The grants will be used to aid in the development of technology
designed to reduce the number of manatees hit by boats.
Funds appropriated by the Florida legislature for the Florida
Manatee Avoidance Technology initiative have been awarded through a
request-for-proposals (RFP) grant process administered by the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Florida Marine
Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
The institute solicited proposals for development of technology
designed to reduce the number of manatees hit by boats. A panel of
experts chosen to review the proposals consisted of representatives
from the environmental community, boaters, engineers, managers, and
biologists. Proposal topics included alerting manatees to the
presence of boats, alerting boaters to the presence of manatees,
and hull or propulsions-sytem design modifications that would
minimize injuries to the animals in the event of a collision. The
proposals the panel selected for funding are designed to explore
technology that has not previously been applied to the manatee-boat
collision problem and include concepts related to voice
recognition, sonar, and infrared technology.
While the decision has been made on what kinds of studies will
be conducted, the work is far from over. Data must be collected and
analyzed before the success of any of these forms of technology can
be determined. The hope is to quickly evaluate the effectiveness of
the proposed solutions, and if appropriate, assist in making these
technologies available to the public at acceptable costs and risks.
The goal is to reduce mortalities from watercraft, which account
for approximately 25% of manatee deaths annually. With legislative
support, this will be the first year of continuing funding for
research into manatee avoidance technology.
Nine proposals were submitted and six were selected for funding.
FMRI negotiated costs with the proposers in order to fund and test
the greatest number of possible solutions. The following list
displays the proposals selected for funding and the amounts
awarded; the amounts allocated include funds from two fiscal years
(FY) of legislative appropriations.
| Ranking |
Bidders |
Amount Requested |
Funding allocated FY 01/02 and 02/03 |
| 1 |
University of South Florida |
$40,270.00 |
$40,270.00 |
Passive acoustic detection of
manatee sounds to alert boaters
Propose to design a system that detects the presence of manatees
by passively detecting their vocalizations and incidental sounds
and using this information to alert boaters through a warning
system.
Final Report
(200 KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 2 |
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research
Institute |
$154,675.00 |
$70,000 |
Design for a Manatee Finder:
sonar techniques to prevent manatee-vessel
collisions
Propose to do comprehensive study to develop sonar technology to
localize manatees and inform boaters of their presence called a
Manatee Finder. Work will include determining whether manatees
react to sonar signals.
Final
Report (1.12 MB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view |
| 3 |
Nova Southeastern University |
$6,911.00 |
$6,911.00 |
Boater manatee awareness
system
Propose to design an infrared detection system to determine the
number of manatees in a semi-enclosed area by detecting their
exhalations in order to alert boaters to the number of animals in
the area and eventually monitor of boater speed zone
compliance.
Final
Report (317 KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 3 |
University of Florida |
$30,000 |
$15,305.00 |
A system for warning boaters
of the presence of manatees
Propose to analyze sounds produced by manatees to identify a
unique signature for the species and demonstrate in the field that
this unique sound signature can be isolated successfully from the
high ambient background noises commonly present. This baseline
research will allow the PIs to then apply for funds to modify
existing naval submarine-detection technology.
Final Report (493
KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 5 |
Lampl-Herbert |
$103,400 |
$77,500.00 |
Proof-of-concept for off the
shelf technology to identify acoustic signature to detect presence
of manatee(s)
Propose to use existing electro-acoustic technology to identify a
manatee vocalization signature to be used in a software driven
sensor array to identify manatees in congested waterways. This
would later be used to develop warning devices for boaters.
Final
Report (690 KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
| 6 |
W. Randolph Warner |
$190,216.00 |
$90,016.00 |
Manatee proximity
locater
Propose to develop voice recognition software for manatee
vocalizations called the Manatee Proximity Indicator. When a
predetermined vocalization is received and recognized, a signal
sequence is then activated which will alert boaters.
Final Report
(541.5 KB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view
|
In addition to the projects funded through the RFP process, the
Florida Marine Research Institute will be working with Florida
Atlantic University's Dr. Ed Gerstein to test a device he has
developed that may alert manatees to oncoming boats.
Final
Report (3.61 MB)
PDF File-Requires Adobe Reader to view.
To download Adobe Reader, visit
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research
Institute was known as the Florida Marine Research Institute. The
institute name has not been changed in historical articles and
articles that directly reference work done by the Florida Marine
Research Institute.
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