Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Manatees get checkup near power plant
Ongoing study monitors effects of warm water outflow
Manatees love hanging around the mangrove-lush canals near Port Everglades, basking in the warm water that emanates from Florida Power and Light’s power plant.
But does the new FPL Port Everglades Center love them back? That’s what the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on Tuesday was trying to find out.
The mammals, some weighing more than a car, are an endangered species. So the state pays close attention to anything that may affect their habitat, including a $1.2 billion facility that produces up to 1,277 megawatts for 260,000 customers.
As part of an ongoing study of the effect of that warm water outflow, biologists and marine life experts plucked four manatees from the canals. They drew blood, took tissue and urine samples and measured the mammals before attaching tracking devices to their tails and releasing them back into the canal.
“We’ve been collecting data for decades, so we can see if there is anything going on with the local population. We look at the thickness of the fat layer, the overall body condition,” said Cathy Beck, a wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey who has studied manatees for about 40 years.
“It’s been the goal since I started research to get them off the endangered species list,” she said.
By comparing the health of manatees now with those decades ago, she focuses on identifying any anomalies that may threaten the local population. The tissue and blood samples yield information about stress levels in the mammals and can support for the need to establish protected zones.
The first manatee hauled in Tuesday was at least 1,200 pounds and appeared to be in her first trimester of pregnancy, Beck said. Aside from linear wounds on her back, a sign she had been run over by a boat, the manatee appeared healthy. An analysis of the samples taken will reveal more.
Several manatees were spotted, in-