Bibliography Record

 
 
Kikuchi, Mumi; Suzuki, Miwa; Ueda, Keiichi; Miyahara, Hirokazu; Uchida, Senzo (detail)
   
2011
The differences in behavioral responses to a net obstacle between day and night in captive manatees: does entanglement happen at night?
Fisheries Science 77(5): 795-798. 2 tables. 1 fig. DOI: 10.1007/s12562-011-0388-x. Sept. 2011.
–ABSTRACT: Entanglement in fishing gear occurs in endangered manatees and may result in serious injury or death. Such incidents may happen more frequently at night when the animal's visual sense is limited. In this study, we examined the differences in behavioral response of captive manatees to a net obstacle during light (day) and dark (night) periods. We used a plastic net as the obstacle, and video-recorded the manatees' behavior. The experiments showed that captive manatees avoided the obstacle during the day more frequently than at night, which suggests that the manatees can perceive the obstacle more readily during light periods. However, there was no difference in the frequency of bumping or actively touching the obstacle between light and dark periods. The results suggest that the manatees can recognize the net obstacle even at night by purposely touching it, but they avoid it less frequently, and that entanglement during light periods may occur during accidental bumping, rather than from a failure to recognize it altogether.

Related Index Records (3)

Behavior, Investigative, and Sense Perception
(SEE ALSO: Sense Organs; Sound Production)
  2011 Kikuchi et al. (TMM; in capt.; avoidance of nets)

Captivity, Sirenians in
(SEE ALSO: Hunting and Capture; Weed Control)
  2011 Kikuchi et al. (TMM; avoidance of nets)

Trichechus manatus manatus Linnaeus, 1758, Hatt, 1934
  2011 Kikuchi et al. (in capt.; avoidance of nets)


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