http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/cloudy-waters-are-driving-florida-s-massive-manatee-die > Along Florida’s east coast, polluted waters have harmed aquatic plants, a key source of food for manatees, contributing to the deaths of more than 700 of the animals. > Florida’s most recent winter dealt a blow to its West Indian manatees, iconic marine mammals that are a big tourist attraction. In the first 5 months of this year, 761 manatees wintering in one Florida lagoon died, according to the state’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The number represents about 10% of Florida’s population of Trichechus manatus latirostris, the subspecies found there, and is more than the total number of the manatees that died across the whole state in 2020.