Student jumps into humpback dolphin study

Find out where the research is being done and how you can help

DOLPHIN WATCH: A Charles Darwin University postgraduate student is studying the Australian humpback dolphin as part of her masters research. Picture: Sandra Riemer

A THREATENED Australasian dolphin species is the centre of research being done off Agnes Water by a Charles Darwin University student.

The aim of the research is to establish the distribution and movement patterns of the Australian humpback dolphin between the south of Gladstone and Bundaberg.

Postgraduate masters student Sandra Riemer said prior to doing this research she studied marine biology.

She said there was a "knowledge gap” about the Australian humpback dolphin, which she hoped to fill.

"Just from doing a lot of reading and literature reviews I discovered there was a section of our coastline that was poorly understood for dolphin movement,” Sandra said.

"We don't know a lot about the dolphins that reside in that area so we are looking at their movement patterns and how far they are travelling.

"It's pretty exciting stuff.”

The research kicked-off about a month ago and will continue through to the end of the year.

Sandra said they were a coastal dolphin so tended to populate areas along the coastline, into river and estuaries.

"We don't know if they're susceptible to any kind of pollution, vessel traffic, habitat destruction ... we just don't know enough about them,” she said.

Sandra said the Australian humpback dolphin could stand out from other dolphin species based on its dorsal fin, which had a broader base compared to the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin.

Sandra has opened a GoFundMe page to help with the cost of travel to the site, accommodation and other equipment costs.

Anyone that sees a dolphin in the area can forward photographs, a GPS location and the time of the sighting to Sandra at [e-mail]

Originally published as Student jumps into humpback dolphin study