South-east Queensland has one of the largest concentrations of large marine vertebrates, and its temperate location makes it the southern-most habitat for a number of principally warm water species including dugongs, sea turtles (greens and loggerheads) and sea snakes. Rapid urban coastal development in this region has led to loss of habitat for these vulnerable species and direct mortality through other anthropogenic activities, e.g., netting, boat strike and pollution. We are amassing solid biological and ecological data on populations of these large vertebrates as a basis for identifying threats and assessing population viability, and developing appropriate conservation strategies.
Examples of projects
1. Conservation of dugongs in southern Queensland
- Trends in distribution and abundance of dugongs in southern Qld
- Population ecology of dugongs
- Relationships between populations of dugongs in southern Queensland: relatedness and migration
- Gene-tagging dugongs as a means of conserving the species
- The mating strategy of the dugong
- Factors affecting reproduction in subtropical dugong populations
- Developing health and body condition indices for dugongs
- Small scale habitat usage by dugongs
- Metabolism and energetics of tropical and subtropical dugongs
2. Ecology of sea turtles in sub-tropical habitats
- Effect of temperature on feeding and digestion in sea turtles
- Effect of temperature on development in hatchling sea turtles
- Diet selection by sea turtles
- The role of diet on growth & reproduction in turtles
3. Feeding ecology of dolphins
- Feeding ecology and resource partitioning of dolphins in Moreton Bay
- Population genetics and familial relationships of the dolphins of south-east Queensland.
4. Ecology and genetic structure of coastal elasmobranch populations
- Population ecology of leopard sharks
- Genetic structure of elasmobranchs in the Indo-Australian region
- Habitat requirements of coastal elasmobranchs
5. Conservation of east coast sea snake populations
- Reducing the impact of Queensland's trawl fisheries on protected sea snakes
- Population structure of east coast sea snakes
- Habitat requirements of sea snakes