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Photo credit: Keith Ramos, USFWS
Thermal Regulation
 All mammals are warm
blooded, including manatees.
Mammals have different
ways to keep themselves at
comfortable temperatures.
Photo credit: B. Dunnigan
 How do you stay warm in
cold weather?
 How do you stay cool in the
summer?
Florida Sea Grant
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Temperature Regulation in Marine
Mammals
 Animals that live in water spend
more energy keeping warm than
those on land.
 Heat loss in water is 27 times more
than in air
Stellar Sea Lion
Photo credit: NOAA
Humpback Whale
Photo credit: E. Green
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Walrus
Photo credit: NOAA
Whales
Photo credit: NOAA
How do they
stay warm?
Photo credit: NOAA
• Blubber (can be more
than 1 foot thick!!!
• Circulatory System
• Food
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
What is blubber?
 Blubber is…..
 A thick layer of fat.
Humpback Whale
Photo credit: NOAA
 It acts like a jacket to keep animals
warm.
 Which animals have blubber?
 Whales, Dolphins, Sea Lions, Seals,
Walrus, Polar Bears
 Which animals do not have blubber?
 Manatees
 Sea Otters
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Sea Otter
Photo credit: M. McGuire
Polar Bear
Photo credit: NOAA
What keeps a walrus warm?
• Lots and lots of blubber
• Move blood away from skin
(keeps them warm on the inside)
• “Cuddle” with other walrus
http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42706000/jpg/_42706751_3walrus.jpg
Photo credit: Joel Garlich-Miller, USFWS
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
These sea lions are warming up…
Sea lions can warm
up by getting out of
the water and lying
on rocks in the sun.
The lighter colored
animals have dried
off.
Photo credit: M. McGuire
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
And these are cooling off…
Sea lions use behavior
to help control their
temperature.
Photo credit: M. McGuire
Photo credit: M. McGuire
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Sea lions can cool down by
lifting their flippers out of the
water. Blood in the flippers is
right under the skin and cools
quickly in the cold air.
What about sea otters?
• Sea otters have no blubber
• Sea otters have the thickest
hair known (>1,000,000 hairs
per square inch)
• Sea otters have a layer of air
under their fur that keeps
their skin dry and warm in
the water.
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Photo credit: M. McGuire
How do manatees stay warm?
Photo credit: Jim Reid, USFWS
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Manatees get cold
and can die when
water temperatures
drop below 68°F
Photo credit: M. McGuire
 Manatees do not have blubber.
 Manatees must migrate to warm water to stay warm in
the winter
 Mother manatees teach migration routes to their
calves
 Natural warm water springs are very important to help
manatees stay warm.
 Some power plants release warm water
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
What is a spring?
 Fresh water flowing from
e
Photo credits: M. McGuire
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
underground.
 What temperature is spring
water?
 Does the temperature of
the spring water change
throughout the year?
Why are power plants important to
manatees?
Tampa Bay Power Plant
Photo credit: Marilyn Conlon (Flickr)
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Why are power plants
important to manatees?
 Manatees migrate to the same
Photo credit: Amanderson2
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
place each winter.
 Power plants keep water warm
throughout the year.
 Manatees learn to go to power
plants to find warm water, and
do not learn to find natural
warm water refuges (like Blue
Spring State Park).
 Old power plants can get shut
down, then young manatees
don’t know where to go in the
winter to stay warm!
Why do manatees need to stay warm?
Photo credit: M. McGuire
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Why do manatees migrate to Florida
springs each winter?
Photo credit: M. McGuire
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water
Review
 What are some ways that marine mammals
stay warm when the weather is cold?
 How are sea otters different from most other
marine mammals?
 How are manatees different from most other
marine mammals?
 Where are the best places in Florida to look for
manatees in the winter?
Lesson 9: Manatees need warm water