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El Manatí Anmari Álvarez Alemán mamíferos en cuba 4.1 MAMÍFEROS ACUÁTICOS El manatí ANMAri ÁLVAREZ ALEMÁN Diversidad y evolución de los sirenios E l manatí es la única especie herbívora del grupo de los mamíferos marinos que forma parte de la fauna marina autóctona cubana (fig.1). Pertenece a Sirenia, orden que des cierra permanentemente esta conexión. está dividido en dos familias, Dugongidae y Trichechidae, Este fenómeno indujo un flujo de nu- y cuyos integrantes comparten muchas características con trientes y sedimentos a lo largo otros mamíferos marinos como los cetáceos: cuerpo hi- de la cuenca del Amazonas, que drodinámico, piel gruesa y reducción de las extremidades, conllevó a que las plantas acuá- entre otras; sin embargo, no están emparentados. Los sire- ticas tuvieran un alto contenido de nios pertenecen a un grupo de mamíferos referidos como sílice y por lo tanto fueran más abrasivas para subungulados, los cuales están evolutivamente relaciona- los dientes. De esta manera, la evolucion favo- dos. En este grupo también encontramos los órdenes Pro- reció una dentición con reemplazo horizontal de boscidea (elefantes), Hyracoidea (damanes) y Tubulidenta- los dientes para favorecer la alimentacion con este tipo de a ta (cerdo hormiguero). plantas abrasivas. El triquéquido Ribodon evolucionó en El linaje de los sirenios parece haber surgido en el viejo estas nuevas condiciones dando lugar a los manatíes 179 mundo durante el Eoceno, hace 50 millones de años. Los actuales, cuyas estructuras craneales tienen una estudios paleontológicos señalan la presencia de otras dos dentición capaz de alimentarse de las plantas mari- familias fósiles dentro del orden Sirenia: Prorastomidae y nas (fig.2). Posiblemente los dugo- Protosirenidae. A diferencia de los sirenios actuales, ambos nes del Atlántico desaparecieron grupos eran cuadrúpedos y su dentición estaba constitui- debido a la disminución de la di- da por incisivos, caninos, premolares y molares. Entre estos versidad de especies de plantas proto-sirenios se destaca Pezosiren portelli, prorastómido marinas del Caribe, de las cuales se descrito del Eoceno temprano de Jamaica considerado alimentaban. como el sirenio cuadrúpedo más antiguo y que al parecer Restos fósiles de estos sirenios del género Me- era capaz de moverse en la tierra. Este animal, junto a otros taxytherium han sido encontrados en dos yacimientos sirenios fósiles, documentan un ejemplo de evolución de Cuba: San Antonio de Cabezas, Matanzas, y Domo de b morfológica dentro de los vertebrados. Zaza, Sancti Spíritus. A partir de hallazgos realizados en Ya en el Oligoceno, hace aproximadamente 30 millo- estos sitios, Luis S. Varona describe en 1972, la especie Me- nes de años, los prorastómidos y protosirenios se extin- taxytherium riveroi. Actualmente, los especialistas consi- guieron. deran que estos restos pertenecieron en Los sirenios comenzaron a irradiarse evolutivamente realidad a otra especie, Metaxytherium durante el Oligoceno y el Mioceno, hace 35 millones de crataegense, registrada anteriormente años. La mayoría poseían la forma típica del dugón con en localidades del Pacífico oriental y el una aleta caudal bilobulada. En la región del Caribe, los du- sureste de los Estados Unidos. En este góngidos llegaron a ser muy diversos yacimiento de Domo de Zaza se halló, además, un La evolución de los sirenios estuvo muy influida por pequeño sirenio fechado como del Mioceno temprano, eventos geológicos importantes. Doce millones de años relacionado con el género Nanosiren, del cual se han halla- c atrás, América del Sur presentaba, en lo que actualmente do restos también en Urumaco, Venezuela, y Bone Valley, figura 2. Los manatíes carecen se conoce como la cuenca del Amazonas, un mar interior Florida. de caninos e incisivos, presentan solamente molares que son que conectaba los océanos Pacífico y Atlántico. Ya en el Entre las familias actuales se encuentra la familia Du- reemplazados lentamente por piezas Plioceno (3 millones de años atrás), la elevación de los An- gongidae, que incluye exclusivamente al dugón (Dugong nuevas. Cráneo de Trichechus manatus: a. Vista dorsal. b. Vista dugon), único mamífero marino herbívoro que permanece oclusal. c. Vista dorsal de la mandíbula. MUSEO DE HISTORIA NATURAL toda su vida en zonas marinas. La aleta caudal es diferente “FELIPE POEY”, FACULTAD DE BIOLOGÍA, figura 1. Manatí (Trichechus manatus). a la del resto de los manatíes y se asemeja a la del delfín (bi- UNIVERSIDAD DE LA HABANA. Abundancia y hábitat © ROBERT K. BONDE lobulada). Estos animales alcanzan hasta 3 metros de largo de Trichechus manatus y sus aletas carecen de uñas. El dugón se distribuye en la Los investigadores estiman que en la actualidad deben región del Indo-Pacífico. Su rango se expande a las costas existir alrededor de 3 807 individuos de la subespecie de la de más de 37 países desde África hasta Vanuatu, al este del Florida. Análisis de tendencias poblacionales sugieren que continente australiano. esta población aumentó en número a lo largo de los años La familia Trichechidae incluye a tres especies de si- 80 y estabilizó su crecimiento en los años 90 del siglo XX. renios conocidos como manatíes: el manatí del oeste de Actualmente, la población se encuentra estable con lige- África (Trichechus senegalensis), el manatí del Amazonas ras tendencias al incremento en algunas regiones. (T. inunguis) y el manatí de las Indias Occidentales (T. ma- Por otra parte, el número poblacional de la subespecie b natus). De esta última especie exis- antillana es desconocido. Es probable que la población más ten dos subespecies: el manatí de numerosa sea la de las costas de México, con estimados de a la Florida (T. m. latirostris), localizado entre 1 000 y 2 000 individuos. Los censos aéreos en aguas en esa región y ocasionalmente de Belice y México documentan más de 400 animales. Con observado hacia el Atlántico norte la posible excepción de Cuba, existe poca evidencia histó- (Connecticut), al oeste (a lo largo rica de que los manatíes fueran abundantes en las Antillas RO del Golfo de México hasta Texas) Mayores. Se consideran particularmente vulnerables las E IV T e incluso se ha reportado reciente- poblaciones de Haití, República Dominicana y Jamaica. Con N O mente en Cuba (fig.3) y el mana- tí de las Antillas o del Caribe (T. m. NZÁLEZ NZÁLEZ E O C G manatus) distribuida a lo largo de N A I MA L I las costas de Centro y Suramérica, L A Y O RE © © A hasta las costas de Recife en Brasil y O figura 3. a. Manatí hembra adulta y en las Antillas Mayores (fig.4). Sh cría, en el canal de enfriamiento de A TO E la central termoeléctrica “Camilo S Cienfuegos”, Santa Cruz del Norte, LL. observado en varias ocasiones E a W durante los meses de febrero y abril O de 2007. b. E ste mismo ejemplar P había sido registrado en la Florida en varias oportunidades en 1979, 180 1992, 1997, 2005 y 2006. Es el JAMES© primer registro de movimientos de animales de la Florida hacia Cuba. Obsérvese el patrón de cicatrices visibles en la cola que permite su identificación. figura 5. Manatíes (Trichechus manatus) en manantiales naturales del oeste de la Florida. relación a la de Puerto Rico, su distribución es por parches y algunos conteos sugieren un aproximado de 250 ejem- plares. Estos animales son escasos a lo largo de la mayoría de las costas de Sur América, con excepción de las grandes figura 4. Distribución de las extensiones de humedales en Guyana y Suriname donde la subespecies del manatí del especie es más abundante. Caribe (Trichechis manatus): a. En el Caribe, Golfo de México y el Los manatíes se pueden observar en zonas cercanas a Atlántico. TOMADO DE PERRIN ET. AL., 2009. b. En el Archipiélago cubano. la costa, ríos, lagunas, estuarios, lechos de pastos marinos, vegetación inundada y manglares de las regiones tropical b y subtropical del Atlántico. La preferencia por un determi- nado hábitat puede estar influida por la temperatura acuá- tica y la disponibilidad de agua dulce y vegetación. (fig.5). Los factores determinantes en su distribución pare- cen ser diferentes en ambas subespecies. Diversos estu- dios analizan los cambios en las poblaciones y tendencia a agregaciones durante el invierno en la subespecie de la Florida (fig.6). La demanda energética en la subes- pecie de las Antillas no ha sido estudiada. Sin embargo, la tolerancia a temperaturas frías puede no ser tan elevada en este grupo si se consideran las característi- cas del clima de la región tropical. Los mamíferos en cuba EL MANATÍ © JAMES POWELL. SEA TO ShORE ALLIANCE figura 6. Gran agregación de manatíes (Trichechus manatus latirostris) ocurrida en una 181 movimientos estacionales de esta subespecie no parecen especie dentro de los sirenios vivientes, con individuos termoeléctrica de la Florida en 2010. Esta adaptación conductual les estar limitados por la temperatura del agua, y sí por el que pueden alcanzar 1 500 kg de peso y 4 metros de lar- permite termoregular, descansar y sentirse protegidos en las cálidas acceso a fuentes de agua dulce. Los manatíes necesitan go. Las hembras tienden a ser mayores que los machos. aguas que se liberan de los procesos este recurso para prevenir la deshidratación y pudiera ser Presentan una aleta caudal plana y redondeada, a manera de enfriamiento de las máquinas. la causa fundamental de los cambios de hábitats en la dis- de pala, y aletas pectorales con 3 o 4 uñas (fig.7). tribución de la subespecie antillana. El color de la piel LY E La depredación del manatí no ha sido bien documen- puede ser pardo o gris M tada. Al parecer, la especie tiene pocos enemigos naturales, y se puede observar b A de ahí que los niveles de depredación sean muy bajos. Al- con frecuencia en ésta, C NO gunos registros anecdóticos refieren ataques de cocodrilos algas e invertebrados Li y tiburones como causa de algunos eventos de muerte en de pequeño tamaño.
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