Why Springs Are Important To Manatees
Kings Bay / Crystal River Springs Complex
A spring is a natural opening in the ground where groundwater emerges from the aquifer to the Earth’s surface. The groundwater is under pressure and flows upward through an opening, or a spring vent, contributing flow to a river or other waterbody.
Kings Bay / Crystal River is a first magnitude Florida Springs Complex with over 70 springs pumping out up to 600 million gallons of freshwater per day from the Florida aquifer.
First magnitude springs are ones that produce more than 100 cubic feet of water per second, or the equivalent of 64.6 million gallons per day.
Florida has more first-magnitude springs than any other state or any other nation in the world. Currently, 33 first-magnitude springs have been identified and recognized in Florida.
Crystal River/Kings Bay is the second largest springs group in Florida, with more than 70 springs scattered within the 600-acre bay. Spring Creek Springs is the largest and it is located north of Orlando.
The springs are the headwaters of Crystal River, which is a short, tidal river that flows seven miles from the headsprings to where it meets the Gulf of Mexico.
Crystal River/Kings Bay is unique because it flows into a large, open bay. The system is the largest winter refuge for manatees on the Florida Gulf Coast and is a National Wildlife Refuge.
Because it’s such an important natural ecosystem, it is federally protected, as part of the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge.
It is an important warm-water spring refuge for manatees during cold weather. The constant flow of warm spring water keeps manatees safe from cold water temperatures, which can cause cold stress, injury or even death.
The Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge consists of 20 islands in and around Kings Bay. The 80-acre refuge (only accessible by boat) was established in 1983, to protect the West Indian Manatee. In 2012, Kings Bay was designated a Manatee Protection Area called the Kings Bay Manatee Refuge. The Refuge is maintained by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
There are five first-magnitude spring groups in the West-Central Florida District — Rainbow River, Crystal River/Kings Bay, Homosassa River, Chassahowitzka River and Weeki Wachee River.
Together, they discharge more than one billion gallons of water per day.
The West Indian Manatee
General Information
The West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) or "sea cow", also known as North American manatee, is the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia (which also includes the dugong and the extinct Steller's sea cow). It is further divided into two subspecies, the Florida manatee (T. m. latirostris) and the Antillean or Caribbean manatee (T. m. manatus), based on genetic and morphological studies. The Florida subspecies is primarily found along the coasts of Florida, but its range extends as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts. The Antillean subspecies has a sparse distribution throughout the Caribbean, ranging as far north as Mexico and as far south as Brazil. Manatees are obligate herbivores, have developed vocal communication abilities, and are covered in highly sensitive vibrissae that are used for feeding and navigation. In breeding season, several males form mating herds around an individual female; on average, one calf is born to a female manatee every two to three years. The West Indian manatee was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s, when there were only several hundred left, and the decades since have witnessed significant efforts by federal, state, private, and nonprofit organizations to protect these species from natural and human induced threats, particularly collisions with watercraft. On March 30, 2017, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke announced the federal reclassification of the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened, citing a substantial increase in the total population.
Learn More
West Indian Manatee
Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Trichechidae
Genus: Trichechus
Species: T. manatus
Binomial name : Trichechus Manatus
Manatee Facts
Description
Habitat and Range
Habitat and Range
West Indian manatees are large, gray aquatic mammals with bodies that taper to a flat, paddle-shaped tail. They have two forelimbs, called flippers, with three to four nails on each flipper. Their head and face are wrinkled with whiskers on the snout. The manatee’s closest relatives are the elephant and the hyrax (a small, gopher-sized mammal). Manatees are believed to have evolved from a wading, plant-eating animal. The West Indian manatee is related to the African manatee, the Amazonian manatee, the dugong, and Steller’s sea cow, which was hunted to extinction in 1768. The average adult manatee is about 10 feet long and weighs between 800 and 1,200 pounds
Habitat and Range
Habitat and Range
Habitat and Range
Manatees can be found in shallow, slow-moving rivers, estuaries, saltwater bays, canals, and coastal areas — particularly where seagrass beds or freshwater vegetation flourish. Manatees are a migratory species. Within the United States, they are concentrated in Florida in the winter. In summer months, they can be found as far west as Texas and as far north as Massachusetts, but summer sightings in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina are more common. West Indian manatees can also be found in the coastal and inland waterways of Central America and along the northern coast of South America, although distribution in these areas may be discontinuous.
Behavior
Habitat and Range
Lifespan / Mortality / Population
Manatees are gentle and slow-moving animals. Most of their time is spent eating, resting, and traveling. Manatee are mostly herbivorous, however small fish and invertebrates can sometimes be ingested along with a manatee’s normal vegetation diet. They eat aquatic plants and can consume floating, emergent, and submerged vegetation from freshwater, brackish, and saltwater environments. Because they are mammals, they must surface to breathe air. They may rest submerged at the bottom or just below the surface of the water, coming up to breathe on an average of every three to five minutes. When manatees are using a great deal of energy, they may surface to breathe as often as every 30 seconds. When resting, manatees have been known to stay submerged for up to 20 minutes. Manatees can swim up to 20 miles per hour in short bursts, but they usually only swim about three to five miles per hour.
Lifespan / Mortality / Population
Lifespan / Mortality / Population
Lifespan / Mortality / Population
West Indian manatees have no natural enemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. As with all wild animal populations, a certain percentage of manatee mortality is attributed to natural causes of death such as cold stress, gastrointestinal disease, pneumonia, and other diseases. A high number of additional fatalities are from human-related causes. Most human-related manatee fatalities occur from collisions with watercraft. Other causes of human-related manatee mortality include being crushed and/or drowned in canal locks and flood control structures; ingestion of fish hooks, litter, and monofilament line; and entanglement in crab trap lines. Ultimately, loss of habitat is the most serious threat facing manatees in the United States today. There is a minimum population count of 5,733 manatees as of January/February 2019, according to the most recent synoptic survey.
Legal Protections
Lifespan / Mortality / Population
Legal Protections
West Indian manatees in the United States are protected under federal law by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which make it illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal. West Indian manatees are also protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978. Violations of these federal or state laws can be met with civil or criminal convictions associated with monetary fines and/or imprisonment.