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Project 4.8.7 - Forecasting risk of exposure to irukandji

Project Leader:  Professor Michael Kingsford, James Cook University 

Project 4.8.7 aims to minimise risk to swimmers through knowledge of the sources of jellyfishes and changes in their abundance.  Although anecdotally there is no link between abundance of C. barnesi and proximity to estuaries, this has never been tested critically.  The inshore zone is the area of highest use by the public and forecasting the risk of envenomation is critical.

The approach taken by this Project involves sampling near-shore waters near to and away from estuaries in an area of North Queensland that has high usage by tourists and locals. The coastal zone between the Daintree River and Mackay has the highest frequency of envenomation and is the area of focus.  Samples of C. barnesi and C. flecker will be used for genetics and elemental fingerprints to determine population structure.

Key objectives of this Project are to:

  • Develop a microsatellite DNA marker library to assess spatial structure in C. barnesi; and

  • Use elemental chemistry and microsatellites to test for differences in the population structure of C. barnesi and C. flecker among locations.

Project 4.8.7 Downloads

Project 4.8.7 JCU Kingsford, M. (2008) April Milestone Report
A project milestone report detailing the collection of samples, the Microsatellite DNA marker library, the elemental chemistry, the development of risk maps for stingers and the development of a set of response guidelines. [pdf 95.4 kb]


Project 4.8.7 JCU Kingsford, M. (2007) Final Milestone Report
A project final milestone report detailing the projects outcomes for 2006-2007, including a summary of communication activities/articles undertaken to date. [pdf 61.8 kb]


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