Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center

Endangered manatees

Caribbean manatees (Trichechus manatus) are a tropical marine mammal threatened from survival throughout their range in the United States (US), Mexico, Caribbean Sea, Central and South America. It is highly endangered in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, mostly by human causes in the form of poaching and watercraft mortality. While over 4,800 manatees are left in Florida, less than 700 survive in Puerto Rico. Manatees used to be hunted in Puerto Rico’s coasts, but are now directly threatened by habitat degradation, speeding boats and jet skis. Indirect threats also include a low reproductive rate, genetic bottleneck and low diversity, lack of immigration of adjacent populations, and exposure to adverse coastal health.

If manatees are to survive in Puerto Rico, all stakeholders, including government, academia, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), local corporations and all island residents in general, must work together and actively participate in positive actions of management, research, and community involvement that would enhance the survival of the species and preserve them for future generations.

History

As a response to this needed effort, the NGO Red Caribeña de Varamientos (Caribbean Stranding Network) partnered with the Inter American University of Puerto Rico to implement research, rescue, rehabilitation, and community outreach programs for manatee conservation through the establishment of the Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center (PRMCC). Through a long-term cooperative agreement, permits and licenses from Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (PRDNER), US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and US Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Network and the University slated academic programs to support research and conservation work in the PRMCC with the participation of students and faculty, as well as the means of seeking funds available to academia and community-based organizations to support the manatee conservation initiatives.

While this conservation effort is focused on manatees in Puerto Rico, the PRMCC also assists in programs for West Indian manatees in British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Turks and Caicos, and Venezuela, and for endangered sister species, such as the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) in Colombia and Peru, and the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) in Taiwan and Gabon, Africa. These international partnerships have taken the PRMCC's scientists, veterinarians and technicians around the globe to provide assistance and support in rescue, rehabilitation, and population research projects.

Conservation initiatives

PRMCC implements manatee conservation initiatives in four main fronts or programs:

1. Rescue and stranding response,
2. Rehabilitation and veterinary care,
3. Population research, and
4. Community outreach and education.

Rescue and stranding response

Up to 15 cases of stranded manatees are reported in Puerto Rico each year. Some of these cases involve animals that have died near shore, either from natural causes or human related accidents. Others cases reported consist of live manatees, whether ill, injured or orphaned in need of veterinary attention. The PRMCC is deputized by both the Commonwealth and Federal governments to respond to these stranding events, and conduct an investigation on the cause of death, including a necropsy, or rescue and transport the live animal to the PRMCC's rehabilitation facility for veterinary treatment and care.

Through dedicated stranding and mortality research and monitoring, the PRMCC has documented over 120 manatee deaths in Puerto Rico, via salvage and necropsies. Pathology and disease processes in these cases have been documented cooperatively with veterinary pathologist Gregory Bossart of the Georgia Aquarium and manatee biologist Robert Bonde of the US Geological Survey (USGS) Sirenia Project in Gainesville, Florida. During 2015, two successful rescues were conducted, including one manatee calf in the Condado Lagoon of San Juan with a bicycle tire on its torso and one newborn calf who got separated from its mother in the town of Isabela.

Rehabilitation and veterinary care

The PRMCC is one of the 12 facilities federally deputized in the US to hold and care for manatees and one of five critical care manatees facilities. These facilities conform the Manatee Rehabilitation Partnership, which includes the following organizations: Cincinnati Zoo, Columbus Zoo, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, Miami Seaquarium, Mote Marine Laboratory, Puerto Rico Manatee Conservation Center, Puerto Rico Zoo, Save the Manatee Club, Sea to Shore Alliance, Sea World Orlando, South Florida Museum, Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo, USFWS, USGS Sirenia Project, University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Walt Disney World’s The Seas.

As one of the critical care authorized facilities, the PRMCC receives ill, injured or orphaned manatees and provides them with veterinary treatment and rehabilitation care with the main purpose of returning them back to their habitat once they have been cleared of their admission condition and can survive on their own.

A team of experienced marine biologists, veterinarians, veterinary technicians, and caretakers with the help of volunteers, provide treatment and care around-the-clock on a full-time basis. Some cases only require minor treatment, while others, particularly orphaned calves, require up to three years of care at the PRMCC, with an additional six months in a sea pen for re-adaptation, and one year monitoring in the wild.

Since 1989, the PRMCC has tended over 30 rescue and rehabilitation cases of manatees in Puerto Rico, and offered assistance to more than two dozen cases in the Caribbean (British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Turks and Caicos, and Venezuela), the Amazon (Peru and Colombia), Taiwan and Gabon, Africa. In Puerto Rico, four manatees have been immediately released after rescue, three have been released after rehabilitation (Moisés, Rafael and Tuque) and four are at present in rehabilitation (Guacara, Aramaná, Yuisa and Tureygua). Aramaná and Yuisa are slated for release in early 2016, while Tureygua has two more years of rehabilitation before it is considered a candidate for release. Guacara, originally from Florida, but now a permanent resident of the PRMCC, can not be release back to the wild due to floatability problems caused by a boat injury to its right lung in 2008.

Population research

Research on the ecology, life history, genetics, distribution, habitat use and movement of the manatee population in Puerto Rico have been conducted over the past years in a local, national and international cooperative fashion, particularly with colleagues from the USGS Sirenia Project. These efforts have resulted in an edited book (Sirenian Conservation: Issues and strategies in developing countries), and over 56 joint publications, analyzing major causes affecting the survival of this species. Some of the most recent peer reviewed publications in which the PRMCC has participated are:

The new frontier in manatee research pivots on population health assessment and habitat use through the use of radio-telemetry. Thus, in the coming years, the PRMCC will focus its research on manatees through a cooperative project titled "Puerto Rico Manatee Health Assessment and Telemetry Project". This research will be led by the PRMCC together with the Inter American University, PRDNER, USFWS, USGS Sirenia Project, Puerto Rico’s Environmental Quality Board (PREQB), San Juan Bay Estuary Program (SJBEP), University of Florida’s Veterinary School, and the Georgia Aquarium. Since detrimental activities that have led to the manatee endangerment include habitat degradation, which in turn influences manatee health and the particular use of specific habitats, the PRMCC seeks to ascertain the effects of these two factors in the survival of the manatee in Puerto Rico. The study will be conducted in two important estuarine habitats for the species: Jobos Bay and San Juan Bay. Health assessments are a valuable tool to determine the fitness, specifically related to environmental and medical issues of any population of wildlife. Telemetry studies provide hard evidence on the preference and use of any wildlife to a specific habitat and its use of the resources (food, water, shelter, etc.) needed for survival. Wild manatees will be medically examined and tested for signs of health issues. Once examined and samples are collected for analysis, the manatees will be fitted with a satellite tag to monitor their movement and habitat preference for a year.

Community outreach and education

Extensive community outreach efforts have also been a priority for the PRMCC, including the education of school children and the general public, and the production of brochures and posters for free distribution. Two books for young children have been printed in 2010 and 2011, educating about the plight for survival of manatees in Caribbean waters.

New educational material for children as well as for boaters, kayakers, divers and jetskiers, is being produced in a cooperative effort with the PRDNER, USFWS, SJBEP, PREQB, Puerto Rico’s Sea Grant College Program and the NGOs Para La Naturaleza and Arrecifes Pro Ciudad. Additional educational material is also available for teachers and can be downloaded for the general public on the PRMCC's website www.manatipr.org.

A public service announcement (PSA) campaign in the two major local newspapers (El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora) is also used to make the community aware of the need of conservation efforts for manatees in the island.

Through PRMCC's encouragement and active campaign, Puerto Rico’s government declared by law in 2013 that the manatee would be the National Mammal of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and assigned each year 7 September as the "Day for Caribbean Manatee Conservation" in the island. This designation through Law 127 of 31 October 2013 is the first official designation of a national wildlife symbol for Puerto Rico. During its first and second celebration in 2013 and 2014, over 50 schools and 20,000 students celebrated 7 September as "manatee day" with environmental activities, talks, and the writing of advocacy letters to help in manatee conservation in the island. During the week of 7 September 2015, the PRMCC together with some 300 elementary and secondary school teachers, impacted over 45,000 students in the island regarding the manatee's plight for survival and need for conservation measures to prevent their extinction.

Part of PRMCC’s community outreach efforts include involving students as volunteers, and inviting college interns to practice and gain experience in marine wildlife conservation initiatives at the PRMCC. Biology, marine sciences, and environmental sciences students participate in the daily activities of PRMCC, including husbandry, veterinary care, scientific research, conservation, and community outreach and education. Over 90 volunteers and interns are associated with the PRMCC's activities, learning first hand on manatee conservation. The PRMCC also arranges for its technicians and volunteers to gain experience in internships abroad with collaborative institutions such as the Florida Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory, Dolphin Discovery, Sea to Shore Alliance, and Georgia Aquarium.

PRMCC is also a facility where elementary, middle and high school children, university students, as well as the public and tourists may visit to observe first hand the research and rehabilitation work in a way to inspire them to get involved in environmental conservation through community service. Over 5,000 visitors come through PRMCC each year to receive a short lecture on manatee conservation and see the work behind the scenes to help this species survive.

News media, TV and newspapers, regularly cover PRMCC's conservation activities and progress of manatee patients under veterinary care. As a result of this coverage and PRMCC's community outreach efforts, the US Environmental Protection Agency awarded the Network the "Environmental Quality Award" in 2004. National Geographic documented their work for the television series Earth Pulse, which aired worldwide in 2002 and 2003. In 2012, the syndicated ABC television program Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin filmed PRMCC’s manatee conservation efforts and the episode aired to 1.5 million viewers in the US in March 2013. In 2014, Windfall Films recorded a section for the PBS and England’s Channel 4 program "Born in the Wild" featuring PRMCC’s work on manatee calf rearing. The episode was seen during the summer of 2014 by some 821,000 viewers in the United Kingdom, and over 1.2 million viewers in the US.

Infrastructure

The PRMCC was conceived to include a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to conduct research, rescue, rehabilitation and community outreach programs for this endangered marine species to further their conservation, health, and well-being. The facility was designed by architect Andrés Mignucci to consist of a series of laboratories and tanks to run PRMCC’s programs.

The laboratories include spaces for marine research, veterinary treatment, telemetry, osteological collection, animal food preparation, a multipurpose class room for education and community outreach, as well as offices for program coordinators. The rehabilitation area consists of three tanks (principal, medical, calf) and two separate quarantine tanks. The tanks and filter system, totaling some 81,000 gallons of fresh-water, can accommodate 5 adult manatees and 10 calves in rehabilitation. The life support building contains 12 commercial rapid-sand filters and 16 IntelliFlo pumps that process all water every 50 minutes allowing for excellent water quality that it is both healthy for the manatees and adequate for public viewing. A 2-ton, 16-foot mast, 16-feet jib crane sits between the calf and medical tanks to weigh and move animals.

The PRMCC also has a 26-foot tunnel-hull capture boat, two pick-up trucks and an ambulance for manatee rescues and field research.

The facility’s first and second phases were constructed between 2010 and 2012 with funding from the Puerto Rico Legislature, the Inter American University, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and through donations from over 25 corporation and foundations. Phase 3, the main laboratory building, is scheduled to begin in 2016.

Capital improvement plan

The PRMCC, through its founding partners (Caribbean Stranding Network and the Inter American University of Puerto Rico), is committed to enhance implementing research, rescue, rehabilitation, and community outreach programs for manatee conservation. A capital improvement plan has been slated by the PRMCC and includes development steps for: (1) Financing the yearly operation of the PRMCC; (2) Completing the infrastructure of rehabilitation tanks for better functioning, including a false floor in the medical tank, automatic chlorination and an ozone filtration system; (3) Constructing Phase 3 of the PRMCC, including laboratories, veterinary clinic, husbandry areas and a community outreach room to receive the general public; (4) Refurbishing the sea-pen used by the PRMCC in collaboration with the Puerto Rico National Guard in Punta Salinas to re-introduce rehabilitated manatees to the wild; and (5) Refurbishing quarantine tanks and constructing aquaculture ponds for the aquaponic cultivation of aquatic plants (water hyacinths and water thyme) that will serve as food for the manatees in rehabilitation in a sustainable manner.

Those corporations, agencies, foundations or institutions that participate in this capital improvement plan become what the PRMCC calls Amigos del Manatí (friend of the manatee), a way for them to show corporate social responsibility and environmental stewardship.

The Caribbean Stranding Network as a non-profit

The Caribbean Stranding Network is duly registered in the Commonwealth’s State and Treasury departments as a non-profit organization. It is deputized by the Commonwealth and Federal wildlife government agencies to rescue and rehabilitate these endangered species. The Network is run by an executive director overseen by a board of directors. The Network staff that operates the PRMCC is composed of the director, veterinarians, program coordinators, technicians, and volunteers.

The Network, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, finances its conservation efforts through donations from private corporations, Puerto Rico Legislature Community Funds and limited endangered species funds from the Commonwealth and Federal governments. In-kind donations from several key corporations have been crucial in allowing the Network and the PRMCC to continue its conservation efforts.

The Inter American University

The Inter American University of Puerto Rico is a private non-profit university founded in 1912 and dedicated to uniting academic excellence with leadership and service to society. The University has 11 university campuses throughout Puerto Rico accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, including schools of law, optometry and aeronautics, and three college-preparatory schools. The Bayamón campus, where the PRMCC is located, is a sciences and engineering-oriented campus, now featuring a bachelor's degree in marine sciences and a master's degree in biology.

The governing body of the university is its Board of Trustees, which perpetuates itself and whose members are elected freely without interference from any external authority. The President of the University is the executive officer and senior scholar at the Institution. Chancellors lead each campus of the University system.

The Inter American University of Puerto Rico is one of the largest private universities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, with a student body of 42,000.