Captive Florida Manatee Acoustical and Behavioral Research

Xavier University Department of Biology Professor, Dr. Charles J. Grossman, became interested in helping to save the endangered Florida manatee and founded the Midwest Florida Manatee Research Project. With permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he and a team of biology students and staff from several other departments, including Physics, Mathematics, and Audio Visual, began studying the behavioral responses of captive Florida manatees when they were exposed to ultrasonic and audible sound frequencies.

Because many manatees are injured or killed in Florida each year by collisions with water craft, the initial intention of the study was to determine if there was a sound that could be transmitted into the water to warn manatees of approaching vessels. While this goal of the research is continuing, the study has now expanded to include others aspects of captive manatee behaviors and vocalizations. The manatees are studied at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, and will soon include manatees housed at additional facilities located throughout Florida.

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