PhD 'Abundance, Distribution and Threats of Cambodian Cetaceans'
Principal Investigator: Sarah Tubbs
One of our two Co-Founders, Sarah Tubbs, is currently conducting her PhD at Newcastle University. Sarah's PhD is funded by IAPETUS2 and is being conducted in collaboration with Khmer Ocean Life.
Project summary
Irrawaddy dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and Indo-Pacific finless porpoises are commonly occurring coastal cetacean species in Cambodia. These species are classified as Endangered, Vulnerable and Vulnerable, respectively on the IUCN Red List and face specific threats from fisheries bycatch, habitat degradation and prey depletion. Currently, lack of species-specific baseline data on abundance, distribution, and threats, hinders the establishment of conservation strategies. This PhD project seeks to fill these baseline knowledge gaps for the full Cambodian coastline. Gained knowledge can be used by resource managers to support the establishment of effective management strategies.
Objectives
Objective 1
Investigate abundance of Irrawaddy dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and Indo-Pacific finless porpoise throughout the Cambodian coastline using a combination of mark-recapture (photo-ID and SIGnature whistle ID) and distance sampling techniques.
Objective 2
Investigate distribution of Irrawaddy dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and Indo-Pacific finless porpoise throughout the Cambodian coastline using spatial modelling and passive acoustic monitoring techniques.
Objective 3
Investigate gear and species-specific bycatch rates for Irrawaddy dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins and Indo-Pacific finless porpoise throughout the Cambodian coastline using fisher questionnaires and data from official fisheries statistics.
Project Supervisors
Dr Per Berggren
Newcastle University
Dr Phil Hammond
University of St Andrews
Dr Rus Hoelzel
Durham University
Dr Sarah Coulthard
Newcastle University
Project
Collaborators
