Not only are the tourists holidaying in their Florida villas affected by the cold
Cold killed a record 244manatees this year in Florida, quadruple the previous year, accounting for one in every three sea cow deaths statewide and almost half the deaths in Brevard.
The die off spells uncertain lasting effects on the federally listed endangered species.
"It's too early to comment on the long-term implications," said Gil McRae, director of the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg.
The deaths signify more than just a growing manatee population, he said. "There was an environmental effect in this case."
The record deaths come the same year state researchers announced they counted a record 5,067 manatees statewide the week of Jan. 11, smashing the previous record of 3,802, set in 2009.
Florida's previous record -- 56 cold stress deaths -- also happened last year.
In Brevard, cold killed a record 76 manatees this year, or 46 percent ofthe 165 total manatee deaths countywide. Brevard had 13 cold stress deaths last year.
The county's previous record was 28 cold stress deaths in 1990, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission database.
State biologists blame this year's record deaths on an unusually cold winter.
But boating advocates say the government's also to blame for allowing and encouraging utilities that discharge warm water through their power plants into coastal waters.
That, they say, trained manatees to stay farther north in the winter. The manatees get caught out in the cold when they venture too far from power plants, which can compromise their immune systems.
Florida Power & Light Co. this year began heating water specifically for manatees this year, when it demolished its Port St. John plant. A $4.7 million heating system will keep the manatees warm there until a new $1.1 billion natural gas plant is operational.
"It's not natural," said Tom McGill, a boater from Merritt Island who fought for years to stop slow-speed manatee zones in Brevard County.
A task force of federal and state biologists has for years tried to come up with a plan for preventing cold-stress deaths.
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http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20101211/NEWS01/12110314/1006/
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