Assessment of thermal biology and potential for thermal stress. Final report.

Abstract

This report describes a project with the goals to assess the thermogenic ability of manatees, to measure how foraging effects thermogenesis and overall thermoregulatory ability, to measure the amount and locations of heat flux between the manatee and the environment, to assess how to measure body temperature in a manner which is biologically meaningful and clinically efficacious, and to understand the extent to which thermal profiles may indicate overall clinical stress in manatees.