Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment
The rapid recovery of the Australian humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population and parallel increase in maritime traffic, has increased the spatial overlap between whales and vessels in Australian waters. Ship strike is a recognized global anthropogenic source of mortality or injury to larg...
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ftmurdochuniv:oai:researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au:66449 2023-05-15T16:35:57+02:00 Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment Mayaud, R. Castrillon, J. Wilson, C. Peel, D. Smith, J.N. Luche, G.D. Allen, J. Nash, S.B. 2022 https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/66449/ eng eng Elsevier BV https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/66449/ full_text_status:none © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. Mayaud, R., Castrillon, J., Wilson, C., Peel, D., Smith, J.N. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Smith, Joshua.html>orcid:0000-0001-9912-422X , Luche, G.D., Allen, J. and Nash, S.B. (2022) Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment. Marine Policy, 146 . Art. 105332. Journal Article 2022 ftmurdochuniv 2022-10-31T23:27:38Z The rapid recovery of the Australian humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population and parallel increase in maritime traffic, has increased the spatial overlap between whales and vessels in Australian waters. Ship strike is a recognized global anthropogenic source of mortality or injury to large whales, and a potentially increasing risk in Australia. However, our understanding and evaluation of this threat to humpback whales around Australia, is hindered by the lack of seasonal whale distribution data in high marine traffic areas. Here, we present five consecutive years (2017–2021) of both north and south migrating humpback whale distribution data to quantify the relative risk of ship strike based on the co-occurrence with commercial ships in Moreton Bay. This marine embayment is home to Australia’s fastest growing container port (The Port of Brisbane) and has recently been identified for its ecological importance to this migrating species. We quantified co-occurrence by multiplying predicted whale and ship densities together to estimate both intra- and inter-annual ship strike risk. Ship strike risk increased during the humpback whale’s southern migration (September-October), coinciding with a substantial habitat shift into the Bay during this time. Groups containing calves were a predominant pod type in Moreton Bay. Given their increased vulnerability to ship strike, this study underscores the need for immediate and effective mitigation actions, such as seasonal vessel speed reductions as well as mariner education and outreach programs. Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository Brisbane ENVELOPE(-45.633,-45.633,-60.600,-60.600) Moreton ENVELOPE(-46.033,-46.033,-60.616,-60.616) Moreton Bay ENVELOPE(-117.952,-117.952,75.734,75.734) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Murdoch University: Murdoch Research Repository |
op_collection_id |
ftmurdochuniv |
language |
English |
description |
The rapid recovery of the Australian humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population and parallel increase in maritime traffic, has increased the spatial overlap between whales and vessels in Australian waters. Ship strike is a recognized global anthropogenic source of mortality or injury to large whales, and a potentially increasing risk in Australia. However, our understanding and evaluation of this threat to humpback whales around Australia, is hindered by the lack of seasonal whale distribution data in high marine traffic areas. Here, we present five consecutive years (2017–2021) of both north and south migrating humpback whale distribution data to quantify the relative risk of ship strike based on the co-occurrence with commercial ships in Moreton Bay. This marine embayment is home to Australia’s fastest growing container port (The Port of Brisbane) and has recently been identified for its ecological importance to this migrating species. We quantified co-occurrence by multiplying predicted whale and ship densities together to estimate both intra- and inter-annual ship strike risk. Ship strike risk increased during the humpback whale’s southern migration (September-October), coinciding with a substantial habitat shift into the Bay during this time. Groups containing calves were a predominant pod type in Moreton Bay. Given their increased vulnerability to ship strike, this study underscores the need for immediate and effective mitigation actions, such as seasonal vessel speed reductions as well as mariner education and outreach programs. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mayaud, R. Castrillon, J. Wilson, C. Peel, D. Smith, J.N. Luche, G.D. Allen, J. Nash, S.B. |
spellingShingle |
Mayaud, R. Castrillon, J. Wilson, C. Peel, D. Smith, J.N. Luche, G.D. Allen, J. Nash, S.B. Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment |
author_facet |
Mayaud, R. Castrillon, J. Wilson, C. Peel, D. Smith, J.N. Luche, G.D. Allen, J. Nash, S.B. |
author_sort |
Mayaud, R. |
title |
Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment |
title_short |
Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment |
title_full |
Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment |
title_fullStr |
Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment |
title_full_unstemmed |
Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment |
title_sort |
traffic in a nursery: ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing australian urban embayment |
publisher |
Elsevier BV |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/66449/ |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.633,-45.633,-60.600,-60.600) ENVELOPE(-46.033,-46.033,-60.616,-60.616) ENVELOPE(-117.952,-117.952,75.734,75.734) |
geographic |
Brisbane Moreton Moreton Bay |
geographic_facet |
Brisbane Moreton Moreton Bay |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae |
op_source |
Mayaud, R., Castrillon, J., Wilson, C., Peel, D., Smith, J.N. <https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/view/author/Smith, Joshua.html>orcid:0000-0001-9912-422X , Luche, G.D., Allen, J. and Nash, S.B. (2022) Traffic in a nursery: Ship strike risk from commercial vessels to migrating humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in a rapidly developing Australian urban embayment. Marine Policy, 146 . Art. 105332. |
op_relation |
https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/66449/ full_text_status:none |
op_rights |
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd. |
_version_ |
1766026261809856512 |