Environmental News Network - New Paper Explores Possible Effects of Bridge Construction on Manatees enn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from enn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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IMAGE: A manatee swims between the spans of the Mobile Bay Bridge in lower Alabama. view more
Credit: DISL s Manatee Sighting Network Contributor R. Symes
A new publication from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab s Marine Mammal Research Program (DISL) examines how bridge-building and in-water construction activities may affect manatees and other large aquatic species. The article, which was recently published in
The Journal of Wildlife Management, addresses the direct causes of injury and death and the longer-term, cumulative impacts on manatees and their habitats.
Some issues associated with construction activity include possible entanglement in barriers such as booms and siltation screens, loss of important habitats such as seagrass beds, and increased vessel activity near construction sites.