• Overview
• Introduction
• Legal History
• Administrative Process
• Science Process
• Management Methods
• GIS Decision Model
• Concepts
• How It Works
• Spatial Data
• Environment
• Manatee
• Boating
• Infrastructure
• Management
• Example Study (Lee Cnty)
• Area Data
• Interactive Model
• Model Results
• Resources
• Federal Laws
• Florida State Laws
• County & Municipal Laws
• Contact
• Project Partners / Contacts

GIS DECISION MODEL

Infrastructure

How structures existing and planned can affect manatees.

Marinas / Ramps

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Warm Water Refuges (buffer from power plants)

Many of the existing Florida power plants have been operating and discharging warm water into the coastal waters of Florida for over 30 years. During that time, manatees have gradually become habituated to wintering at these artificial warm water discharges. The number of manatees using power plant discharges has also increased during this time frame.

Research indicates that manatees often come back to the same discharge(s) year after year, and that calves may learn this routine from their mothers. Satellite telemetry has shown that some manatees know where a number of discharges are, and that they may travel from one power plant to another during the winter. Obviously, this is not the historical situation, but the winter distribution of manatees prior to the creation of these artificial warm water refuges is unknown. Many hypothesize that prior to the creation of these artificial warm water refuges the migration for manatees was more direct--north to south during the winter. It is further hypothesized that the majority of manatees gathered in extreme south Florida during the winter. However, it is also possible that manatees used natural warm water areas that over time have been lost due to human development. The presence of power plants have permitted manatees to spend the winter in areas like Brevard County and Tampa Bay, which are considered to be north of their historical range. Manatees that winter this far north are much more reliant on these refugia for survival than those manatees using a power plant in south Florida. Conceivably, manatees that habituated to artificial warm water sites in north Florida may be in greater peril in the event of a power plant failure during the cold season when compared to those manatees that initially migrated to southern Florida with the onset of Winter.

More Information: http://floridaconservation.org/psm/habitat/warmwat.htm