and for squeals between Belize and Florida. Almost all measured frequency and temporal parameters of manatee vocalizations differed between and within subspecies. Variables that may have influenced the variation observed may be related to sex, body size, habitat and/or other factors. Our findings provide critical information of manatee calls for wildlife monitoring and highlight the need for further study of the vocal behavior of manatees throughout their range.

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“…This information can be relevant to advise management plans of the species, particularly for those populations that are under anthropogenic threats. Further studies based on new methodologies (such as the use of drones and videos) to evaluate body condition indices (Castelblanco‐Martinez, Slone, et al, 2021), dorsal fin size, behavior, and genetics are recommendable to better inform the differentiation among neighboring groups (Castelblanco et al, 2022; Costa et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High similarities in dorsal fin ratios of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Caribbean Sea

Níño-Torres

Olvera‐Gómez

Ramos

et al. 2022

Marine Mammal Science

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Dorsal fins, one of the most notable dolphin's physical features, play important kinematic and hydrodynamic roles and are related to physiological and environmental adaptation processes. Differences in dorsal fin shape have been recently associated with geographic variation, habitat specialization between ecotypes, and ontogenetic factors. We studied dorsal fin variation across several common bottlenose dolphin populations in the Caribbean. A total of 252 dorsal fin photographs from eight coastal regions in the Caribbean were selected for analysis. Dolphin dorsal fin proportions were compared among regions and compared with data previously collected from Holbox, Mexico. Dorsal fin models were constructed for each region. We found that across the Caribbean, coastal bottlenose dolphins exhibit low variation in dorsal fin shape, with the most common dorsal fin pattern having low and triangular shapes, two traits that greatly contrast with the oceanic ecotype. Also, significant differences in overall dorsal fin proportions found among some adjacent groups support the hypothesis that subgroups could be present even within extremely short geographical distances -as has been previously documented. The results of this study can be implemented in population monitoring efforts worldwide, as it uses free software and provides a step-by-step guideline to analyze the data.

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Analysis of body condition indices reveals different ecotypes of the Antillean manatee

Cited by 14 publications

References 68 publications

Manatee calf call contour and acoustic structure varies by species and body size

Manatee calf call contour and acoustic structure varies by species and body size

Vocalizations of wild West Indian manatee vary across subspecies and geographic location

High similarities in dorsal fin ratios of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Caribbean Sea

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