How do manatees use the areas in
which they are found?

Once we know where manatees like to hang out then we can begin to examine how manatees are using these particular habitats. Our questions have to do with both the behavior of the manatee population as a whole and with individual manatees.

Our questions about the entire population are:

• Do we find a different number of manatees in the study area during the rainy season than in the dry season?
• Do manatees use habitat types (secluded coves, channels, grassflats, the barrier reef) differently during the rainy season than the dry season?
• How do manatees use the different habitat types within the study area? That is, where do manatees travel, feed, breed, and rest?

Our questions about individual manatees are:

• Are individual manatees resident or transient?
• If they are transient, where do they go and where are they coming from?

  If the transients are seasonal residents, then we would expect them to return to our area on a periodic basis. If they are truly transient, then we would expect to see them only once or twice over a short period of time and then never see them again or at least see them seldom with no seasonal patterns to their sightings.
• If they are resident, do they show a preference for certain areas within the study area?