BOOK REVIEW

Journal of Mammalogy, 93(5):1405–1406, 2012 are their morphology, physiology, pathology, parasitology, and
genetics, and even these are touched on extensively in the text
Ó 2012 American Society of Mammalogists
or in the copious online material that supplements 4 of the
Marsh, H., T. J. O’Shea, and J. E. Reynolds III. 2011. chapters. These latter appendixes include a summary of
ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION OF THE SIRENIA: DUGONGS AND pertinent genomic investigations of the Afrotheria, tables of
MANATEES. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United fossil taxa and their distribution, tables of food plants and
Kingdom, 536 pp. Series: Conservation Biology No. 18. ISBN- animals reported eaten by the living species, comments on
978-0-521-88828-8 and ISBN-978-0-521-71643-7, price reproductive anatomy, a history of manatee population
(hardbound), $135.00, (paper) $65.00. modeling, and a table of helminth parasites of sirenians. If
anything important has been left out, I can’t think what it is.
When I 1st began seriously studying mammals, there were
An example of a topic I describe as ‘‘not given detailed
almost no books (as distinct from technical monographs in

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treatment’’ is the section on Infectious Diseases and Macro-
serials) devoted to sirenians, except for Colin Bertram’s (1963)
parasites in the Threats chapter. This runs for 8 pages, with the
In Search of Mermaids. Then came Hartman’s (1979)
subheadings Die-offs due to disease, Viral diseases, Bacterial
landmark American Society of Mammalogists publication,
diseases, Mycotic (fungal) infections, Protozoal diseases,
around the same time as several workshop proceedings on
Macroparasites and commensals, Other pathological condi-
manatees and dugongs and a surge of other primary literature.
tions, and Application of modern diagnostic tools for health
That surge has continued uninterrupted to the present day, and
assessments—plus the table of helminths in the online
now there are several substantial books in English, with various
appendixes. The 3 and a half pages on viral and bacterial
scopes, emphases, and levels of technical detail, including
Reynolds and Odell (1991), Zeiller (1992), Powell (2002), and diseases break these down taxonomically, with references to
Reep and Bonde (2006), in addition to extensive sirenian the dozens of genera and species of pathogens reported in the
information in Reynolds and Rommel (1999), Twiss and literature. In other words, even here, there is enough detail for
Reeves (1999), and other more general works. Several of these most practical purposes. This compilation is, at least for the
are useful as reference works for professional mammalogists, time being, a more convenient and effective guide to this
or as texts for undergraduate or graduate courses, or both. But literature than can be found in the online bibliography of
all of them are eclipsed in these roles by the present volume. sirenians (Domning 2010), in which the reference capture and
Helene Marsh, Tom O’Shea, and John Reynolds all stand in indexing is not complete for the literature of the past decade.
the 1st rank among the scores of workers who have contributed This can be said for much of the book, which makes it ideal for
to our knowledge of the living sirenians during the past 35 anyone needing to get into the technical literature of the group
years: Marsh as the longtime leader of dugong research in quickly and with discrimination.
Australia and worldwide; O’Shea as a former leader of the Also noteworthy to this reviewer was the thoroughness and
United States government’s Sirenia Project in Gainesville, accuracy of the accounts of extinct sirenians in Chapters 2 and
Florida; and Reynolds in several roles as a researcher on 3. Full disclosure: the authors have been very generous in
Florida manatees and other sirenians around the world, describing my work in this area. But having so often seen
educator, chairman of the United States Marine Mammal neontologists seriously misinterpret statements that I and others
Commission, and so on. Each is distinguished by the quantity have made about the fossils, I am impressed by writers who get
and quality of his or her original research and conservation all of it right.
efforts regarding these endangered marine mammals. No one The book is well produced, with essentially no typographical
alive or dead would be better qualified to synthesize the present errors apart from a column alignment problem in Table 8.7.
state of that knowledge—especially because they are jointly There are numerous illustrations, including 4 pages of color
responsible for so much of it. We are fortunate to have from photos (which, oddly, are color versions of black-and-white
their hands this magisterial digest of what is known about the pictures printed elsewhere in the text), a good index, and a
ecology and conservation of sirenians. If the answer to your solid 68 pages of references including much recent gray
question on these topics isn’t here, it probably isn’t in the literature. The references include just about all the sirenian
primary literature either. literature to date that most readers will need. However, several
In smoothly readable style and comprehensive detail, the of the small maps in Chapters 8 and 9 try to convey
authors take up in turn the evolutionary history and information with 3 or 4 different shades of gray. This is going
paleoecology of sirenians (including the extinct Steller’s sea a shade too far: if color printing was rationed, it could have
cow [Hydrodamalis gigas] and the story of its discovery); the been better used on these maps than in duplicative photos that
feeding biology of the living species; their behavior and habitat mostly turn out to be rather monochromatic even in color. That
use; their life history, reproductive biology, and population
dynamics; the threats to their survival; their conservation
status; and conservation opportunities. About the only major
aspects of the biology of sirenians not given detailed treatment www.mammalogy.org
1405
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way, the reader wouldn’t have to guess at ambiguous shades of information on this group of endangered species. It will stand
gray in too-small graphics. for years to come as the definitive textbook on sirenians.
The final 2 chapters, on Conservation Status and Conser-
vation Opportunities, address these critical subjects thought- —DARYL DOMNING, Department of Anatomy, Howard
fully and in as much detail as is found in the rest of the book. University College of Medicine, 520 W St. NW,
The West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) in Washington, D.C. 20059, USA; e-mail: ddomning@
particular is identified as being at high risk of biological howard.edu.
extinction without fast and effective remedies. The how-to
advice, for environmental protection in general, properly
stresses the necessity of prompt, bold action that prioritizes LITERATURE CITED
the involvement of local communities and stakeholders. To end BERTRAM, G. C. L. 1963. In search of mermaids: the manatees of

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harmful practices, especially in developing nations, explicit Guiana. Peter Davies, London, United Kingdom and Thomas Y.
goals must include creating alternative livelihoods for Crowell Co., New York.
community members, and more generally, promoting ‘‘the DOMNING, D. P. 2010. Bibliography and index of the Sirenia and
welfare of the local communities, not simply of sirenians and Desmostylia. www.sirenian.org/biblio. Accessed XX Month Year.
other wildlife’’ (p. 434). HARTMAN, D. S. 1979. Ecology and behavior of the manatee
The threats are sobering. ‘‘The authors of this book began (Trichechus manatus) in Florida. Special Publication 5, The
their professional research on the Sirenia in the 1970s. From American Society of Mammalogists.
1970 to 2010 the total human population in countries inhabited POWELL, J. A., JR. 2002. Manatees: natural history and conservation.
by sirenians . . . has doubled, increasing from 2.7 billion to 5.4 Voyageur Press, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
billion . . . . Keeping sirenians from extirpation worldwide and REEP, R. L., AND R. K. BONDE. 2006. The Florida manatee: biology and
conservation. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
allowing their populations to persist as functional components
REYNOLDS, J. E., III, AND D. K. ODELL. 1991. Manatees and dugongs.
of ecosystems in the face of human population growth will be a
Facts on File, Inc., New York.
daunting challenge for future generations of biologists, REYNOLDS, J. E., III, AND S. A. ROMMEL (eds.). 1999. Conservation and
conservationists and responsible citizens’’ (pp. 324–325). Yet management of marine mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press,
the authors see a ray of hope—if humans change their behavior Washington, D.C.
now. TWISS, J. R., JR., AND R. R. REEVES (eds.). 1999. Biology of marine
This is an essential reference for all serious workers on mammals. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
sirenians, as well as marine mammalogists and biologists in ZEILLER, W. 1992. Introducing the manatee. University Press of
general who need authoritative, detailed, current, digestible Florida, Gainesville.