This record provides an overview of the scope and research output of NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub Project A7 - "Monitoring population dynamics of ‘Western’ Right Whales off Southern Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Continuation (since 1993) of annual aerial surveys, to include counts and identification photographs, of Southern Right Whales between Cape Leeuwin (WA) and Ceduna (SA), where wintering animals come close to the coast – adult females to calve, at approximately three-year intervals, other adults and juveniles less regularly. The area is the main wintering ground of a major ‘western’ subpopulation of ‘Australian’ right whales, differing in number and extent of recovery (from 19th century hunting) from an ‘eastern’ subpopulation which so far shows little if any recovery. Counts allow estimation of population trend and current numbers; identification photographs allow estimation of life history parameters. This project serves to implement a very high priority action in the Australian Government’s Conservation Management Plan for Southern Right Whale (2011-21) – Action Area B1: Measuring and monitoring population recovery; continue to obtain and refine population abundance and trends for the south-west population. Planned Outputs • Counts of animals (by class – cows accompanied by calves, other animals, by position (GPS) and time. • Head and (where appropriate) body photographs, by position and time. • Information on Biologically Important Areas for Southern Right Whales in the area surveyed. • ‘Progress’ and ‘Final’ reports, annually • Report annually to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission. • Public information through press releases and on the Museum website.

This record describes the sample collection location for grey nurse shark as part of NESP MB Project A9 - Grey Nurse Shark CK-MR Population Estimate – East Coast. The data attached to this record describes the locations and vB parameters of tissue samples collected between December 2002 and April 2017. Sequencing data will be added to ALA as it becomes available. See https://fieldcapture.ala.org.au/project/index/b3376517-e418-4a38-ba45-63faae7ed8be for updates.

This record provides an overview of the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub project "Aerial survey of the Southern Right Whale ‘western’ sub-population off southern Australia". For specific data outputs from this project, please see child records associated with this metadata. -------------------- Southern right whales are listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and are a species of national conservation significance. Monitoring of their recovery is guided by the Southern Right Whale Conservation Management Plan, which aims to improve the population’s conservation status through regular assessment of population size, calving intervals, and spatial trends. This project continued the long-term aerial survey program of southern right whales along the southern Australian coast, spanning from Perth (WA) to Ceduna (SA). Annual surveys have been conducted since 1993, providing a continuous long-term dataset for the 'western' population and supporting national assessments of connectivity with the smaller ‘eastern’ population. The surveys contribute essential data on population trends, calving rates, and movements of individuals. The August 2022 aerial survey ensured an uninterrupted time series in the long-term population trend data. This is particularly important given the species' non-annual breeding cycle (typically every three years). Annual surveys are essential to maintain an acceptable level of precision in estimating population trends and key life history parameters. A total of 526 whales were recorded, including 247 cow–calf pairs, 31 unaccompanied adults and one yearling. Based on long-term models, this equated to a population estimate of approximately 2,675 individuals, with an average annual growth rate of ~5.3%. While this represents a continued population growth, results suggest a possible slowing in the rate of growth over the past 13 years (from 7.5% in 2009). The 2022 survey also recorded the lowest number of unaccompanied animals in the entire time series, extending a five-year trend of low sightings in this group. Continued monitoring of the population is needed to assess whether these changes represent longer-term shifts in population dynamics and calving intervals, and to inform adaptive management for this long-lived, slow-recovering species. Outputs • Estimate of relative abundance and population trend compared to long-term aerial survey sightings [dataset] • Individual whale photo-identification data - 2021-22 season [imagery - published to ARWPIC] • Final technical report detailing overall numbers of southern right whales observed within the survey region, their gender (and life stage where possible) and spatial distribution of individuals [written]

The aim of this study was to assess how individual size-at-hatching and food consumption influences the growth of Octopus pallidus hatchlings reared under simulated seasonal temperature regimes in Tasmania.

Assessment of trade in Australian syngnathids was estimated from semi-structured interviews with traditional medicine merchants and aquarium businesses in Perth, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane. A database of official records of international trade in syngnathids was also sourced from Department of Environment & Heritage (Federal).

White sharks are listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and actions to assist their recovery and long-term viability are prescribed in a national recovery plan for the species. A priority action is to develop an effective means of estimating the size of white shark populations and monitor their status (population trend). This would provide a scientific basis for assessing recovery actions, and for local policies governing human-shark interactions: an issue of significant public concern. NESP Project A3 provides a national assessment of the southern-western adult white shark population abundance and an update of the total eastern Australasian white shark population abundance and status in order to establish the efficacy of existing recovery actions and provide a scientifically sound and rational basis from which to inform policies that aim to balance conservation objectives and public safety. This record describes the individual DNA sequencing of over 500 animals for CK-MR analyses of SA/WA population tissue samples.

A novel method was used to investigate the population structure and dispersal patterns of Octopus maorum, an octopus species with a planktonic larval stage, which forms a distinct and large aggregation in southeast Tasmania. Single and multi-elemental signatures within the ‘early life history’ region of the stylet (an internal ‘shell’) were used to determine levels of connectivity and the common origins of individuals collected from 5 locations across Tasmania, South Australia and New Zealand.

In Tasmania, SCUBA surveys of seahorses populations were conducted. Intensive surveys were conducted in 2000 to 2004 in the Derwent River around Hobart (submonthly & then monthly) and twice yearly surveys from 2004/5 on east coast and Derwent River, until 2007. Mark-recapture studies were done to estimate population size, and life history parameters.

White sharks are listed as vulnerable under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and actions to assist their recovery and long-term viability are prescribed in a national recovery plan for the species. A priority action is to develop an effective means of estimating the size of white shark populations and monitor their status (population trend). This would provide a scientific basis for assessing recovery actions, and for local policies governing human-shark interactions: an issue of significant public concern. NESP Project A3 provides a national assessment of the southern-western adult white shark population abundance and an update of the total eastern Australasian white shark population abundance and status in order to establish the efficacy of existing recovery actions and provide a scientifically sound and rational basis from which to inform policies that aim to balance conservation objectives and public safety. This record describes white shark distribution and movement through the use of acoustic and electronic tags fitted to approx. 70 animals. Tag detection data are continually uploaded to the IMOS Animal Tracking Facility (ATF) database. This data collection has been granted Protected Species Status and access to the data is currently restricted. Refer to the Point of Contact listed in this record for further information regarding access to data.

By utilising targeted microprobe technology, the analysis of elements incorporated within the hard bio-mineralised structures of marine organisms has provided unique insights into the population biology of many species. As hard structures grow, elements from surrounding waters are incorporated effectively providing a natural ‘tag’ that is often unique to the animal’s particular location or habitat. The spatial distribution of elements within octopus stylets was investigated, using the nuclear microprobe, to assess their potential for determining dispersal and population structure in octopus populations. This was investigated in adult Octopus pallidus sourced from a commercial fishery in Tasmania.