Protecting the Dugong
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is the only herbivorous mammal that is strictly marine and is the only extant species in Family Dugongidae. A characteristic dugong weighs about 400 kilograms and can grow up to three meters long (Stonehouse, 1992). It is easily distinguished from others in order Sirenia by its triangular whale-like tail. The manatee, the other member of order Sirenia, has a distinct paddle-shaped tail and spends its life in rivers and estuaries. Like the manatee, dugongs have a thick layer of blubber giving them a distinctly rotund posture, have small paddle-like flippers positioned far forward on the body, and a broad, flattened tail. The ochre brown skin of a dugong appears smooth, but a close view reveals a rough surface covered in pits with short, thick hairs. Dugongs have two nostrils near the top of their heads on a "fleshy lip", which can curl up to make breathing easier on the surface (Reynolds et al. 1991).
The name "sea cow" refers to the fact that dugongs graze on seagrasses that form meadows in coastal waters. As dugongs feed, whole plants are uprooted and a telltale feeding trail is left behind. These feeding 'scars' in the seagrass can be easily seen by people walking over the seagrass areas at low tide (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority [GBRMPA]). The dugong feeds almost exclusively on a number of genera of seagrasses, especially the marine vascular grasses Halodule and Halophilia. These grasses are low in fiber, high in available nitrogen (Halodule) and very digestible (Halophilia) in order to maximize the intake of nutrients rather than bulk (Aragones 1996). Dugong intestines are extremely long and there is a large mid-gut cecum between the large and small intestine....
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... subtropical environment, PhD thesis, James Cook University, Australia, p. 392.
Reynolds, John E., and Daniel K. Odell. Manatees and Dugongs. New York: Facts on File, 1991.
Silas, E.G. and A. Bastion-Fernando. 1985. The dugong in India — Is it going the way of the Dodo? Proceedings of the Symposium on Endangered Marine Animals and Marine Parks, 1985 Volume 1. Cochin, India. pp. 167-176.
Stephen, D. Dolphins, Seals and other sea mammals. Collins. London. 1973.
Stonehouse, Bernard. Sea Mammals of the World, Harmondsworth, England/ New York: Penguin Books, 1985.
Wright, S.D., B.B. Ackerman, R.K. Bonde and C.A. Beck. 1995. Analysis of watercraft-related mortality of manatees in Florida, 1979-1991. In: Population Biology of the Florida Manatee. US Department of the Interior. National Biological Service, Information and Technology Report No. 1. pp. 259-68.
15. Magers, Vince. Ichthyology’s Golden Age. Missouri Conversationist, Volume 60, Number 9, Sept 1999. http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/conmag/1999/09/6.html
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Niccolo Machiavelli was born a citizen of Florence during a very turbulent period of constant p...
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