They stay in shallow waters for a few reasons: They live there because the more sunlight reaching the bottom, the more plants (which are the manatee's food) will be there. Another reason is that manatees live in shallow waters and go to the surface every ten to twenty minutes is that they need to breathe oxygen from the air, like all other mammals.
Surface tension.
Mostly for the same reason you stay close to the surface of the planet - gravity!
Manatees have really dense bones which help them stay suspended below the water's surface. In addition, Manatees are able to remain underwater for long periods because, with just one breath, they can replenish 90% of the air in their lungs. Compare this to humans, who can replenish just 10% of the air in their lungs in one breath.
Manatees are not nocturnal. Manatees are gentle and slow-moving. Most of their time is spent eating, resting, and in travel. Manatees are completely herbivorous. They eat aquatic plants and can consume 10-15% of their body weight daily in vegetation. They graze for food along water bottoms and on the surface. They may rest submerged at the bottom or just below the surface, coming up to breathe on the average of every three to five minutes. When manatees are using a great deal of energy, they may surface to breathe as often as every 30 seconds. When resting, manatees have been known to stay submerged for up to 20 minutes.
Manatees have really dense bones which help them stay suspended below the water's surface. In addition, Manatees are able to remain underwater for long periods because, with just one breath, they can replenish 90% of the air in their lungs. Compare this to humans, who can replenish just 10% of the air in their lungs in one breath.
Manatees can't stay on the sea floor for long, because they need to swim back to the surface to breathe air.
Man. The evidence of multiple scars show the manatee's and motor driven props do not go hand in glove. They sustain numerous injury from recreational boaters that ply the waters of their habitat. The other threat is environmental, re-routing and altering watershed basins, encroachment into prime habitat, and accumulations of toxins in it's food chain. It's a rough life for manatee's these days, they want nothing more than clean water & kelp to much on while basking in the Florida sun. These manatee's might be safer if they relocated to "gated" communities.
Yes they stay in the water all the time
Yes, Because once again the carelessness of human beingsMotor boats speeding along with no care in the world will hit manateesCausing them to be injured or to die.We now have special places for manatees to stay,But people still go in these places with there boats and hit manatees.
Manatees migrate in the winter. When the weather gets too cold, they move to a warmer climate and stay there until winter is over.
Enemy submarines, German U-boats had to stay on the surface most of the time due to the use of sonar. This made it easier to spot the U-boats, especially during daytime.
Manatees are not land-dwelling, they are water-dwelling mammals therefore their lungs are bigger so they can stay underwater longer.