Emily Garcia

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Natural Sciences

First Advisor

Rycyk, Athena

Area of Concentration

Marine Biology

Abstract

Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris) are semi-social animals that are most often found in groups. They produce generally tonal, short vocalizations that vary in structure and temporal characteristics based on age, sex, and activity. In this study, the frequency and temporal characteristics of Florida manatee vocalizations found alone or in groups of various sizes were compared. These vocalizations were recorded via digital acoustic tags deployed on wild manatees in Florida. Eleven tagged manatees and nearby manatee conspecifics were recorded in the southwest region of Florida. High-quality vocalizations (n = 225) that were considered ‘clean’ with a minimum signal-to-noise ratio of ≥ 3 dB were characterized. Results showed that duration, fundamental frequency, and maximum frequency (of the fundamental band) were all negatively correlated with group size. There were more nonlinear elements in vocalizations when manatees were in a group than when they were alone. These results suggest that manatees can modify their vocal parameters in different sized groups. These findings expand our understanding of Florida manatee vocal behavior and factors that influence it.

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