Marine Mammal Science
The Centre for Marine Science and Technology has been conducting marine mammal research for over ten years. Our research focuses on the distribution, abundance, and dynamics of marine mammals occurring along the coasts of Australia. We supply marine mammal focused research (including impact assessments) in an increasingly vital arena, given Australia’s extensive coastlines with ever-increasing population pressures and associated marine resource requirements. CMST and its collaborators investigate the nature of changes in aspects such as ecology, behaviour, and vocalization from three broad groups of marine mammals, pinnipeds (seals and sea lions), dolphins, and whales, in order to understand the causes for these changes.
CMST is unique in that it solves ecological and environmental problems through a technical and multidisciplinary based approach. CMST consists of a team of scientists and engineers with expertise across a range of disciplines (biology, physics, statistics, engineering, and computer science), thus employing innovative approaches to what is often predominantly a biologically dominated field. CMST has a network of long-standing partners and collaborators. The collaborative nature of CMST has made possible the acquisition of long term behavioural and ecological data sets collected at key sites through a multitude of techniques and platforms. As a result, many of our projects are aimed at solving significant and broad scoping problems, having significant implications internationally.
Our capabilities fall into the following categories:
- Laboratory and field based work
- Experimental design
- Hardware products (acoustics and stereovision)
- Software development
- Data analysis and interpretation
Collaborating Institutions
Centre for Whale Research, WA Inc.
Western Whale Research Pty Ltd.
Western Australian Museum
Australian Antarctic Division
DSTO
Department of Fisheries (WA)
Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit
Department of Environment and Conservation (WA)
University of Queensland
Aquarium of Western Australia
Dolphin Discovery Centre, Bunbury
Centro de Conservación Cetacea, Chile
Marine Mammal Research Personnel
CMST has a team of fifteen multi-skilled physicists, biologists and engineers. Staff that work in the area of marine mammal science and bio-acoustics include:
Rob McCauley PhD, BSc
Associate Professor in marine bio-acoustics with 20 years experience, specialising in effects of noise on fish and marine mammals.
Sasha Gavrilov PhD, MSc
Associate Professor in acoustical oceanography, with 25 years experience in acoustic propagation, field measurements and benthic habitat mapping.
Chandra Salgado PhD, MSc
Research Associate in environmental biology and marine ecology with particular expertise in experiment design and analysis of studies in marine mammal ecology and acoustics.
