Greenland and Limpus, 2008:

"Since 1996 there has been comprehensive annual reporting of dugong stranding and mortality in Queensland. Throughout these years the numbers of reports have been fairly consistent, with the exception of 1999 and 2000. The abnormally high mortality rates of dugong in 1999 and 2000 (Figure 2.3) were largely caused by a chain of ecological events. In February 1999 there was the record level flood of the Mary River which resulted in a die-off of seagrass. This resulted in a greater number of dugong strandings during the latter part of the year in the Hervey Bay–Sandy Strait area. In early 2000, eastern and northern Moreton Bay experienced the overgrowth  of at least 38km² of seagrass by toxic blue green algae (Lyngbya majuscula). This was followed later in the year by the largest number of dugong deaths (n=20)  recorded in the bay for the previous six years of comprehensive recording of stranding data. As previous reports have noted, increased deaths of dugong can be expected when seagrass pastures are extensively damaged: Torres Strait (Marsh et al. 2000); Halifax Bay 1971 (Heinsohn and Spain, 1974); Hervey Bay 1992 (Preen and Marsh, 1995); Hervey Bay 1999 (Limpus et al. 2000). With drought summers and reduced storm activity in recent years, the reported strandings of dugong have remained stable."

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Citation and/or URL

Greenland, J.A. and Limpus, C.J. (2008). Marine Wildlife Stranding and Mortality database annual report 2007.  Conservation technical data report Volume 2007 Number 1, Environmental Protection Agency, 2008.

Spatial Coverage

Queensland 

Temporal Coverage

 1996 to 2007

Update Frequency

 Annual

Other Information

 None