| Q.
|
What
do the manatees eat? |
| A.
|
Manatees
are herbivores (plant-eaters), feeding on a large variety
of submerged, emergent, and floating plants. Seagrass beds
and freshwater submerged aquatic vegetation are important
feeding sites for manatees. Listed below are some main types
of marine and freshwater vegetation in Florida that they prefer
to eat:
Marine
Vegetation
Syringodium filiforme/Manatee grass
Thalassia testudinum/Turtle grass
Halodule wrightii/Shoal grass
Ruppia maritima/Widgeon grass |
Freshwater
Vegetation
Hydrilla verticillata/Hydrilla*
Vallisneria neotropicalis/Tapegrass, Eelgrass
Eichhornia crassipes/Water hyacinth
Pistia stratiotes/Water lettuce
*Non-native, or exotic, vegetation |
|
| Q. |
Do
manatees ever eat plankton or small fish? |
| A.
|
Although
manatees are herbivores, sometimes sea squirts, mollusks or
any of several species of zooplankton can be inadvertenly
eaten while the manatee feeds on seagrasses.
|
| Q.
|
How
much does a manatee eat in one day? |
| A.
|
It
is estimated that a manatee can eat about 10-15% of their
body weight in vegetation daily. So, for example, a 453-kilogram
(1,000-pound) manatee would probably eat between 45-68 kilograms
(100-150 pounds) of food a day!
|
| Q.
|
Where
are manatees found in the food chain? |
| A.
|
Manatees
are primary feeders (plant-eaters). They feed directly off
of plants. They are comparable to ungulates like deer or cattle
who are browsing or grazing animals. Unlike their land counterparts
however, manatees have no natural predators.
|
| Q.
|
If
manatees are herbivores, why do they weigh so much? |
| A.
|
Although
manatees look fat, they actually have very little body fat
for an aquatic mammal. Remember, they are a tropical species
and have no need for body fat to keep them warm. A large percentage
of the manatee’s body is taken up by the gut tract which
contains the stomach and intestines etc. Researchers believe
that the manatee's large size probably evolved as a result
of being aquatic and having a herbivorous (plant-eating) diet.
The plants manatees eat have a low nutritional value, so they
make up for that by eating large quantities of them.
|
