DISL's Manatee Sighting Network

05/15/2026

Today is endangered species day 🐋. We care about the conservation of all animal in the Gulf, but want to put special emphasis on those on the endangered species list today. From marine mammals to corals, lets work to keep our planet clean for generations to come.

05/07/2026

04/27/2026

Its time for our final ✨Research Highlight✨ of the month to celebrate Citizen Science Month!! Today we're focusing on the DISL/MSN Manatee Awareness Dock Signs!! Thanks to everyone who has asked to receive one of our dock signs, we now have over 125 signs on the water! See the post below to learn more about the distribution of our signs around Alabama waterways!

If you'd like to further help us spread the word about manatee presence, feel free check out how here: https://www.disl.edu/research/marine-mammal-research-program/manatee/what-you-can-do/

04/24/2026

Are you interested in the links between dolphins and human health?! Then be sure to follow our Alabama Coastal Health Connections page to learn more! 🐬

Follow our DID YOU KNOW series on links between dolphins and human health.

04/21/2026

The boys are back in town‼️and this time sightings were a lot closer to home than in the past few years🌿!! The award for first manatee sighting of the year goes to Erik Nelson🏆, who saw the animal on April 3rd outside of Weeks Bay! Shortly after that, on April 17th, Wesley Conner saw a group of 3 in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta 🏆(photo and video here)!!

Keep an eye out and please report all of your manatee sightings to our network, especially as more animals make their way west along the Florida Panhandle and Alabama coasts!

04/20/2026

Its time for another ✨Research Highlight✨ to celebrate citizen science month!! Today we're focusing on some of the work our Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network has done!! The ALMMSN was created in 2011! Since then the Carmichael lab team has been at the forefront of all marine mammal strandings in Alabama and has assisted in events across the coast from rescue operations to necropsies to better understand threats to marine mammals in our area and providing insight on potential threats to human health as well! Ever wonder about how many carcasses we may be missing (or our carcass detection rate)? Well so did we!! Check out the graphic below to learn about how we studied this using decoy dolphins!

Want to help us make a difference?
Join us for our Introductory Volunteer Training for Stranding Response THIS WEDNESDAY April 22, or support our mission by donating here: https://sealabfoundation.org/how_to_donate

04/17/2026

Last month our fearless leader, Dr. Carmichael, was the Plenary speaker at the Association of Southeastern Biologists Meeting!! She got to catch up with and meet a lot of students from all over, as well as some familiar faces from close to home (University of South Alabama!! Go Jags!)

04/16/2026

Its time for our first ✨Research Highlight✨ of the month to celebrate Citizen Science Month!! Today we're focusing on the Dauphin Island Sea Lab's Manatee Sighting Network!! Thanks to reports from people like YOU, we better understand manatee habitat use in the northern Gulf of Mexico from Texas through the Florida Panhandle and beyond! See the post below to see some fundamental studies we've published on the data you helped us collect!

You can see an interactive map of every manatee sighting reported to us on our website: https://www.disl.edu/research/marine-mammal-research-program/manatee/sightings

If you'd like to further help us spread the word about manatee presence, feel free to donate to our network here: https://www.disl.edu/research/marine-mammal-research-program/manatee/donate-and-shop/ (all proceeds support our local manatee education and outreach program)