This summer, beach goers, boaties and scuba divers are being asked to help solve the mystery of how manta rays spend their days, join a search for leopard sharks and become ‘dolphin spotters’.
This summer, beach goers, boaties and scuba divers are being asked to help solve the mystery of how manta rays spend their days and find their secret habitats.
The University of the Sunshine Coast is also seeking citizen scientists to join a search for leopard sharks and become ‘dolphin spotters’.
UniSC Associate Professor Kathy Townsend says citizen scientists can play a vital role in helping better record, understand and monitor vulnerable and decreasing charismatic marine life.
“With such a large coastline, they can help gather vast amounts of data that is impossible for scientists to collect on their own,” she said.
“Sharing their sightings with us will help to find some answers to the many mysteries that still surround Australia’s dolphins, manta rays and sharks.”
On the trail of the enigmatic manta ray
Manta rays congregate at well-known hotspots such as North Stradbroke Island and Lady Elliot Island at certain times each year for courting and feeding, but researchers still have no idea where they go and what they do when they leave these sites.
“There is currently little information about critical birthing or nursery areas for Australia’s east coast manta populations, so finding their secret habitats is vital if we are to protect these vulnerable giant megafauna,” Dr Townsend said.
To investigate potential new habitats, researchers are using satellite tagging to track migration patterns along the Queensland coastline, conducting visual and drone surveys and collecting environmental DNA from the sea.
This follows a major breakthrough last year when researchers tagged a dozen manta rays off Lady Elliot Island at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, as part of UniSC-led Project Manta.
“To our surprise, most of them headed about 130km south to a previously unknown aggregation site at the northern tip of K’gari, off Queensland's Fraser Coast region,” said Dr Townsend, who is the academic lead of Project Manta.
“Since then, we have been trying to find out what they are doing there. Are they feeding? Are they breeding? Is this site a nursery ground?”
A sighting of a young manta ray cruising along the shallow sand flats on a drone survey in the area further sparked the interests of the research team as manta pups are rarely sighted on the east coast of Australia.
Citizen scientists have also reported manta rays feeding beside the shore and rocky outcrops in the months of spring on the eastern side of K’gari, from Waddy Point to Indian Head.
“This new data has left us with a trail of intriguing information to follow – and so many questions to answer,” Dr Townsend said.
“This is where fishers and citizen scientists can become ‘manta heroes’ and help to fill in some of the gaps by telling us where and when they see a manta ray – and sharing a photo or video is a wonderful bonus.”
Manta sightings can be emailed to projectmanta@usc.edu.au or you can submit photos to Project Manta online.
Gathering data on dolphins
Sea life enthusiasts are invited to help uncover the secret lives of our dolphins, from Caloundra to Hervey Bay, as part of UniSC’s Dolphin Research Project SEQ.
UniSC Marine mammal researcher Dr Alexis Levengood, who leads the project, said citizen scientists could contribute to increasing understanding of these important and iconic marine species.
“If you see a dolphin or group of dolphins, please share with us the date and time, location or GPS coordinates, the number of individuals and the species – if you can tell,” Dr Levengood said.
“Photos and drone footage are highly encouraged – even a bad photo can be helpful. Any other relevant information such as behaviour and other species present can also be useful.”
Observations can be uploaded to Dolphin Sightings SEQ Facebook site or email to DolphinSightingsSEQ@gmail.com
Spotting leopard sharks
UniSC researchers are also investigating leopard sharks and are asking citizen scientists to be on the lookout for the unique species, which gathers on coral and rocky reefs and sandy flats in coastal waters of southern Queensland and northern New South Wales between November and February.
Australia hosts the largest known populations of leopard sharks, which is considered generally harmless to humans.
People can send sighting details to spottheleopardshark@gmail.com or find out more at Spot the Leopard Shark.
Media enquiries: Please contact the Media Team media@usc.edu.au