Dear MARMAM community,

We are pleased to announce our recent study, published in Marine Mammal Science:

De Bie, J., Lee, S. B., Meynecke, J.-O., Seyboth, E., Samanta, S., Vichi, M., 
Roychoudhury, A. & Mackey, B. (2024). Agent-based modelling of southward 
coastal migration by humpback whale mother–calf pods off eastern Australia. 
Marine Mammal Science, e13203.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/mms.13203

Abstract

Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae encounter a variety of environmental 
conditions during seasonal migration between feeding grounds and breeding 
grounds. Relationships between environmental conditions and migratory movements 
are largely unknown due to a lack of oceanographic data coincident with their 
presence/absence. We begin to address this knowledge gap by developing a new 
agent-based modelling (ABM) approach designed to predict southward migration of 
mother–calf (MC) pairs along a stretch of the east Australian coast between the 
Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and Gold Coast (GC) bay, which includes a known 
resting area, Hervey Bay (HB). To assess our ability to reproduce observed 
migration patterns, numerical experiments were undertaken in which static 
(bathymetry) and dynamic (currents, sea surface temperature) variables between 
August and October 2017 governed movements. These experiments revealed how 
bathymetry influences HB usage, and a necessity to apply different 
directionality preferences to whales before and after negotiating HB, which 
appear to closely align with coastline orientation. The ABM provides a novel, 
suitable framework for simulating MC humpback whale migration, and an important 
first step in the development of predictive models of humpback whale behavior. 
Developing such tools is increasingly necessary to predict how changing ocean 
conditions are likely to affect their distribution.

For queries or discussions, please feel free to contact me

Best wishes,
Jasper

Dr Jasper de Bie | Research Fellow

Coastal and Marine Research Centre
Griffith University | Gold Coast campus | QLD 4222 | Australia
T +61 7 555 27821 | E j.de...@griffith.edu.au<mailto:j.de...@griffith.edu.au>



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