RAiD 10.71676/e750e73b
NESP MaC Project 1.26 - Relative abundance of the ‘western’ population of southern right whales from an aerial survey off southern Australia (Murdoch Uni)

Dates

Start Date
01-Sep-2021
End Date
30-Jun-2022

Titles

Title
NESP MaC Project 1.26 - Relative abundance of the ‘western’ population of southern right whales from an aerial survey off southern Australia (Murdoch Uni)
Title Type
Primary
Title Type:
Primary
 Preferred full description or abstract.
Start Date
01-Sep-2021
End Date
30-Jun-2022
Language
English

Descriptions

Description

The southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) is listed as Endangered under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) and is subject to conservation listings in five Australian states due to severe population declines caused by historical whaling. The Southern Right Whale Conservation Management Plan 2011–2021 outlines the current status of, and threats to, the southern right whale in Australian waters and prioritises recovery actions during this period. The long-term vision for the recovery of this species in Australian waters is to increase the population size to a level that the conservation status improves, and the species no longer qualifies for listing as threatened under any of the EPBC Act listing criteria. The plan must be periodically updated to reflect new knowledge and prioritise the research needed to monitor population recovery and predict the impacts of threats such as climate change.

Aerial surveys of southern right whales have been conducted across the southern Australian coast from Perth (WA) to Ceduna (SA) since 1993, as part of a long-term program to monitor the recovery, and inform the Conservation Management Plan (2011-2021), for this Endangered species. In Australia’s south-east, there has been little sign of recovery in southern right whale numbers following intense commercial whaling. A working hypothesis assumes separation between the ‘western’ and ‘eastern’ populations, largely due to loss of ‘cultural memory’ of whales migrating to the eastern range breeding areas. Given the relative paucity of animals that visit the southern Australian coast in areas other than south-west Australia, the western population is considered to represent the majority of the ‘Australian’ southern right whale population. The count data from these aerial surveys provide data on population trend and estimates of population size for the ‘western’ population, and hence the majority of the Australian southern right whales. Associated photo-identification data provide life history information (such as calving intervals) and connectivity between the ‘western’ and ‘eastern’ populations and contribute to the national southern right whale photo-id database: the Australasian Right Whale Photo-Identification Catalogue (ARWPIC).

The 2020 aerial survey program recorded substantially lower numbers of whales than in the previous 13 years, and the lowest number of non-calving whales since the program started. This project conducted new aerial surveying in August 2021 to provide a relative estimate of annual population size for determining longer term population trends and contribute to determining if 2020 was an anomalous year or an indicator of some longer-term change to recent recovery rates and the female breeding cycle.
Description Type

Primary
Description Type:

Primary

 Preferred full description or abstract
Language
English

Contributors

Contributor
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9912-422X
Leader
Yes
Contact
Yes
Positions
Position
Principal or Chief Investigator
Position:
Principal or Chief Investigator
 Principal investigator refers to the person(s) in charge of a research project
Start Date
01-Sep-2021
End Date
30-Jun-2022
Roles
No Entries
Contributor
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7820-9491
Leader
No
Contact
No
Positions
Position
Co-investigator or Collaborator
Position:
Co-investigator or Collaborator
 A Co-Investigator is a senior or key investigator involved in a research project who does not have the overall responsibility and authority of the Principal Investigator
Start Date
01-Sep-2021
End Date
30-Jun-2022
Roles
No Entries
Contributor
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9664-354X
Leader
No
Contact
No
Positions
Position
Co-investigator or Collaborator
Position:
Co-investigator or Collaborator
 A Co-Investigator is a senior or key investigator involved in a research project who does not have the overall responsibility and authority of the Principal Investigator
Start Date
01-Sep-2021
End Date
30-Jun-2022
Roles
No Entries
Contributor
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2205-4264
Leader
No
Contact
No
Positions
Position
Co-investigator or Collaborator
Position:
Co-investigator or Collaborator
 A Co-Investigator is a senior or key investigator involved in a research project who does not have the overall responsibility and authority of the Principal Investigator
Start Date
01-Sep-2021
End Date
30-Jun-2022
Roles
No Entries

Organisations

Organisation ID
https://ror.org/00r4sry34
Roles
Role
Lead Research Organisation
Role:
Lead Research Organisation
 The research organistion administratively responsible for the project; administering organisation
Start Date
2021-09-01
End Date
2022-06-30
Organisation ID
https://ror.org/05e89k615
Roles
Role
Other Research Organisation
Role:
Other Research Organisation
 A research organisation such as a university participating in the project, usually hosting Contributors and providing other support
Start Date
2021-09-01
End Date
2022-06-30
Organisation ID
https://ror.org/026nh4520
Roles
Role
Other Research Organisation
Role:
Other Research Organisation
 A research organisation such as a university participating in the project, usually hosting Contributors and providing other support
Start Date
2021-09-01
End Date
2022-06-30

RelatedObjects

Citation

SMITH, JOSH, & DOUBLE, MIKE. (2022). 2021 Aerial survey data of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off southern Australia [Data set]. Australian Antarctic Data Centre.
ID
https://doi.org/10.26179/kkeb-1m46
Type
Dataset
Categories
Output

Alternate Identifier

No Entries

Alternate URLs

Related RAiDs

Title
Marine and Coastal Hub (10.71821/418be95a)
Relation
IsPartOf
Relation:
IsPartOf
 Relates a subproject back to its parent project

Access

Type
Open Access
Type:
Open Access
 Open access refers to a resource that is immediately and permanently online, and free for all on the Web, without financial and technical barriers.The resource is either stored in the repository or referenced to an external journal or trustworthy archive.
Language
Text
Embargo Expiry

Subjects

Subject
Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology) (310305)
Keywords
Text
photo-identification
Language
eng
Text
aerial survey
Language
eng
Subject
Conservation and biodiversity (410401)
Keywords
Text
threatened species
Language
eng
Text
endangered
Language
eng
Text
southern right whale
Language
eng

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