{"id":893499,"date":"2026-09-16T01:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T01:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/893499\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T01:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T01:08:17","slug":"citizen-scientists-maintain-dolphin-watch-at-victor-harbor-amid-bird-flu-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/893499\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizen scientists maintain dolphin watch at Victor Harbor amid bird flu threat"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a boat full of tourists sets off to see dolphins in Victor Harbor early on Saturday morning, they are joined on board by a group of citizen scientists.<\/p>\n

They head out regularly, collecting samples, data and observations that have proven to be invaluable for research into South Australia’s harmful algal bloom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, while continuing to monitor the water, they are also watching the wildlife for signs of bird flu<\/a>, after the first Australian case in a dolphin identified locally<\/a> at Goolwa Beach, which was followed by a new suspected case in a sea lion<\/a> at Victor Harbor.<\/p>\n

High alert for ‘beloved’ dolphins<\/p>\n

Nedra Haines has been monitoring her beloved dolphins for 14 years, as part of the Victor Harbor Dolphin Watch Group.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nedra Haines has been monitoring dolphins off the coast of the Fleurieu Peninsula for 14 years. (ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)<\/p>\n

She has helped to compile their catalogue of 140 bottlenose dolphins and 50 common dolphins, identifying them through the shape and markings of their dorsal fins.<\/p>\n

Information collected on each dolphin and its environment is fed into the South Australian government’s state biological database.<\/p>\n

The dolphin watchers were, without realising it at the time, some of the first to see the very early signs of the algal bloom before it blew up spectacularly <\/a>on local beaches.<\/p>\n

Ms Haines said that while the days of the bloom had been depressing, she had watched over the dolphins, diligently recording any signs of irritation to their thick, rubbery skins.<\/p>\n

\"Lumpy<\/p>\n

The dolphin watch group spotted foam behind an island in March 2025. (Supplied: Samantha Sea)<\/p>\n

Now she is watching to see if they show any signs of the viral infection.<\/p>\n

“If they’re swimming crazy, if they’re off balance. Just any neurological defects, [we] definitely keep an eye out for things like that,” Ms Haines said.<\/p>\n

Today on the boat, there is no behaviour to suggest the dolphins are anything but healthy.<\/p>\n

Those seen display playful antics including tail slapping, a lot of curiosity and even some carrying of seaweed, which apparently can be used to attract a mate.<\/p>\n

Building knowledge<\/p>\n

Also on board is Samantha Sea from the group Phytoplankton of South Australia, which formed as a response to the lack of data available to the public during the early days of the algal bloom.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Samantha Sea takes her water samples home and prepares them for analysis. (ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)<\/p>\n

She holds a degree in physics, but when the algal bloom appeared, she started attending community-led meetings, asking what could be done to help.<\/p>\n

Since then she has pored over hundreds of samples, learning how to identify algae and other phytoplankton.<\/p>\n

The information from Ms Sea and the network of volunteers now established across the state is being sent for use by researchers and government.<\/p>\n

The group was recently awarded the title of South Australian Citizen Science Champions for 2026.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wright Island, off the coast of Victor Harbor, is regularly monitored by citizen scientists, with the help of a local tourist boat operator. (ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)<\/p>\n

Even though they now tend to record low levels of the Karenia algal species, which formed the harmful algal bloom, constant monitoring is still important.<\/p>\n

“We don’t understand the ocean. Not well,” Ms Sea said, noting that before the bloom there was no baseline for normal levels of algae.<\/p>\n

Now her samples are helping to build a picture of the recovering marine environment, used by the state government and Shauna Murray, the University of Technology Sydney researcher whose team identified the presence of the toxin-producing Karenia cristata<\/a> within the bloom.<\/p>\n

Buckets of help<\/p>\n

When the bloom entered Gulf St Vincent, Professor Murray reached out to friend and former fellow biology student Niko Streiber, now a scientist at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, who lived near the beach.<\/p>\n

Dr Streiber collected water samples in 9-litre buckets from three different sites. She filtered them in her kitchen, filled tubes with the water and posted them off to Professor Murray’s laboratory, where the Karenia was identified.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Nikola Streiber collected samples in buckets off the coast of Adelaide for months. (ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)<\/p>\n

While she is not currently sampling off the Adelaide coastline, Dr Streiber remains ready to start again when needed, aware that the bloom could recur given the right conditions.<\/p>\n

“We can’t predict it for certain because Karenia cristata is able to survive on the bottom of the ocean; it forms little cysts, and they can spring back to life,” Dr Streiber said.<\/p>\n

“That’s why the ongoing monitoring is so important.”<\/p>\n

If you see a sick or dead bird:Do not touch it.Take note of the location and, if possible, take photos.Report it to the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline: 1800 675 888.More news from regional SA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a boat full of tourists sets off to see dolphins in Victor Harbor early on Saturday morning,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":893500,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[11949,6343,64,63,17713,1845,462942,43190,162,73487,5036,17537,128,44685,1124,8246,9052,38810,338],"class_list":["post-893499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-algae","tag-algal-bloom","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-beach","tag-bird-flu","tag-bird-flu-dolphins","tag-citizen-scientist","tag-dolphins","tag-h5","tag-ocean","tag-penguin","tag-science","tag-scientist","tag-south-australia","tag-update","tag-victor-harbor","tag-whale","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893499"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893499\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/893500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}