News

By Tiare “TJ” Fridrich, Manatee Biologist

Florida manatees are large, slow-moving aquatic mammals endemic to Florida. Despite their large size, manatees only have a thin, incomplete layer of body fat rather than thick layers of blubber. Being herbivores, they also have a slow metabolism and struggle overall with maintaining their body temperature in colder temperatures. To survive the chilly winter months in Florida, manatees need access to sources of warm water, such as power plant outflows or natural springs, which maintain a constant 72°F. When manatees are exposed to water temperatures below 68°F for extended periods, they are susceptible to cold stress, a syndrome similar to hypothermia in humans. Cold stress syndrome is one of the leading causes of mortality for manatees in Florida, and each year manatees need to be rescued due to cold stress.

Historically, manatees would spend the winter in southern Florida, specifically the tropical region, and would gather at springs or move further south to stay warm during cold snaps. Following the construction of power plants in the 1960s, the winter distribution of manatees in Florida shifted to favor power plant outflows, including those further north like the Cape Canaveral Energy Center in Titusville. Development in Florida during this time also led to water being diverted and natural springs being blocked by dams and locks, preventing manatee access. Today, 66% of manatees depend on power plants to survive the winter. If these plants were to go offline without a contingency plan, the thousands of manatees that depend on them would die. An additional concern is that in some areas of Florida, like the Indian River Lagoon, these power plants operate in areas where manatee forage is extremely limited. During cold snaps, manatees must decide whether to stay warm at a warm-water site or travel out to find food and endure the cold. In areas where food is limited, manatees searching in the cold for long periods will be susceptible to cold stress and starvation. For the manatee’s survival, it is critical that there be a long-term plan for the management and protection of these warm-water sites.

In 2000, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) brought together subject-matter experts in manatee conservation, industry representatives, government agencies, and other stakeholders to create the Warm-Water Task Force (WWTF). WWTF was charged with maintaining a safe and reliable network of warm-water refuges for manatees. They drafted the first version of the Florida Manatee Warm-Water Action Plan in 2004, which identified both short-term and long-term goals for protecting manatee habitat networks. FWS and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) worked together to update the plan in 2019, and with this guiding document in hand, they once again gathered subject matter experts to focus on improving these networks as Regional Partnership Teams in 2024. The goal of these teams is to provide practical recommendations on ways to enhance warm-water habitat, propose novel ideas on the creation of warm-water habitats, and contribute to warm-water planning at the regional level. Currently, Regional Partnership Teams are meeting regularly to discuss manatee habitat along Florida’s Atlantic coast, with the goal of providing any recommendations and additional information back to FWC and FWS. Save the Manatee Club’s biologists are excited to participate in these meetings and understand the importance of ensuring manatees can continue to access warm water in perpetuity.