Dugongs of Ashmore Reef and the Sahul Banks: a review of knowledge and a distribution of sightings

Occurrence Observation
Latest version published by Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node on Feb 23, 2023 Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node
Publication date:
23 February 2023
License:
CC-BY-NC 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 26 records in English (5 KB) - Update frequency: not planned
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Description

This dataset is from a paper by Scott Whiting and Michael Guinea (2005) on observations of Dudongs at Ashmore Reef and Sahul Banks, Australia.A small, but significant, population of dugongs (Dugong dugon) occurs on Ashmore Reef. One sighting in 1996, 130 km east of Ashmore Reef, indicates that dugongs could use other shallow shoals on the Sahul Banks. Individuals representing all age classes were present on Ashmore Reef. Cow and calf pairs indicate that breeding occurs on the reef and there is at least some short-term residency. The oceanic coral reef habitat used by these dugongs is unusual when compared to the coastal habitat used by other Australian populations. Situated between Indonesia and the Australian mainland, Ashmore Reef supports a population of dugongs whose genetic identity is uncertain.

Data Records

The data in this occurrence resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 26 records.

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Whiting S D, Guinea M L (2023): Dugongs of Ashmore Reef and the Sahul Banks: a review of knowledge and a distribution of sightings. v1.0. Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node. Dataset/Occurrence. https://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource?r=dudongs_ashmore&v=1.0

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Southwestern Pacific Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) Node. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has not been registered with GBIF

Keywords

Occurrence; Observation

Contacts

Scott D. Whiting
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Researcher
Biomarine International, Charles Darwin University
  • PO Box 376c
0809 Darwin
NT
AU
Michael L. Guinea
  • Originator
  • Researcher
Faculty of Education, Health and Science, Charles Darwin University
0809 Darwin
NT
AU

Geographic Coverage

Ashmore Reef and Sahul Banks, Australia

Bounding Coordinates South West [-12.306, 122.904], North East [-12.055, 124.3]

Taxonomic Coverage

Dudong

Species Dudong dugon (Dudong)

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 1996-11-14 / 2004-12-31

Sampling Methods

Observations from aircraft and vessels.

Study Extent Ashmore Reef and Sahul Banks

Method step description:

  1. In November 1996, observations from a Coastwatch surveillance aircraft confirmed anecdotal reports by Parks Australia North personnel of dugongs on Ashmore Reef (Whiting 1999). Eight dugongs were sighted within the transect area which represented 6% (11 km 2) of the reef flat (182 km 2).
  2. In 1996, a database was established to record all dugong sightings at Ashmore Reef. Since 2000, Australian Customs Officers stationed at Ashmore Reef have recorded dugong sightings during their routine patrols.

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Whiting, S. D. and Guinea, M. L. (2005) Dugongs of Ashmore Reef and the Sahul Banks: a review of current knowledge and a distribution of sighting, The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 2005, Supplement 1: 207-210.

Additional Metadata

marine, harvested by iOBIS

Alternative Identifiers https://nzobisipt.niwa.co.nz/resource?r=dudongs_ashmore