Marine megafauna are highly mobile and can exhibit strong temporal and spatial variability, yet impact assessments for coastal developments often rely on single-species, single-survey approaches that fail to capture these dynamics or their links to habitat.
We present a novel, integrated monitoring framework applied in Bowen, Queensland, combining repeat surveys across spatial scales and ecological components. At the local scale, quarterly drone surveys quantified all visible marine megafauna alongside high-resolution mapping of seagrass habitats and repeated assessments of dugong feeding trails. At the regional scale, biannual fixed-wing aerial surveys captured broader distribution patterns and connectivity across Edgecumbe Bay. This design explicitly incorporates temporal replication to resolve variability in habitat use and improve interpretation of megafauna presence.
Artificial intelligence workflows were developed to automate detection of dugong feeding trails and in-water megafauna from imagery, enabling scalable and repeatable analyses.
This integrated approach links habitat condition, and species distributions and numbers across scales, providing a more realistic representation of marine megafauna dynamics. The accessibility of drone platforms further enables participation of Traditional Owner groups in ongoing monitoring. For industry, such frameworks support adaptive, evidence-based decision-making across pre-, during- and post-development phases, reducing uncertainty in impact assessment for mobile species.