Do they stay or do they go? Acoustic monitoring of whale sharks at Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia

2017 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 1713-1720 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. M. Norman ◽  
J. M. Whitty ◽  
S. J. Beatty ◽  
S. D. Reynolds ◽  
D. L. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Acoustic Monitoring ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks

Distribution and Abundance of Dugongs, Turtles, Dolphins and other Megafauna in Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia

1997 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Preen ◽  
H. Marsh ◽  
I. R. Lawler ◽  
R. I. T. Prince ◽  
R. Shepherd
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Bottlenose Dolphins ◽  
Large Population ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
Shark Bay ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Exmouth Gulf ◽  
Marine Megafauna

Strip-transect aerial surveys of Shark Bay, Ningaloo Reef and Exmouth Gulf were conducted during the winters of 1989 and 1994. These surveys were designed primarily to estimate the abundance and distribution of dugongs, although they also allowed sea turtles and dolphins, and, to a lesser extent, whales, manta rays and whale sharks to be surveyed. Shark Bay contains a large population of dugongs that is of international significance. Estimates of approximately 10000 dugongs resulted from both surveys. The density of dugongs is the highest recorded in Australia and the Middle East, where these surveys have been conducted. Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef are also important dugong habitats, each supporting in the order of 1000 dugongs. The estimated number of turtles in Shark Bay is comparable to the number in Exmouth Gulf plus Ningaloo Reef (7000–9000). The density of turtles in Ningaloo Reef and, to a lesser extent, Exmouth Gulf is exceptionally high compared with most other areas that have been surveyed by the same technique. Shark Bay supports a substantial population of bottlenose dolphins (2000–3000 minimum estimate). Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Reef were not significant habitats for dolphins during the winter surveys. Substantial numbers of whales (primarily humpbacks) and manta rays occur in northern and western Shark Bay in winter. Ningaloo Reef is an important area for whale sharks and manta rays in autumn and winter. The Shark Bay Marine Park excludes much of the winter habitats of the large vertebrate fauna of Shark Bay. In 1989 and 1994, more than half of all the dugongs were seen outside the Marine Park (57·4 and 50·7%, respectively). Approximately one-third to one-half of turtles and dolphins were seen outside the Marine Park (in 1989 and 1994 respectively: turtles, 43 and 27%; dolphins, 47 and 32%). Almost all the whales and most of the manta rays were seen outside the Marine Park. Expansion of the Shark Bay Marine Park, to bring it into alignment with the marine section of the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, would facilitate the appropriate management of these populations. This would also simplify the State– Commonwealth collaboration necessary to meet the obligations of World Heritage listing. The coastal waters of Western Australia north of the surveyed area (over 6000 km of coastline) are relatively poorly known and surveys of their marine megafauna are required for wise planning and management.

Multi-year patterns in scarring, survival and residency of whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 634 ◽  
pp. 115-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Lester ◽  
MG Meekan ◽  
P Barnes ◽  
H Raudino ◽  
D Rob ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal patterns of nature-based tourism interactions with whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2014 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
pp. 109-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas J. Anderson ◽  
Halina T. Kobryn ◽  
Brad M. Norman ◽  
Lars Bejder ◽  
Julian A. Tyne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Patterns ◽  
Rhincodon Typus ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
Whale Sharks

Whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park: managing tourism in an Australian marine protected area

1997 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 259-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derrin Davis ◽  
Simon Banks ◽  
Alastair Birtles ◽  
Peter Valentine ◽  
Michael Cuthill
Keyword(s):  
Protected Area ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Whale Sharks

Distribution of zooplankton inferred from hydroacoustic backscatter data in coastal waters off Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven G. Wilson ◽  
Timothy Pauly ◽  
Mark G. Meekan
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Rhincodon Typus ◽  
Ningaloo Reef ◽  
The North ◽  
Whale Sharks ◽  
Bubble Layer ◽  
Surface Bubble

Hydroacoustic surveys were used to examine zooplankton distributions in coastal waters off Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Surveys were timed to coincide with the seasonal aggregation of whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, and other large zooplanktivores in these waters. The surveys examined scattering features of lagoon/shelf fronts, a series of cross-shelf transects and waters surrounding whale sharks swimming at the surface. These suggested that lagoon waters flow intrusively into shelf waters at reef passages in a layered exchange. Cross-shelf transects identified three vertical scattering layers: a surface bubble layer; a near-surface minimum layer; and a bottom maximum layer. Regions of intense mixing of lagoon and shelf waters were detected seaward and to the north of reef passages. Integrated acoustic mean volume backscatter of the bottom maximum layer increased with depth and distance offshore. Large subsurface aggregations of unidentified fauna were detected beneath whale sharks in the same area that manta rays and surface schools of euphausiids were also observed.

scholarly journals Using trophic flows and ecosystem structure to model the effects of fishing in the Jurien Bay Marine Park, temperate Western Australia

2011 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hector M. Lozano-Montes ◽  
Neil R. Loneragan ◽  
Russell C. Babcock ◽  
Kelsie Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
Ecosystem Structure ◽  
Fishing Mortality ◽  
Benthic Primary Production ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
The Impact

Understanding the impacts of fishing on the trophic structure of systems has become increasingly important because of the introduction of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management and the legislative requirements of fisheries to demonstrate that they are not having a negative impact on other species. A biomass-based dynamic model of Jurien Bay Marine Park (∼30°S) was constructed using Ecopath to investigate the ecosystem impacts of fishing (mainly commercial rock lobster, Panulirus cygnus) in the park, as an example of the potential responses of temperate marine ecosystems in Western Australia to commercial fishing. A simulated 50% reduction in fishing mortality for commercial finfish predicted that after 20 years, the biomass of important fished species (i.e. Pagrus auratus and Choerodon rubescens) would increase by up to 30%. A simulated total fishing closure resulted in much larger (2.5–8 fold) increases in targeted populations, but did not result in any predicted cascading effects on grazing invertebrates and benthic primary producers. The simulations suggest that the structure of this ecosystem is characterised more by bottom-up than top-down processes; i.e. benthic primary production is a major limiting factor. The present study identified trophic linkages and ecosystem processes such as the role of both low and high trophic-level groups and the impact of fishing mortality in the marine park, an essential step towards distinguishing the impacts of fishing from those attributable to natural or other human-induced changes.

scholarly journals Low quantities of marine debris at the northern Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, influenced by visitation and accessibility

2022 ◽  
Vol 174 ◽  
pp. 113294
Author(s):  
Emma L. Westlake ◽  
Emma Lawrence ◽  
Natalie Travaglione ◽  
Peter Barnes ◽  
Damian P. Thomson
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Marine Park
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