AERIAL SURVEYS FOR MANATEES AND DOLPHINS IN WESTERN PENINSULAR FLORIDA

Abstract

Low altitude aerial surveys were conducted to count West Indian manatees, Trichechus manatus, and bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, in western peninsular Florida. A total of 554 manatees was observed in 297 groups. Most of the manatees (58.5%) were sighted in the Collier-Monroe Counties in shallow, brackish inshore areas. A total of 1,383 bottlenose dolphins was observed in 431 herds, including 700 (in 146 herds) in the Gulf of Mexico, 491 (in 185 herds) in bays, and 192 (in 100 herds) in marsh-river habitats.