[Coral-List] Seagrass-Watch Magazine - Issue 45 and 46 -NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE

Seagrass-Watch HQ hq at seagrasswatch.org
Sun Jun 24 05:42:50 EDT 2012


The latest issue of Seagrass-Watch news (the official magazine of the global
seagrass and assessment program) is now available online at
http://www.seagrasswatch.org/magazine.html  Both low and high resolution
versions of the magazine are available. Please note that the high resolution
version is 23.1Mb.

This is a special bumper double issue focusing on dugongs (Issue 45) and
manatees (Issue 46) and our guest editor was Distinguished Professor Helene
Marsh. Helene is an international authority on the conservation biology of
dugongs, sea turtles and coastal cetaceans. Helene also co-authored the
recent publication " Ecology and Conservation of the Sirenia: Dugongs and
Manatees" (see magazine for more info).

Issue 45 - Dugongs
Dugongs are highly dependent on seagrass communities and this issue explains
that contrary to perceived wisdom, they eat virtually all seagrass species
within the dugong's range.  In this issue you can read more about the 2011
extreme weather events in Queensland and how dugongs responded to the loss
of their seagrass habitats. Many animals died, others left the urban Great
Barrier Reef region, presumably for the greener pastures further north where
the vast seagrass meadows off Cape York escaped the ravages of cyclones and
floods (as revealed by recent helicopter surveys). Further north again, the
Torres Strait between Australia and Papua New Guinea is not only the 'dugong
capital of the world', but as recently discovered, also boasts one of the
largest seagrass meadows in Australia.  You can also read about dugongs in
Singapore, the southern Philippines, and how the UNEP-CMS Dugong MOU is
trying to make a difference.

Issue 46 - Manatees
Compared with the dugong, all four species of manatee eat a wide range of
aquatic plants. Nonetheless, seagrasses are important components of the
diets of two of the manatee species: the West Indian manatee (and its
subspecies the Florida manatee) and the West African manatee, all of which
are featured in this special issue. We are particularly delighted to include
an article on the West African manatee, the 'forgotten sirenian'. Read how
tracking manatees using satellite and GPS technology can be used to map
seagrass communities, and how stable isotope techniques are being used to
unravel the relationship between manatees and seagrasses in West Africa and
Brazil.

Happy Reading


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