Journal article
Drone monitoring of endangered scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini movements and habitat use on a dynamic urbanised coastline in Australia
Marine Biology, Vol.173, pp.1-16
2026
Abstract
Many elasmobranch species face increasing pressures from overfishing, habitat degradation, and coastal development, highlighting the need to identify and protect habitats used during critical life stages. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones offer a non-invasive method to study the distribution and habitat use of species frequenting inshore areas. Scalloped hammerhead sharks (
Sphyrna lewini
), listed as Critically Endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, have experienced global population declines prompting the need for research that identifies key habitats, including nursery and aggregation sites. This study analysed archived footage from the Queensland SharkSmart drone program at nine beaches in southeast Queensland between September 2020 and December 2024. The frequency of scalloped hammerhead sightings was quantified, along with the influence of environmental, biotic, and operational variables on detectability. Eighty-four sightings were recorded, primarily between April and June. Sightings were significantly influenced by turbidity, presence of other fauna, time of day, month, and location. Aggregations of up to 80 juvenile sharks (mean ± SD: 109 ± 25 cm) were observed at Burleigh Beach, with additional sightings at Noosa Main Beach. These findings provide the first detailed description of seasonal juvenile scalloped hammerhead aggregations in southeast Queensland, Australia, and highlight the value of drone monitoring for identifying habitats of conservation importance and informing targeted spatial management.
Details
- Title
- Drone monitoring of endangered scalloped hammerhead shark Sphyrna lewini movements and habitat use on a dynamic urbanised coastline in Australia
- Authors
- Maddison C. Cross (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine CoastBonnie J. Holmes - University of the Sunshine CoastMatthew N. McMillan - Department of Primary IndustriesJohan A. Gustafson - University of the Sunshine CoastTracey B. Scott-Holland - Department of Primary IndustriesJonathan D. Mitchell - Department of Primary Industries
- Publication details
- Marine Biology, Vol.173, pp.1-16
- Publisher
- Springer
- Date published
- 2026
- DOI
- 10.1007/s00227-026-04946-y
- ISSN
- 1432-1793
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Data Availability
- Corresponding author can provide the datasets used in this study upon reasonable request, although footage which contains images of people is considered confidential and cannot be made publicly available.
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 991259385402621
- Output Type
- Journal article
Metrics
1 Record Views