An internationally-recognised marine expert will deliver specialist training today aimed at a providing answers for dugong strandings in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

University of Queensland Veterinary School researcher Dr Mark Flint will teach dugong necropsy techniques to a class of more than 20 veterinarians and staff from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA), Department of Environmental Resource Management (DERM) and James Cook University (JCU).

DERM chief scientist Col Limpus and GBRMPA marine expert Malcolm Turner will also be on hand to lead the group through the examination of a dead dugong in JCU's veterinary anatomy laboratory.

Necropsy examinations provide information vital to understanding the cause of death and general health status of stranded animals.

At the project's completion, more than 50 people in Rockhampton, Airlie Beach, Cairns and Townsville will have the knowledge and equipment to take samples and perform examinations on the bodies of dugong washed ashore each year.

GBRMPA species conservation manager Dr Mark Read said building a comprehensive network of people equipped to perform examinations was part of the GBRMPA's broader approach to dugong monitoring.

"The dugong is a species of concern following the floods and cyclones experienced in Queensland last summer," Dr Read said.

"We are conducting a number of projects to assess their health and the status of their populations.

"Seagrass meadows are critical foraging areas for dugong. Significant changes in dugong movements and health have been recorded following declines in seagrass associated with similar extreme weather events in the past."

In collaboration with research partners and other management agencies, the GBRMPA is investigating the ongoing impacts of extreme weather events on dugong populations through an extended strandings program, seagrass monitoring and a satellite tracking project.

"It is difficult to monitor the health of dugong but we can gain a measure of mortality from the number and location of strandings, while necropsies provide information about the likely causes of death."

Anyone who finds a sick, injured or dead marine animal should call DERM on 1300 130 372.

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