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Hematology and blood chemistry tests constitute an easy-to-apply veterinary tool that evaluates an organism's systemic functioning and disease process by comparing the level of specific analytes against species norms. Such analyses help monitor marine mammals' health and nutritional status. Although reference values have been published for a few manatee populations, there are none for Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) in Colombia. We aim to establish the reference values for hematology and serum chemistries for these manatees and determine if there are variations between individuals of different age groups and sex. Thus, we obtained whole blood and serum samples from 45 rehabilitated manatees from Colombia between 1992 and 2021. Complete Blood Count and Comprehensive Metabolic Panel values were calculated, and differences between age groups and sex were determined. Results were compared with published reference intervals of other Antillean manatee populations, Florida manatees (Trichechus manatus latirostris), and Amazonian manatees (Trichechus inunguis) from Brazil. We determined the reference intervals of hematology and serum chemistry for manatees in Colombia for different age and sex categories. No relevant clinical variations were found in hematological parameters due to sex. Marked differences were found between age groups, mainly among young animals with an expected faster metabolism. There were significant variations between hematological and blood chemistry values when the Colombian manatees were compared to manatees from Puerto Rico and Amazonian manatees from Brazil. Such variations are likely influenced by evolutionary history and environmental factors associated with differences in habitat salinity and diet. We recommend that future studies correlate these blood tests with specific panels. We further recommend conducting wild manatee health assessments as this information will yield essential data for species management schemes needed due to the multiple anthropogenic and environmental threats that manatees face today which put the Colombian manatee's health and ultimate survival at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Antillean manatee ( I Trichechus manatus manatus i ; hereafter "manatee") ranges from Mexico and the Bahamas south to Brazil and is listed as Endangered by the IUCN (Self-Sullivan & Mignucci-Giannoni, [56]). The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) along the Caribbean coast of Colombia: underused incidental records help identify present and past coastal-lowland hotspots Detailed studies by others into habitat selection by manatees (e.g., Caicedo-Herrera et al., [9]; Mahecha, [38]), would suggest that the current distribution of manatees neither accurately reflects the historical distributional nor the innate distributional preference of manatees. Análisis del estado de la población de manatí Trichechus manatus manatus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Sirenia) en la Vía Parque isla de Salamanca, (Magdalena-Colombia) [Analysis of the status of the manatee population Trichechus manatus manatus Linnaeus, 1758 (Mammalia: Sirenia) in the Vía Parque Isla de Salamanca, (Magdalena-Colombia)] [Bachelor thesis]. [Extracted from the article]

The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus) and the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis) are distributed in rivers in the Caribbean and Amazonian region of Colombia respectively. For 30 years, genetic information has been obtained from these populations in order to inform conservation programs for these endangered species and decide on the location to release them back to the wild. However, in previous studies, samples from rivers in some areas of the country were not included, given the difficulties to access these regions due to either logistic or safety issues. In this study, we analyzed mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (CR) sequences of from samples of T. manatus (n = 37) and T. inunguis (n = 4) (410 and 361 bp, respectively), obtained in new and previously unexplored rivers and bays in the country, including Santa Marta, Urabá Gulf, Ayapel Marsh (San Jorge River Basin), Meta River and Magdalena Medio and the low Magdalena River (Cesar Province and Canal del Dique) as well as additional samples from Puerto Nariño in the Colombian Amazon. Our results included the discovery of two newly described mtDNA CR haplotypes for T. manatus. In addition, we confirmed significant population differentiation at the mitochondrial level between the Magdalena and Sinú rivers and differentiation among areas of the same river, including the middle and low Magdalena River. This differentiation may be related to anthropic changes in the river since construction of the Canal del Dique in the XVI century. We also tested environmental DNA sampling and analyses techniques to evaluate its potential use for manatee detection and monitoring in bodies of water in Colombia, in order to evaluate new areas for future manatee conservation initiatives. We emphasize the need to continue using genetic information to provide evidence on the potential best locations to undertake animal release to prevent outbreeding depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Colombia has coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but its marine fisheries are limited by the relatively small size of commercially important stocks. However, diverse fishery resources have traditionally been exploited by coastal communities, and industrial fisheries have grown in recent years with the intensification of tuna fishing in both oceans. The management of Colombia''s fisheries has been hampered by frequent administrative changes, which has notably led to the disappearance of a part of the official landings data. We estimated total fisheries removals (reported plus discards and unreported catches) in the Colombian Atlantic and Pacific Oceans for the period 1950–2006. We used secondary sources of information to estimate missing data, and we estimated subsistence fishing and the unreported by-catches of the shrimp and tuna fisheries. We used available information on seafood prices to estimate the relative economic impact (gross revenues) of the small-scale and industrial sectors for the period 2000–2006. Our results suggest that for the period 1950–2006, the Colombian marine fisheries catches may have been almost twice the landings reported by FAO on behalf of the country (2.8 times higher in the Atlantic; 1.3 times higher in the Pacific). Although the total gross revenues of industrial fisheries were higher than those of the small-scale sector, the latter commanded higher gross revenues in the Atlantic in 2006. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Studying the abundance, distribution, and habitat use of dolphins can provide essential information for preserving marine biodiversity, managing coastal ecosystems, and enhancing our understanding of aquatic life. Herein, we investigated the abundance, distribution, and habitat use of two dolphin populations--Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) and common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus)--in the Gulf of Urabá, Colombian Caribbean. Between 2017 and 2020, 34 non-systematic surveys were conducted across the studied region, amounting to an effort of 176.69 hours and covering 3,658.33 km, with a dolphin encounter probability rate of 8.65%. The Guiana dolphin population was estimated at 63 (95% CI = 53 to 76) individuals, whereas the common bottlenose dolphin population was estimated at 50 (95% CI = 43 to 58) individuals. The dolphins were mainly found in the central region of the Gulf, particularly around the Atrato River mouth and the east side of the estuary. Both species showed a preference for coastal areas with maximum depths of 20 m, and the Guiana dolphins showed a permanent presence in the Gulf of Urabá region. These findings indicate that the Gulf of Urabá acts as a crucial habitat and feeding ground for both Guiana and common bottlenose dolphins. Therefore, systematic monitoring programmes aiming to protect dolphin populations and their ecosystems from threats posed by coastal development, which currently endanger both species in the area, should be implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]