Dugong deaths way up off Queensland coast
By John R. Platt
13 August 2011 More dugongs (Dugong dugon) have died in Australia this year than in all of 2010. At least 90 of the marine mammals, close relatives of manatees, have starved to death off the coast of Queensland after floods destroyed the area’s sea grass, the dugong’s main source of food. Another six were killed by boats or fishing nets. Only 79 dugongs were found dead in that region in 2010. Sea grass suffers when it is overwhelmed by freshwater. Massive floods in December and January followed by a cyclone in February dumped a lot of river water into the ocean off Queensland. The runoff also brought pesticides and sediment, providing what Queensland Minister for Environment Vicky Darling called a “triple whammy” to the vegetation. The sea grass problem has also hurt sea turtles in the region. Several hundred dead turtles washed up along the state’s northern coast late last month. Experts fear many other bodies drifted away or sank to the bottom and were never observed or counted. Darling said the sea grass is not likely to recover this year, although it is expected to eventually bounce back. She said the dugongs, aka sea cows, are also expected to recover in time. Meanwhile, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has warned the opposite: that dugong and sea turtle deaths in the area are only going to increase. “We’re going to see more dugongs and green turtles straying from their regular foraging areas in search of food,” GBRMPA chairman Russell Reichelt said in a prepared statement last month. “This makes them more vulnerable to disease and injury or death from other threats that may exist in these unfamiliar territories.” […]
