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2008/09 Grant funded projectsProf Helene Marsh, Prof Rhondda Jones and Dr Ivan Lawler We will analyze existing data from Timed Depth Recorders (TDRs) from dugongs tracked in Hervey Bay, Queensland in the context of fine scale telemetry, habitat mapping, and remotely sensed data and develop a protocol for interpreting and comparing dugong TDR data from other areas in Australia and overseas where fine scale habitat data are not available. The resultant analysis will: (1) enable time-budgets to be developed and compared for dugongs under various conditions; and (2) increase the capacity of aerial surveys to estimate dugong abundance by improving the correction factor for dugongs that are unavailable because of water turbidity.
The inshore waters of northern Australia support globally significant populations of three species of marine mammals of conservation concern: the endemic Australian snubfin dolphin, a likely new endemic species of humpback dolphin, and the dugong. Information required to develop plans to conserve these populations will be logistically difficult and expensive to obtain using western science alone. This project will develop and evaluate a decision process based on the expert knowledge of Traditional Owners and fishers to inform arrangements to manage these species across Northern Australia using the sea country of the Yanyuwa in the Northern Territory as a case study.
This project will provide information on the relative trophic position of several Antarctic pack-ice predators including the southern elephant seal, Weddell seal and Antarctic fur seal during the winter months. There is a strong relationship between annual winter sea-ice extent and the population parameters of various components of the Antarctic ecosystem. Trophic relationships of Antarctic marine predators are critical to better understand ecosystem dynamics at this crucial time of year. Through the investigation of winter diet information, this project will provide new information on the winter foraging ecology of these key Antarctic species and in turn provide insights into important marine mammal habitats which may overlap with fisheries and other human activities.
The proposed study will use distance sampling techniques on previously collected data to help resolve the unmodelled heterogeneity concerning the detectability of passing whales (both for aerial and land-based surveys). Together with a comparison of aerial survey data from both coasts, the results will improve the accuracy of absolute and relative abundance calculations of humpbacks on the east and west coasts of Australia. These improved abundance estimates will aid in the prediction of each population's carrying capacity (K). Predicting K is important in terms of determining conservation measures for the species and mitigating interactions between whales and human activities such as tourism, fishing, shipping and seismic exploration.
This project builds on previous successful ACAMMS-funded research and aims to complete the development of 'Fluke Matcher', a computerised fluke matching system, by testing it with a very large database. This project will also result in a fully reconciled fluke catalogue of ~2200 individual humpback whales photographed off the Australian east coast,1999-2005. This database will provide mark-recapture data for abundance estimates and trends (RP1a) of east Australian humpback whales, and facilitate efficient matching of flukes to other databases to obtain important information about movements and interchange among populations (RP1c) in Australia, Antarctica and Oceania.
The breeding ground of humpback whale Breeding Stock E(i) (East Australian) is poorly defined, but considered to occur within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP). Identifying their mating/ calving area/s is crucial for appropriate management and regulation within these areas and was considered a high priority at a recent review of the Australian humpback whale populations meeting (Sydney, April 2008). This project will collate and analyse existing sighting data to assess distribution and relative abundance of humpback whales in the GBRMP to: 1) identify high concentration areas of humpback whales that indicate potential mating/ calving areas; 2) develop a spatial model of likely breeding habitat to establish priority areas for future survey effort.
The overall objective of this study is to assess the current status of the humpback whale population that migrates along the western Australian coastline each year. This project aims to fill significant gaps in current knowledge by employing the latest statistical techniques to analyse seven years of survey data from North West Cape (NWC) to estimate sex ratio, population densities and size; and to compare results to those from shark Bay, ~400km south of NWC. By addressing these needs the proposed project will, in addition, elucidate on current survey design efficacy and practicality; which will have implications for future and ongoing locations and methodologies for monitoring humpback whales.
This project will refine our understanding of the population structure, breeding system and vulnerability of regions to fisheries bycatch. We will develop a microsatellite library for the threatened Australian sea lion. We will assess the extent to which male dispersal counteracts the high degree of structure imputed by female philopatry. We will compare two regions that differ in breeding asynchrony to identify mechanisms of male mediated gene flow. We will determine how male strategies influence management units and effective population size within colonies for two regions that have been assessed as particularly vulnerable to high levels of fisheries bycatch.
This project further elucidates the genetic structure and diversity of Australian blue whales by filling the gap in genetic assessment of Geographe Bay whales and performing a powerful investigation of Australian blue whale population genetics using microsatellite and mtDNA control region markers. This will involve biopsy sampling Geographe Bay blue whales, and increasing the number of microsatellite markers and other Australian samples. This study will gather information on population structure required by the Blue, Fin and Sei Whale Recovery Plan, and will resolve the issue of Geographe Bay blue whale subspecific identity brought up at the IWC meeting this year.
The Kimberley region of Western Australia represents an area where there are significant numbers of dugong, but information is scarce on distribution and behaviour of this species. Traditional usage of dugong is high and local communities have strong relationships with this species. This project will build capacity amongst local Indigenous communities throughout the West Kimberley area to conduct research on dugong movements, behaviours and habitat requirements using GPS satellite telemetry. Information gathered from GPS tags will assist the local communities in the management of dugong as well as provide much needed conservation management data for the appropriate assessment of proposed large scale industry within the region.
Presentation of a 3(+2) day workshop on issues in, and methods for, studying marine mammal populations using capture-recapture analysis (CRA) of data from genetic samples and natural marks (Pollock ey al. 1990, Williams et al. 2001, Yoshizaki et al. 2008). the core of the program will be a three day workshop comprising of lectures, demonstrations and computer-based exercises on CRA. This to be preceded by an initial day of invited presentations on research priorities, research in progress and planned research, and will be followed by a final day of discussion of issues arising and consultation on design and analysis for specific project data.
Australian snubfin and humpback dolphins are particularly vulnerable to local extinction because of their small population sizes and coastal distribution. Furthermore, the recent recognition of both species as evolutionary significant units (ESU) and potentially endemic to Australian waters has important implications for conservation and management. The aim of this study is to assess population structure and phylogeographic patterns of snubfin and humpback dolphins within Australian waters. We will delineate potential management units at a national level for conservation and management purposes.
We are investigating methods for estimating the age of whales by identifying which genes in their skin are expressed at higher or lower levels at different ages. Once we identify which genes are consistently more or less highly expressed we will make tests to accurately measure expression level. We will then apply these tests to skin samples from populations of whales of unknown age as a way to estimate the age structure of the population. Gene expression in skin is our focus because samples can be collected with minimal adverse impact on the whales being studied.
This project aims to develop and validate stable isotope methods for distinguishing different foraging ecotypes (inshore and offshore) among Australian sea lion (ASL) adult females and their dependent pups, and use pup sampling to rapidly assess the foraging ecotype profiles of ASL subpopulations. The method provides means to assess the representativeness of satellite telemetry data. Results from this project will be used to improve subpopulation- based foraging distribution models being developed over the next year to determine spatial closure options to mitigate ASL bycatch in the shark gillnet fishery off South Australia. |
 
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