ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9912-422X
Current Organisations
Australian Government
,
Murdoch University
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In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Environment Policy | Wildlife and Habitat Management | Transportation and Freight Services not elsewhere classified | Environmental Science and Management |
Coastal and Marine Management Policy | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments | International Sea Freight Transport (excl. Live Animal Transport)
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 11-10-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 05-03-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2022
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-09-2022
DOI: 10.1111/MMS.12864
Abstract: Documented cases of cetacean births in the wild are rare. While there are currently no direct observations of a complete humpback whale birth, they are one of the few large whale species where observers have been present during a birthing event. We compiled eye‐witnessed accounts of all known humpback whale birthing events and found nine well‐documented cases globally (three published and six “new” unpublished). In two‐thirds of the accounts another “escort” whale was present and in close association with the birthing female, and of these, most cases involved multiple escorts ( n = 4). We describe details of birthing events, including mother, neonate and escort(s)’ behavior, neonate appearance, and discuss reasons for escort presence during parturition. We note that immediately postpartum: (1) blood and/or placenta were not always apparent during above water observations, (2) females often (but not always) supported calves at the surface, (3) constant travel and tail slapping were typical neonate behaviors, (4) two cases of temporary calf abandonment ( min), and (5) evidence of shark scavenging (of placenta) and possible predation attempts (of neonate). Lastly, we suggest curled tail flukes as an additional trait for identifying neonates and note that fetal folds are not always evident in newborn humpback whales.
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 2013
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.071498
Abstract: The behavioural response study (BRS) is an experimental design used by field biologists to determine the function and /or behavioural effects of conspecific, heterospecific or anthropogenic stimuli. When carrying out these studies in marine mammals it is difficult to make basic observations and achieve sufficient s les sizes due to the high cost and logistical difficulties. Rarely are other factors such as social context or the physical environment considered in the analysis because of these difficulties. This paper presents results of a BRS carried out in humpback whales to test the response of groups to one recording of conspecific social sounds and an artificially-generated tone stimulus. Experiments were carried out in September/October 2004 and 2008 during the humpback whale southward migration along the east coast of Australia. In total, 13 ‘tone’ experiments, 15 ‘social sound’ experiments (using one recording of social sounds) and three silent controls were carried out over two years. Results (using a mixed model statistical analysis) suggested that humpback whales responded differently to both stimuli, measured by changes in course travelled and e behaviour. Although the response to ‘tones’ was consistent, in that groups moved offshore and surfaced more often (suggesting an aversion to the stimulus), the response to ‘social sounds’ was highly variable and dependent upon the composition of the social group. The change in course and e behaviour in response to ‘tones’ was found to be related to proximity to the source, the received signal level and signal-to-noise ratio SNR. This study demonstrates the complexity of behavioural responses by a marine mammal to acoustic stimuli, the need to replicate stimuli to generate a sufficient s le size, and to measure as many other factors as possible culminating in a multivariate analysis in order to tease out complex interactions.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 19-03-2021
DOI: 10.3390/JMSE9030340
Abstract: Underwater sound is modelled and mapped for purposes ranging from localised environmental impact assessments of in idual offshore developments to large-scale marine spatial planning. As the area to be modelled increases, so does the computational effort. The effort is more easily handled if broken down into smaller regions that could be modelled separately and their results merged. The goal of our study was to split the Australian maritime Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) into a set of smaller acoustic zones, whereby each zone is characterised by a set of environmental parameters that vary more across than within zones. The environmental parameters chosen reflect the hydroacoustic (e.g., water column sound speed profile), geoacoustic (e.g., sound speeds and absorption coefficients for compressional and shear waves), and bathymetric (i.e., seafloor depth and slope) parameters that directly affect the way in which sound propagates. We present a multivariate Gaussian mixture model, modified to handle input vectors (sound speed profiles) of variable length, and fitted by an expectation-maximization algorithm, that clustered the environmental parameters into 20 maritime acoustic zones corresponding to 28 geographically separated locations. Mean zone parameters and shape files are available for download. The zones may be used to map, for ex le, underwater sound from commercial shipping within the entire Australian EEZ.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 27-04-2021
DOI: 10.3390/JMSE9050472
Abstract: Marine soundscapes consist of cumulative contributions by erse sources of sound grouped into: physical (e.g., wind), biological (e.g., fish), and anthropogenic (e.g., shipping)—each with unique spatial, temporal, and frequency characteristics. In terms of anthropophony, shipping has been found to be the greatest (ubiquitous and continuous) contributor of low-frequency underwater noise in several northern hemisphere soundscapes. Our aim was to develop a model for ship noise in Australian waters, which could be used by industry and government to manage marine zones, their usage, stressors, and potential impacts. We also modelled wind noise under water to provide context to the contribution of ship noise. The models were validated with underwater recordings from 25 sites. As expected, there was good congruence when shipping or wind were the dominant sources. However, there was less agreement when other anthropogenic or biological sources were present (i.e., primarily marine seismic surveying and whales). Off Australia, pristine marine soundscapes (based on the dominance of natural, biological and physical sound) remain, in particular, near offshore reefs and islands. Strong wind noise dominates along the southern Australian coast. Underwater shipping noise dominates only in certain areas, along the eastern seaboard and on the northwest shelf, close to shipping lanes.
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 13-02-2012
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS09462
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-03-2022
DOI: 10.1111/MMS.12922
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 28-09-2023
DOI: 10.3354/ESR01263
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 21-08-2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2002
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 10-07-2017
DOI: 10.1038/S41598-017-05189-0
Abstract: The incidental capture of wildlife in fishing gear presents a global conservation challenge. As a baseline to inform assessments of the impact of bycatch on bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus ) interacting with an Australian trawl fishery, we conducted an aerial survey to estimate dolphin abundance across the fishery. Concurrently, we carried out boat-based dolphin photo-identification to assess short-term fidelity to foraging around trawlers, and used photographic and genetic data to infer longer-term fidelity to the fishery. We estimated abundance at ≈ 2,300 dolphins (95% CI = 1,247–4,214) over the ≈ 25,880-km 2 fishery. Mark-recapture estimates yielded 226 (SE = 38.5) dolphins associating with one trawler and some in iduals photographed up to seven times over 12 capture periods. Moreover, photographic and genetic re-s ling over three years confirmed that some in iduals show long-term fidelity to trawler-associated foraging. Our study presents the first abundance estimate for any Australian pelagic dolphin community and documents in iduals associating with trawlers over days, months and years. Without trend data or correction factors for dolphin availability, the impact of bycatch on this dolphin population’s conservation status remains unknown. These results should be taken into account by management agencies assessing the impact of fisheries-related mortality on this protected species.
Publisher: Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
Date: 04-2018
DOI: 10.1121/1.5034174
Abstract: The Australian snubfin dolphin (Orcaella heinsohni) is endemic to Australian waters, yet little is known about its abundance and habitat use. To investigate the feasibility of Passive Acoustic Monitoring for snubfin dolphins, biosonar clicks were recorded in Cygnet Bay, Australia, using a four-element hydrophone array. Clicks had a mean source level of 200 ± 5 dB re 1 μPa pp, transmission directivity index of 24 dB, mean centroid frequency of 98 ± 9 kHz, and a root-mean-square bandwidth of 31 ± 3 kHz. Such properties lend themselves to passive acoustic monitoring, but are comparable to similarly-sized delphinids, thus requiring additional cues to discriminate between snubfins and sympatric species.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-09-2021
DOI: 10.1002/EAP.2214
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 14-02-2020
Start Date: 08-2023
End Date: 08-2026
Amount: $323,388.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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