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1 Evaluation of the Nutrition of Florida Manatees EVALUATION OF THE NUTRITION OF FLORIDA MANATEES (TRICHECHUS MANATUS LATIROSTRIS) By LAUREN T. HARSHAW A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2012 1 © 2012 Lauren T. Harshaw 2 To my Grandparents, who showed me a love for all animals and encouraged me to follow my dreams 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to begin by thanking my research supervisory committee, who guided me through this process and were always available to discuss results and navigate problems. My chair, Dr. Iske Larkin and co-chair, Dr. Richard Hill, provided direction throughout the duration of my project and pushed me towards becoming a better research scientist. Dr. Don Samuelson offered encouragement and engaged me in discussions that contributed to my development of critical thinking. Dr. Roger Reep shared his vast knowledge of manatee biology with me and helped me to better understand my research and how it could be applied to manatee conservation. Dr. Charles Staples accepted the challenge of working with the “sea” version of the animals with which he usually conducts research and graciously opened up his nutrition laboratory to me. Dr. Graham Worthy was located at another university, but never felt distant, as he provided immense amounts of advice over the phone and traveled here for the important events of my PhD. Together, my committee formed a bridge between manatee biology and the science of nutrition, thus allowing me to successfully complete my research. I especially thank Dr. Karen Scott for mentoring me in my daily laboratory work and assisting me with various aspects of my research. She always let me bounce ideas off of her and discuss my research results. I would also like to thank my stellar undergraduate assistant, Leah Zigelsky, who accompanied me on trips to collect samples and spent countless hours in the laboratory helping me prep manatee food and fecal samples. Most of this work would not have been possible without Dr. Adegbola Adesogan and his amazing lab team, including Jan Kivipelto and Dr. Kathy Arriola. They allowed me to work in their lab space and helped me whenever I asked. I also owe thanks to Heather Daniel Maness and Patrick Thompson of the Aquatic Animal Health Program for their unwavering support and assistance. 4 I received copious amounts of help and cooperation from the captive facilities that participated in this research and thank all of them for their assistance. To start, I want to thank the Living Seas marine mammal training team and Dr. Andy Stamper for always making me feel at home when I was there and providing me with all of the information I needed to make this project possible. The staff members at Lowry Park Zoo and Homosassa Springs were always a pleasure to be around and provided me with the opportunity to collect samples from their animals, even though I was invading their space. Joe Gaspard and the staff of the manatee research program at Mote Marine Laboratory deserve special thanks for collecting the diet and fecal samples from their animals for the digestibility study, saving me lots of time and effort. I thank Marilyn Margold and the staff at Parker Aquarium for trying on more than one occasion to collect fecal samples from their beloved Snooty and allowing me to come meet him and try for myself as well. Lastly, I wish to thank Mark Campbell and the staff at Cincinnati Zoo for collecting last-minute fecal samples from their animals and shipping them to me, because I could not travel to their facility and collect them myself. This work could also not have been done without the help and support of colleagues at USGS Sirenia Project, particularly Dr. Bob Bonde and Cathy Beck, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, including Dr. Charles “Chip” Deutsch and the team at the St. Pete pathology and necropsy lab. Also, I thank Joyce Kleen at the Crystal River Wildlife Refuge office for facilitating my access to the land portion of Three Sisters Springs. Lastly, I would have never made it through this without the support of my friends and family, who had to listen to me talk about manatee poo on a daily basis. I was even fortunate enough to have some brave friends (Michelle Davis, Susan Fogelson, and Elisa Livengood) snorkel with me in freezing cold conditions to try and collect fecal samples. I literally put my 5 best friend, Jill Johnston, to sleep some nights with discussions of my research and frustrations, but she always answered my phone calls anyway. I thank my friend Alexis Morris for encouraging me to keep going by helping me visualize the light at the end of the tunnel and always, always being there for me. My parents, Barry and David Harshaw, always called to check on me and make sure I was taking proper care of myself. Robyn, my sister, moved to Switzerland, but still managed to support me from afar. I also thank my dog, Scamp, who had to forego longer walks and playtime on some days so that I could finish my work, but still provided me with emotional support and lots of love. These people believed in me even when I didn’t believe in myself and I am forever grateful for that. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF TABLES .........................................................................................................................10 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................14 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................16 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................18 Project Summary ....................................................................................................................18 Literature Review ...................................................................................................................19 2 QUANTITATIVE SURVEY OF THE DIET OF FLORIDA MANATEES (TRICHECHUS MANATUS LATIROSTRIS) AT CAPTIVE FACILITIES IN FLORIDA....35 Background .............................................................................................................................35 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................37 Manatees ..........................................................................................................................37 Nutrient Intake Calculations ............................................................................................38 Statistics ...........................................................................................................................39 Results.....................................................................................................................................40 Discussion ...............................................................................................................................42 3 IN VIVO APPARENT DIGESTIBILITY TRIALS OF CAPTIVE FLORIDA MANATEES (TRICHECHUS MANATUS LATIROSTRIS) ...................................................57 Background .............................................................................................................................57 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................60 Manatees and Sample Collection ....................................................................................60 Sample Processing ...........................................................................................................61 Nutrient Analysis .............................................................................................................62 Statistical Analysis ..........................................................................................................64 Results.....................................................................................................................................65 Discussion ...............................................................................................................................67 4 IN VITRO FERMENTATION ESTIMATES FOR FREE-RANGING, CAPTIVE, AND REHABILITATING FLORIDA MANATEES (TRICHECHUS MANATUS LATIROSTRIS) .......................................................................................................................81 Background .............................................................................................................................81 Materials and Methods ...........................................................................................................84 7 Food Sample Collection, Processing, and In vitro Fermentation Method ......................84 Preliminary Study Using Horse Feces to Evaluate Methods of Preserving Fecal Microbes During Transport to the Laboratory .............................................................87 Study Comparing the Effect of Feces from Free-Ranging and Captive Manatees on Fermentation of Various Foods ...................................................................................88 Short-chain and Branched-chain Fatty Acid Analysis ....................................................91
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