An Australian student has won a prestigious award at an international conference for her discovery of a new species of dolphin.
Kate Charlton-Robb, who works in partnership with the peninsula’s Dolphin Research Institute, received the John G. Shedd Aquarium Award at a Society of Marine Mammalogy event in Quebec, Canada.
The Monash Ph.D. student, who has been studying the genetics of Victoria’s dolphins for the past few years, presented a paper on her discovery that the dolphins in Port Phillip Bay are “genetically isolated” so are a whole new species.
More than 1500 delegates from across the world attended the Quebec conference and Charlton-Robb said she was thrilled to receive recognition at such an event.
“The unique pod of about 50 dolphins lives in the Gippsland Lakes system year-round, happily accommodating local fluctuations between salt and fresh water. So they’re very special.
Charlton-Robb says the species is genetically different from the two known bottlenose dolphin species, but has physical characteristics of both the common bottlenose and the Indo-specific dolphins.
“Our Victoria’s East dolphins are about 2 ½ metres in length – about half a metre shorter than the common bottlenose. Their colour is much more graduated too. It goes from grey on their backs to mid-grey to white on their bellies. In the common bottlenose, found offshore in Victorian waters, the change in colour is much more pronounced.
“Unlike their common bottlenose cousins, this East Gippsland species also calves all year round”, says Charlton-Robb.
“These dolphins travel in tight nursery pods. So you might see up to about 30 dolphins together, ranging from newborn calves to adult.
“They reside in the estuarine East Gippsland lakes system, and can be found anywhere between Lake Wellington and Lakes Entrance”, she says.
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