The Amazon manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is endemic to the Amazon Basin, with limited information on population dynamics and currently listed as Vulnerable by the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The aim of this study was to compare three methodologies: visual detection (VD), side scan sonar technology (SBL), and surveys to local communities; to detect the presence of the Amazonian manatee and assess the use of these methods for future studies along the species distribution range. The study was carried out within the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Communal Regional Conservation Areain Iquitos, Peru. The VD resulted in zero sightings at both seasons after a sampling effort of 30 and 29 hours during the rainy and dry seasons respectively. After using the SBL, two individuals were recorded in August, after a total sampling of 103.38 km in the dry season (0.02 i...

The Amazon manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is endemic to the Amazon Basin, with limited information on population dynamics and currently listed as Vulnerable by the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The aim of this study was to compare three methodologies: visual detection (VD), side scan sonar technology (SBL), and surveys to local communities; to detect the presence of the Amazonian manatee and assess the use of these methods for future studies along the species distribution range. The study was carried out within the Tamshiyacu Tahuayo Communal Regional Conservation Areain Iquitos, Peru. The VD resulted in zero sightings at both seasons after a sampling effort of 30 and 29 hours during the rainy and dry seasons respectively. After using the SBL, two individuals were recorded in August, after a total sampling of 103.38 km in the dry season (0.02 i...