Did you know that scientists at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute @FAU have a program that keeps track of manatees that frequent campus?
Since the 1970's, manatees have been noted in the channel at Harbor Branch Oceanographic, with large number seen in the winter time. Because this is not a warm water spring nor a power plant outflow, it has not been considered a traditional warm water refuge. The nearest warm water refuges where manatee observations continue are at the power plants in Coco Beach and Riviera Beach (Coco is about 60 miles north and Riviera is about 60 mile south). So, Harbor Branch is in the middle of a 120 mile gap in observations. Since 2009, we have conducted a formal photo-identification program to document which manatees are using the Harbor Branch waters, note the behaviors, and share our photos with the Manatee Individual Photo-identification System (MIPS) operated by the USGS in Gainesville, FL.
You can find them on Facebook here and at their website here.
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