Researchers
Our team of experienced researchers
Professor Peter Harrison (Director)
Dr Philip Clapham
Dr Robert Slade
Dr Eric Kniest
Dr Lyndon Brooks
Nan Daeschler Hauser
Dr Elizabeth Hawkins
Dr Christine Fury
Dr Daniel Burns
Megan Anderson
Trish Franklin
Wally Franklin
Simon Walsh
Daniele Cagnazzi
Olive Andrews

Dr Daniel Burns

Dan Burns Dan is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Southern Cross University. He completed a PhD at SCU in 2010 under the supervision of Professor Peter Harrison, Dr Phil Clapham and Emeritus Professor Peter Baverstock, with a thesis entitled "Population characteristics and migratory movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) identified on their southern migration past Ballina, eastern Australia".

Dan's research has focused primarily on the migratory patterns of humpback whales, as well as on improving photo-identification methods. He has worked in collaboration with Dr Eric Kniest from the University of Newcastle and Prof. Peter Harrison at SCU to develop the computerised fluke-matching system Fluke Matcher. This project received funding from the Australian Centre for Applied Marine Mammal Science in 2007/8 and the Australian Marine Mammal Centre (AMMC) in 2009/10. The program is now freely available to download from the Fluke Matcher page.

After completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Sydney in 1996, Dan first became involved with whale research at Cape Byron in 1998, and also spent the 2001 season as the Expedition Assistant for The Oceania Project in Hervey Bay. He came to Southern Cross University to study humpback whales for his Honours year in 2002, achieving a grade of First Class, and followed this by commencing his PhD at SCU in 2003. As part of his PhD, he created the Ballina Whale Research Project (BWRP), coordinating over 40 volunteers per year from 2003-2005 to assist with both land and vessel-based data collection. Dan received support to undertake his PhD research from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, and also fostered collaborations with the NSW Marine Parks Authority and the NSW Department of the Environment and Conservation. He is a member of the South Pacific Whale Research Consortium (SPWRC) and of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.

Migaloo

South Pacific Whale Research Consortium

Dan has had an ongoing involvement with the SPWRC since 2003, including being a co-author and one of the matching team to compare photo-ID data collected at locations from eastern Australia and across the South Pacific. This study aimed to establish interchange rates between whales from eastern Australia and those from New Caledonia, Tonga, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Samoa, American Samoa, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Niue. The manuscript for this study has now been accepted for publication (see Garrigue et al. (accepted) below).

Migaloo

In October 2004, Dan was fortunate enough to photograph the world's only documented all-white humpback whale, commonly known as 'Migaloo', as well as collecting sloughed skin samples from the white whale when he breached (see gallery). Analysis of these samples by Megan Anderson at SCU confirmed that Migaloo is a male.

Grey Arrow View Dan's photo gallery

Research publications

Kniest, E., Burns, D. and Harrison, P. (2010). Fluke Matcher: a computer-aided matching system for humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) flukes. Marine Mammal Science. 26(3): 744-756
Garrigue, C., Franklin, T., Russell, K., Burns, D., Poole, M., Paton, D., Hauser, N., Oremus, M., Constantine, R., Childerhouse, S., Mattila, D., Gibbs, N., Franklin, W., Robbins, J. and Baker, C.S. (accepted) First assessment of interchange of humpback whales between Oceania and the east coast of Australia. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management..
Paton D., Brooks L., Burns, D., Franklin T., Franklin W., Harrison P. and Baverstock P. (accepted) Abundance of east coast Australian humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in 2005 estimated using multi-point sampling and capture-recapture analysis. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management..
Franklin, W., Franklin, T., Gibbs, N., Childerhouse, S., Garrigue, C., Constantine, R., Brooks, L., Burns, D., Paton, D., Poole, M., Hauser, N., Donoghue, M., Russell, K., Mattila, D.K., Robbins, J., Anderson, M., Olavarria, C., Jackson, J., Noad, M., Harrison, P., Baverstock, P., Leaper, R., Baker, C.S. and Clapham, P. (accepted) Photo-identification confirms that humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from eastern Australia migrate past New Zealand but indicates low levels of interchange with breeding grounds of Oceania. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management..
Franklin, W., Franklin, T., Brooks, L., Gibbs, N., Childerhouse, S., Smith, F., Burns, D., Paton, D., Garrigue, C., Constantine, R., Poole, M., Hauser, N., Donoghue, M., Russell, K., Mattila, D.K., Robbins, J., Oosterman, A., Leaper, R., Harrison, P., Baker, C.S. and Clapham, P. (accepted) Antarctic waters (Area V) near the Balleny Islands are a summer feeding area for some Eastern Australian (E1 breeding group) humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Journal of Cetacean Research and Management..
Harrison, P.L., Burns, D., Fury, C. and Luker, G. (2009) Global Conservation Status of Cetaceans. Final Report for the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 125 pages. Reviewed by external referees Prof. Scott Baker and Dr. Bill Perrin
Franklin, T. and Burns, D. (2005) A southern right whale (Eubalaena australis) in Hervey Bay, Qld and Ballina, N NSW. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 51(2): 308.

Manuscripts in review and in preparation:

Burns, D., Brooks, L., Clapham, P. and Harrison, P. (in review) Between-year synchrony in migratory timing of individual humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae. Marine Mammal Science.
Burns, D. et al. (in prep) Migratory movements of individual humpback whales photographed off the eastern coast of Australia, 2003-2005.
Burns, D. (in prep) Predatory scarring rates of humpback whales photographed off the eastern coast of Australia, 2003-2005.

The following papers have also been presented to the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commisssion:

Anderson M., Steel, D., Franklin, W., Franklin, T., Paton D., Burns, D., Harrison, P., Baverstock, P.R., Garrigue C., Olavarria C., Poole M., Hauser N., Constantine, R., Thiele, D., Clapham, P., Donoghue, M. and Baker C.S. Microsatellite genotype matches of eastern Australian humpback whales to Area V feeding and breeding grounds. SC/62/SH7. Presented to the IWC SC June 2010.
Constantine, R., Jackson, J., Garrigue C., Steel, D., Burns, D., Clapham, P., Hauser N., Mattila, D., Oremus, M., Poole M., Robbins, J., Thompson, K. and Baker C.S. Abundance and interchange of humpback whales in Oceania based on fluke photo-identification and DNA profiling. SC/62/SH18. Presented to the IWC SC June 2010.
Olavarria C., Anderson M., Paton D., Burns, D., Brasseur M., Garrigue C., Hauser N., Poole M., Caballero S., Florez-Gonzalez L. and Baker C.S. Eastern Australia humpback whale genetic diversity and their relationship with Breeding Stocks D, E, F and G. SC/58/SH25. Presented to the IWC SC May 2006.

Conference presentations

Oral presentations at South Pacific Whale Research Consortium annual meetings - 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010.
Poster at the National Cetacean Research Partnerships Workshop (Department of Environment & Heritage), Adelaide - February 2006.
Poster at the 16th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, San Diego - December 2005.
Poster at the National Cetacean Research Partnerships Workshop (Department of Environment & Heritage), Ballina - May 2004.

Updated: 24 November 2011