An inventory of dugong aerial surveys in Australia

Cleguer, C.;Marsh, H.

Abstract

• In Australia, the dugong (Dugong dugon) has significant cultural, ecological and conservation value. The species is a Matter of National Environmental Significance and is protected under the EPBC Act as a listed migratory and marine species. • Since the early 1970s various aerial survey methodologies have been used to provide data on the distribution and abundance of the dugong across northern Australia. The survey designs and platforms have evolved through time, and so have the methods to estimate dugong population distribution, sizes and trends. • An inventory of all dugong aerial surveys across the dugong range in Australia has not previously been compiled making it difficult to obtain a clear understanding of the efforts that have been put to date on surveying dugongs across their Australian range. The existence, locality and accessibility of the data generated from those surveys and their associated reports and/or scientifically peer-reviewed publications are not readily located or available for many surveys. • This inventory compiles information from all dugong aerial surveys undertaken since the first use of this methodology for dugongs in Australia, including date of survey, approach undertaken to survey, latest abundance estimate, relevant reference and link to publication, data availability and location etc. It also provides spatially-explicit maps to represent survey effort to date across the entire known dugong range in Australia. The development of this inventory has also helped identify similarities and discrepancies in the way dugong population estimates, trends and spatial distribution models have been generated. • Dugong aerial surveys in Australia date back from the early 1970s with shoreline reconnaissance surveys to assess the presence, distribution and relative numbers of dugongs in the inshore areas around the mainland and islands.

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23/22

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TropWATER, James Cook University

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Townsville, QLD, Australia

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