10.25903/1J26-KA69
Birtles, R Alastair
R Alastair
Birtles
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4307-693X
James Cook University
Curnock, Matthew
Matthew
Curnock
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2365-810X
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Sobtzick, Susan
Susan
Sobtzick
James Cook University
Arnold, Peter
Peter
Arnold
James Cook University
Valentine, Peter
Peter
Valentine
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2116-355X
James Cook University
The Minke Whale Project
James Cook University
2022
Dataset
Wildlife and habitat management 410407
Population ecology 310307
Tourist behaviour and visitor experience 350806
QCIF Collection Q0150
https://hdl.handle.net/11017/2908
10.1111/mms.12188
10.1007/s10661-014-4022-0
https://au.newhollandpublishers.com/9781877069819.html
10.1080/09669582.2012.692881
https://www.iucn.org/content/keeping-outstanding-exceptional-future-world-heritage-australia-0
https://www.iucn.org/content/keeping-outstanding-exceptional-future-world-heritage-australia-0
10.3727/154427313X13659574649867
10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.04.018
http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9781849712255/
https://au.newhollandpublishers.com/the-mammals-of-australia-9781877069253.html
10.1080/14724041003690468
10.5367/te.2010.0005
10.3727/154427311X13195453162732
https://www.rrrc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/486a-JCU-Stoeckl-N-et-al-2010-Social-economic-values-of-key-marine-species-GBR.pdf
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/4476/Birtles-et-al-2008.pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/10508/
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4935/1/4935_Arnold_et_al...2005.pdf
https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/4943/1/4943_Arnold_et_al...2005.pdf
10.1016/j.tourman.2003.09.001
10.1071/AM02023
10.1016/S0261-5177(97)00015-0
10.1071/WR9780001
13.193 TiB
Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike 4.0 International
The Minke Whale Project (based at James Cook University, North Queensland, Australia) conducts multi-disciplinary research into dwarf minke whale biology and behaviour, the social and economic values of the whales and the sustainable management of swim-with-whales tourism. The MWP research team works collaboratively with the GBR swim-with-minke whales tourism industry, Reef managers and wildlife conservation NGOs.
Dwarf minke whales visit the northern Great Barrier Reef each austral winter, forming the only known predictable aggregation of these whales in the world. Growing up to eight metres and weighing several tonnes, they are exceptionally inquisitive and often approach boats, divers and snorkelers closely, sometimes interacting for extended periods.
This project aims to improve management strategies to mitigate risks and threats to dwarf minke whales (a still undescribed subspecies) in Australian and adjacent waters as part of an individual, population and species-level risk assessment. It will assess Australian dwarf minke whale:
(1) population parameters such as size and structure,
(2) habitat preferences and potential feeding grounds along Australia’s east coast and adjacent south-west Pacific waters,
(3) the extent of their interactions with humans in Australasia and the south west Pacific, and
(4) movements and migratory pathways in Australasian and South Pacific waters.
1. Whale photo-ID database: >150,000 images + >100hrs digital video.
2. Whale Sightings database (Access & Excel): c.3,000 whale encounters over 16 years (includes >2,301 whale encounters over last 9 years + archival data 1996-2002).
3. Whale watching industry effort database (Access & Excel): >1,300 vessel days at sea records over 6 years.
4. Whale watching tourist survey database (SPSS & Excel): >5,000 passenger questionnaires over 13 years.
Note that external funding is currently being sought to support database entry and analyses of archival data (photo-ID + whale sightings), to allow long-term analyses c.20 years of minke whale interactions in the GBR.
James Cook University
https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001792
Dwarf Minke Whale Tourism Research and Monitoring Program
James Cook University
https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001792
Dwarf Minke Whale Biology and Implications for Tourism Management
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
https://doi.org/10.13039/100013814
Dwarf Minke Whale Tourism Monitoring Program
Sustainable Tourism CRC
Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility
https://doi.org/10.13039/501100006457
Understanding the social and economic values of key marine species in the GBR