Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness of a Marine Protected Area (MPA) as a conservation strategy for an endangered species, it is important to know to what extent the population is using the MPA. In the Wider Caribbean Region, the use of MPAs is driven by the SPAW Protocol of the Cartagena Convention. Belize has been a leader in implementing goals set forth in the SPAW Protocol, including establishment of MPAs targeted towards the Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus. However, evaluation of the effectiveness of this conservation strategy for protecting endangered manatees in Belize is lacking. As part of a long-term study (1999-2006), I used underwater video techniques to capture images of manatees encountered in the Drowned Cayes area near Belize City. Non-lethal boat scars were detected on 103 of the 233 manatee images captured on video. Due to this relatively high number of individually identifiable animals in the area, a database of known manatees is being developed and analyzed to determine the parameters of the manatee population using Swallow Caye Wildlife Sanctuary (SCWS) and the Drowned Cayes. SCWS is a MPA established in the Drowned Cayes area in 2002, and the only MPA in the vicinity of Belize City where manatee mortality due to boat collisions is high. If manatees previously hit by boats have learned to seek shelter within SCWS, I would expect the proportion of scarred animals to be higher within the boundaries of the MPA. To date, the probability of capturing a scarred manatee within the boundaries of SCWS (probability =0.44, n=43 events, 19 scarred) is equal (G2=0.00) to the probability of capturing a scarred manatee outside SCWS (probability=0.44, n=190 events, 84 scarred). Continuation of this study is necessary to determine the parameters of the manatee population using SCWS and to evaluate the effectiveness of this MPA

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