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Manatee Population Monitoring

Abundance Surveys

Abundance surveys are used to estimate how many manatees live in the state of Florida.

aerial view of manatees taken during an aerial survey

Population Models

Population models can be used to predict future manatee numbers or fill in missing abundances from the past.

Chart showing that the manatee population in southwest Florida has grown, but not steadily.

Synoptic Surveys

Synoptic surveys are winter aerial surveys that cover  manatee warm-water sites in Florida. This survey provides a minimum count of manatees at these sites, not a population size estimate. Synoptic surveys were last conducted in 2019.

 

Aerial view of manatees taken during a 2018 aerial survey.