Description

Profile
A marine scientist with strong analytical and IT skills and a passion for conservation, with a particular focus on behavioural and population ecology, specifically estimating population size using mark-recapture methods, identifying habitats important to the survival of marine vertebrates and linking behaviours with habitat characteristics to identify critical habitats and appropriate management approaches.

 

Key Competencies
·        Excellent analytical skills in:

o  abundance estimation using program MARK and RMark; POPAN, Robust Design and multi-state models;

o  habitat modelling using machine learning methods, specifically, boosted Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) in R to link behaviours to habitat type;

o  identifying the effects of human impacts from behavioural observations (land-based and boat-based) using R,

o  investigating association patterns between individuals using SOCPROG; and

o  providing recommendations for, and monitoring the impact of, management strategies.

·        Good verbal and written communication skills developed through PhD research, presentations at international conferences, scientific peer-reviewed publications and progress reports.

·        Exceptional IT skills including data and database management which includes experience integrating audio visual capture technologies with database systems.

·        Collaborative approach, focussing on mutual respect, joint responsibility, and open communication with all stakeholders, including assistants, supervisors, collaborators, and industry and community representatives,

·        PADI Dive Master since 1996 with more than 500 hours diving experience.

·        Restricted Coxswain since 2008 more than 2000 hours boating experience.

·        Remote Pilot’s Licence, Commonwealth of Australia Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

 

Qualifications
PhD Marine Science, Murdoch University, Australia
2015
Dissertation: A scientific foundation for management decisions: Quantifying the abundance, important habitat and cumulative exposure of the Hawaii Island spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) stock to human activities (https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/27843/).

 

BSc Marine Science, first class honours, Murdoch University, Australia
2008
Thesis: Does sponge distribution lead to sponging behaviour by bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay? (https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/30896/)

 

Relevant Experience
Collecting genetic samples of humpback dolphins research assistant
May ’17 – ongoing
Research assistant collecting genetic samples from humpback dolphins in the Dampier Archipelago, and data entry into the DolFin database from a number of research projects undertaken along Western Australia coast.

 

Humpback dolphin availability project

Research Assistant
April –May ‘17
Flying Unmanned Aerial Vehicles over humpback dolphins in the Dampier Archipelago to determine their availability at the surface in order to correct abundance estimates from aerial surveys.

 

Data analysis collarboration
On going
Abundance estimate analysis of humpback dolphins with Dr Stephanie Ploen from the Nelson Mandela University, South Africa, preparing for publication.

 

Southern Right Whale Project

Research Assistant
Jul – Aug ‘16

Auckland Islands, New Zealand
Photo identification of southern right whales in the Auckland Islands, New Zealand. Photo identification was undertaken using both SLR camera techniques and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). UAVs were also used to measure body condition of the whales, with the aim of comparing this population with other right whale populations around the world, including Australia and those found in the North Atlantic.

 

Humpback Whale Project

Research Assistant
Aug ‘15

Exmouth Gulf, Australia
Assisted a study involving the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to measure seasonal variations in body condition of baleen whales and its influence on reproduction and growth. This includes: focal follows to identify behaviour, photography of body conditions, and monitoring the behavioural responses to the UAV.

 

Murdoch University

PhD Researcher
July ’10 – July ‘15

Kona Coast, Hawaii, USA
A collaboration between Murdoch University, Western Australia, Duke University, North Carolina, USA and The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA, my PhD involved the investigation of the effects of human interactions on the spinner dolphins in four resting bays along the Kona coast of Hawaii Island. This entailed intensive data collection over a three year period, using a suite of modern visual and acoustic techniques. This included a systematic photo-identification sampling regime to identify individual spinner dolphins, land-based and boat-based group focal follows to collect a time series of behavioural data and concurrent passive acoustic monitoring of the four resting bays to investigate the presence/absence of spinner dolphins in those bays. Using these data I estimated their abundance, quantified the importance of the four sheltered bays to resting spinner dolphins and measured the cumulative exposure of spinner dolphins to human activities and investigated the effects of this exposure.

This provided a firm baseline for urgent consideration by managers to evaluate the risks to the spinner dolphins of Hawaii Island, potential pathways for mitigating human interactions and ways to measure the success of management interventions.

 

Murdoch University

Teaching
2013 – Present

Perth, Australia
Delivered basic and advanced database design workshops to post graduate students, with a focus on ensuring research data can be appropriately captured to meet analysis objectives.

 

Research Assistant
Sep ‘13

Exmouth Gulf, Australia
Worked in collaboration with researchers from the University of Aarhus, Denmark, to collect humpback dolphin and bottlenose dolphin bio-acoustic data and tagging humpback whales.

 

Dept. Environment and Conservation

Research Scientist (Marine Monitoring)
Feb ’09 – Jun ‘09

Perth, Australia
Undertook a data management and reporting review for the Western Australian Marine Monitoring Program (WAMMP)

 

Murdoch University

Honours Researcher
Apr ’08 – Jun ‘08

Shark Bay, Australia
Explored the possible correlations between locations of sponge-carrying dolphins and the density and distribution of marine sponges along transect lines in the western gulf of Shark Bay. This entailed collection of benthic video recordings using a drop cam to identify areas where sponges occur, along with photographic identification of individual bottlenose dolphins.

 

Murdoch University

Infauna Sorting
Nov ’06 – Mar ‘07

Perth, Australia
Work during the summer break in the marine and freshwater research laboratory at Murdoch University sorting fauna from sediment samples.

 

Murdoch University

Seagrass Rehabilitation
Feb ‘07

Perth, Australia
Volunteer replanting seagrass in Cockburn Sound, Western Australia.

 

Department of Fisheries, Western Australia

Abalone Research Volunteer
Nov ’06 – Dec ‘06

Perth, Australia
Volunteer assisting in the abalone research conducted during the 6 hour abalone season.

 

Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA)

Volunteer
Apr ’06 – Nov ‘06

Perth, Australia
Volunteer in the curatorial department of AQUA, involving feeding corals, jellyfish and small fish, as well as cleaning the large display tank (undertaken by diving).

 

CALM / Jurabi Turtle Centre

Turtle Tracker
Nov ’05 – Dec ‘05

Exmouth, Australia
Volunteer for the Ningaloo turtle monitoring program with CALM and the Jurabi Turtle Centre, identifying turtles and their nests.

 

Awards
PhD Scholarship Australian Post-graduate Award (APA)
Publications
·      Heenehan, H., Van Parijs, S.M., Bejder, L., Tyne, J.A., Southall, B., Southall, H. and Johnston, D.W. (2017). Natural and anthropogenic events influence the soundscapes of four bays on Hawaii Island. Marine Pollution Bulletin

·      Heenehan, H., Van Parijs, S.M., Bejder, L., Tyne, J.A., and Johnston, D.W. (2017) Differential effects of human activity on Hawaiian spinner dolphins in their resting bays. Global Ecology and Conservation.

·      Tyne, J.A., Johnston, D.W., Christiansen, F. and Bejder, L. (2017). Temporally and spatially partitioned wildlife behaviours: Implications for resilience to disturbance. Royal Society Open Science.

·      Heenehan, H.L., Van Parijs, S.M., Bejder, L., Tyne, J.A. and Johnston, D.W. (2016) Using acoustics to prioritize management decisions to protect coastal dolphins: A case study using Hawaiian spinner dolphins, Marine Policy,  75:84-90 doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.10.015

·      Tyne, J.A., Loneragan, N.R., Johnston, D.W., Pollock, K.H., Williams, R. and Bejder, L. (2016). Evaluating monitoring methods for cetaceans. Biological Conservation. 201:252-260

·      Heenehan, H., Tyne, J.A., Bejder, L, Van Parijs, S.M., and Johnston, D.W. (2016). Passive acoustic monitoring of coastally associated Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) ground trothed through visual surveys. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 140:206-215

·      Heenehan, H.L., Johnston, D.W., Van Parijs, S.M., Bejder, L. and Tyne, J.A. (2016). Acoustic response of Hawaiian spinner dolphins to human disturbance. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 27, 010001. doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1121/2.0000232

·      Sprogis, K.R., Pollock, K.H., Raudino, H.C., Allen, S.J., Kopps, A.M., Manlik, O., Tyne, J.A. and Bejder, L. (2016). Sex-specific patterns in abundance, temporary emigration and survival of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncas) in coastal and estuarine waters. Frontiers in Marine Science doi: 10.3389/fmars.2016.00012

·      de Freitas, M., Jensen, F.H., Tyne, J.A., Bejder, L., and Madsen, P.T. (2015) Echolocation parameters of Australian humpback dolphins (Sousa sahulensis) and Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncas) in the wild. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 137:  3033-3041.

·      Tyne, J.A., Johnston, D.W., Rankin, R., Loneragan, N.R. and Bejder, L. (2015). The importance of spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) resting habitat: Implications for management. Journal of Applied Ecology. 52: 621-630. doi: 10.1111/1365-2664.12434

·      Heenehan, H., Basurto, X., Bejder, L., Tyne, J.A., Higham, J. and Johnston, D.W. (2015). Using Ostrom’s common pool research theory to build and integrate ecosystem-based sustainable cetacean tourism systems in Hawai`i. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. 23(4): 536-556. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2014.986490

·      Tyne, J.A., Loneragan, N.R. and Bejder, L. (2014). The use of area-time closures as a tool to manage cetacean-watch tourism. In Whale-watching, sustainable tourism and ecological management (eds J. Higham, L.Bejder and R. Williams), pp. 242-260. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

·      Anderson, D., Kobryn, H., Norman, B., Bejder L., Tyne, J.A. and Loneragan, N.R. 2014. Spatial and temporal patterns of nature-based tourism interactions with whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 148: 109-119.

·      Tyne, J.A., Pollock, K.H., Johnston, D.W. and Bejder, L. (2014). Abundance and Survival Rates of the Hawaii Island Associated Spinner Dolphin (Stenella longirostris) Stock. PLoS ONE 9, e86132. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0086132

·      Allen SJ, Tyne JA, Kobryn HT, Bejder L, Pollock KH and Loneragan NR. (2014) Patterns of Dolphin Bycatch in a North-Western Australian Trawl Fishery. PLoS ONE 9(4): e93178. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093178.

·      Thorne, L. H., Johnston, D.J., Urban, D.L., Tyne, J., Bejder, L., Baird, R.W., Yin, S., Rickards, S.H., Deakos, M., Mobley, J.R. Jr., Pack, A.A. and, Chapla-Hill, M. (2012) Predictive modeling of spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) resting habitat in the main Hawaiian Islands. PLoS ONE. 7(8): e43167. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043167

·      Tyne JA, Loneragan NR, Kopps AM, Allen, SJ, Krützen M, Bejder L. (2012) Ecological characteristics contribute to sponge distribution and tool use in bottlenose dolphins Tursiops sp. Marine Ecology Progress Series 444:143-153.

·      Tyne, J.A., Loneragan, N., Krützen, M., Allen, S., and Bejder, L. (2010) An integrated data management and video system to sample aquatic benthos. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 61: 1023-1028.

 

Manuscripts in review/in preparation
·      Tyne, J.A., Christiansen. F., Heenehan, H., Johnston, D.W. and Bejder, L. (in review – Royal Society Open Science). Chronic exposure of Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) to human activities.

·      Ploen, S. and Tyne, J.A. (In preparation). Where have all the dolphins gone? Population trends for the endangered Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (Sousa plumbea) for Algoa Bay, South Africa.

 

Manuscript REViewer
PLoS ONE

Marine Mammal Science

Animal Migration

Endangered Species Research

Polar Research

 

Conferences
2015
Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals
San Francisco, USA
2015
International congress on  coastal and marine tourism
Kailua Kona, Hawaii
2014
Third international conference on marine mammal protected areas
Adelaide, Australia
2013
Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals
Dunedin, New Zealand
2011
Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals
Tampa, USA
2011
Australian Marine Sciences Association conference
Fremantle, Australia