Ask the Scientists

Join The Discussion

What is the context of this research?

Australian killer whales are currently poorly understood. We know next to nothing of their population numbers or ecology in our waters. This is an astounding fact given their charismatic profile and importance as the ocean's top predator.

Studies in the northern hemisphere have shown the importance of the killer whales in the health of marine ecosystems. Without this apex predator in coastal waters of Australia, the marine ecosystem could be compromised.

In the absence of dedicated field studies, it is our intention to use Citizen Science to bring together as much information as is available to help scientists better understand this species and achieve a conservation listing for killer whales in Australia.

What is the significance of this project?

The killer whale is currently listed as "Data Deficient" meaning there is inadequate information to assign a conservation listing for the species in Australia. We hope to change this through answering important scientific questions such as: How many killer whales inhabit Australian coastal waters? What are the prey preferences of these animals? and What, if any, areas of significance exist for the species? The answers to these questions will help us identify key threats to the species and provide robust data to assist in decision making at a management level. These actions will in turn lead to a well informed conservation benefit for the species.

What are the goals of the project?

Our ultimate goal is to provide well informed data to wildlife managers in order to achieve a conservation outcome for Australian killer whales. To achieve this we propose to establish an open access online database that will provide a portal for colleagues and citizen scientists to report sightings and submit images of killer whales along the Australian coastline. The next phase is to upload all historical data gathered from a variety of sources to the online database. Finally, using experts and sophisticated analytical software we will analyse all data which will result in producing a robust population estimate for the species.

The open access nature of the entry level of the database will allow citizen scientists to view basic data and images as well as attempt fin matching.

