Leeuwin Current research
Murdoch University researchers carrying out different bird studies as far
apart as the North-West, Abrolhos Islands and off Perth's beaches have encountered
the effects of the current. Generated by the tidal effects of the El Nino, the Leeuwin Current is a flush of water that runs south from Indonesia, literally downhill along WA's west coast and round past Albany.
Studies on marine birds at spots along the coast have provided information that contributes to the body of knowledge about the effects of the current and the marine systems generally. Such information may be useful for fisheries, tourism, shore-based industry and conservation planning.
"Sea birds are a good indicator of the health of the whole system," said Murdoch marine bird expert Associate Professor Ron Wooller.
"They are near the top of the food chain and they're easy to count, which makes research easier than on other marine species," he said.
Sea birds tend to be long-lived, too -- "they have good years and bad years, but live through for a long time." For instance Australia's most populous marine bird, the shearwaters (or muttonbirds), live for 40 years; albatrosses live 70 years.
