Surveying dugong responses to extreme weather events

More than $417 000 in funding for non-lethal marine mammal research was announced by the Australian Government. Snubfin dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and dugongs will be the subjects of studies.

A $175 000 Indo-Pacific Cetacean Research and Conservation Fund (IPCF) will support three three-year projects in Papua New Guinea, Palau and Thailand, while a $147 000 Bill Dawbin Post-doctoral Fellowship was awarded to Dr Isabel Beasley of James Cook University to study Australian snubfin dolphins and Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in northern Australia. More than $95 000 will also assist an aerial survey of dugongs off the Queensland coast, after widespread habitat loss from the 2011 floods and Cyclone Yasi.

More information

• Surveying dugong responses to extreme weather events (Australian Antarctic Magazine – Issue 21: 2011)