SEWPACAdditional qualification details
Question 6:
Name: David Donnelly
Qualifications and Experience: Coxswain
David has over twenty years’ experience working in three countries in the field of marine mammal
research. His knowledge of marine mammals in the wild has led to him being involved in a number
of research projects practicing various disciplines including Genetics/biopsy, Acoustics, DTAG,
Satellite tagging, Population surveys, Aerial surveys, Photo ID and Strandings. David has worked with
Monash University, Australian National University, University of Queensland and University of
Sydney. In addition to this, David has been involved in both State and Commonwealth Government
initiatives involving cetaceans. He is currently part of a large team working alongside the oil and gas
industry investigating the effects of underwater sound on humpback whales. As a Coxswain, David
has exceptional skills in manoeuvring both small and large sized vessels in close proximity to
cetaceans. He also successfully completed the 2011 season of this project.
Name: Kylie Owen
Qualifications and Experience: BSc (Hon).
Kylie has been involved with a number of cetacean research projects around Australia over the last
10 years with experience on a number of different projects focusing on genetics/biopsy, habitat
usage, anthropogenic impacts and population surveys. She has experience at maneuvering small
vessels in close proximity to cetaceans and at interpreting cetacean behaviour. She completed her
BSc in marine biology and zoology at the University of Melbourne and an honours research project
at Monash University on the foraging ecology of bottlenose dolphins in Victoria. She assisted with
two humpback whale research projects carried out by the Cetacean Ecology and Acoustics
Laboratory in 2010 during which time she received training in a number of techniques to be used in
this study. She also successfully completed the 2011 season of this project.
Name: Dr Rebecca Dunlop
Qualifications and Experience: BSc PhD
Rebecca has been researching animal behaviour for over 12 years (obtaining her Bachelor of Science
honours degree and PhD in Queens University, Belfast) but has been specifically studying large
cetaceans in Australian waters for the last 8 years. Her field experience on humpback whales over
the last 8 years ranges from population surveys (primarily land-based and aerial) of west coast and
east coast Australian and New Zealand humpback whales, land-based behavioural data collection
(from theodolites linked to a Cyclops tracker programme), acoustic data collection (from semipermanently moored arrays, data loggers and hydrophone recordings from boats) and boat-based
data collection (biopsies, fluke-i.d. photographs, behavioural data collection and tagging). She was
part of the first team in Australia to successfully deploy DTAGs and has had three field seasons of
DTAG deployment, recovery and analysis experience.
Name: Dr Mike Noad
Qualifications and Experience: BVSc PhD
Mike has a Bachelor of Veterinary Science and completed his PhD on humpback whale song analysis.
Mike has 16 years’ experience with working with humpback whales in the field, particularly with
1
acoustics and behaviour. This includes 3 seasons deploying D-tags and he was a part of the first team
in Australia to successfully deploy D-tags.
2