 Honours student
Research Project
Temporal variation in body condition of dugongs in subtropical waters, in relation to temporal availability of food.
This project examined body condition of >300 individual free-ranging dugongs in sub-tropical Moreton Bay, south-east Queensland in relation to temporal availability of seagrass nutrients (abundance and nutrient levels) in three major feeding areas over a period encompassing the high and low seagrass growing seasons. Body condition was assessed in terms of a series of girth measures and ultrasound of blubber thickness. The body condition of wild dugongs was calibrated against that of carcasses along a continuum from emaciated to fat and healthy (boat strike victims) and a body condition index developed. Body condition included measurements of body circumferences, skin and blubber thicknesses, and lipid and water content of both skin and blubber.
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