Publications

Johnson, J.A., Rajpurkar, S., Aggarwal, A. et al. (2026).

This document reports on the population status of dugongs in Tamil Nadu, covering Palk Bay, including the Dugong Conservation Reserve and seagrass habitats in the Gulf of Mannar. The report presents population estimates using non-invasive, state of the art tools, confirming that together, Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar represent India’s largest viable dugong population.

Omar, K. and Shawky, A. (2026), Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.

Published in Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, this study identifies key dugong habitats and evaluates the effectiveness of existing marine protected areas (MPAs) for dugong conservation in Egypt. The researchers modelled habitat suitability under current and future climate scenarios, projecting a loss of around 11.8% of suitable habitat by 2050 and 20% by 2070. Existing MPAs cover around 54.8% of potential suitable habitat, with this proportion expected to decline to 52% by 2070. The study highlights the importance of protecting, monitoring and managing suitable dugong habitats both within and beyond existing MPAs to support effective long-term dugong conservation in the Egyptian Red Sea.

Seal, S., Bayyana, S., Pande, A., et al. (2026), Scientific Reports.

Published in Scientific Reports, this study identifies suitable dugong habitats in Indian waters and examines the environmental factors that influence them. The researchers combined environmental modelling with interviews, citizen-science data and field surveys to identify suitable habitats and assess the risks they face. Seagrass presence was the strongest determinant of habitat suitability, while depth, seabed slope and distance from shore were also important. Dugong habitat suitability varied by region and season, with shifts observed between Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. Many suitable habitats face moderate to high risks, with less than 15% of high-risk areas falling within existing protected areas. Identifying these critical dugong habitats can help guide conservation planning as India works towards the global 30 × 30 biodiversity target. The study also demonstrates the value of citizen-science for conducting ecological analyses across large geographic areas.

Digdo, A.A., Astari, E., Arinda, B.R., and Cahyono, T. (2025), BIO Web of Conferences.

Published in BIO Web of Conferences, this study explores the use of drones and artificial intelligence to detect dugongs under limited-resource conditions in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Combining CMS Dugong Questionnaire data, seagrass habitat mapping from the Allen Coral Atlas, drone surveys, and AI-assisted image analysis, the researchers conducted 28 flights covering 12.09 km² and recorded 56 dugong sightings. While manual image analysis proved more reliable, AI detection achieved only 17.6% precision, highlighting the need for larger and more diverse training datasets. The study demonstrates the potential of combining affordable technologies, habitat data, and local ecological knowledge to improve dugong monitoring and guide conservation in areas where resources and population data are limited.

Pathan, S., Christian, G., Sivakumar, K. and Johnson, J.A. (2026), Scientific Reports.

Published in Scientific Reports, this study investigates how dugongs adapt their foraging behaviour to the highly dynamic tidal conditions of the Gulf of Kachchh, India. Using more than 1,500 feeding trails recorded across seagrass habitats between 2018 and 2023, the authors found that tidal accessibility strongly shapes where and how dugongs forage. Dugongs preferentially used areas close to deep-water refuges and tidal creeks, adjusting the distance travelled according to water depth and seagrass availability. With an estimated 73.4% of mapped foraging areas influenced by tides, the study highlights the importance of protecting not only seagrass meadows but also tidal refuges and movement corridors when designing conservation strategies for dugong populations in macro-tidal environments.

This technical report presents standardized methods and findings from dugong and marine megafauna surveys conducted under the IKI-funded Conservation of Biodiversity, Seagrass Ecosystems and Their Services project. It outlines practical, cost-effective approaches for monitoring dugongs and other marine megafauna using drone-based aerial imagery and standardized image analysis, enabling surveys to be undertaken by local practitioners. The report supports long-term monitoring of dugong populations as indicators of seagrass ecosystem health and provides guidance to strengthen evidence-based conservation and management of seagrass habitats and the ecosystem services they provide.

The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) contracted James Cook University to prepare a new edition of the 2002 publication: ‘Dugong: status report and action plans for countries and territories’.

The new edition, which is titled ‘A global assessment of dugong status and conservation needs’, comprises eleven chapters, each written by the listed co-authors. The report has been edited by Helene Marsh, Philippa Loates and Luisa Schramm and reviewed by Abdelmenam Mohamed, Lauren Lopes, Yasmeen Tel Wala and Harris Wei-Khang.

Cleguer, C. et al. (2024), Pacific Conservation Biology 30, PC23036

Cossa, D. et al. (2023), Marine Ecology Progress Series, Vol. 716: 123–136

Khamis, A. et al. (2023), Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 1–14

Mingli, L. et al. (2022), Royal Society of Open Science, 9: 211994

Malakar, B. et al. (2022), Aquatic Mammals,48(1): 21-24

Derville, S. et al. (2022), Scientific Reports, 12(552)

Cleguer, C., Kelly, N., Tyne, J., Wieser, M., Peel, D., and Hodgson, A. (2021), Frontiers in Marine Science.

Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, this study presents a novel survey method utilizing small, affordable unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor wildlife, specifically applied to dugong populations. To overcome the technical limitations of small UAVs—such as short battery life and aviation regulations—the authors developed a grid-based sampling approach using two multirotor drones flying simultaneously from a vessel.

Tol, S. J. et al. (2021), Biotropica, 53, 1535–1545

Annual Progress Report

Wildlife Institute of India, (Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change), Dehradun.

Verutes, G.M. et al. (2020), PLoS ONE 15(8)

Hines, E. et al. (2020), Endangered Species Research 42:37-57

Cleguer et al. (2020), Endangered Species Research, 43, 167–181.

Rahman, M.A.A. et al. (2019), Journal of Politics and Law; Vol. 12, No. 4; 2019

Plön, S. et al. (2019), PLoS ONE 14(9): e0219350

Vanuatu Environmental Science Society (2019)

Wabnitz, C.C. et al. (2018), PloS one, 13(5).

Al Dhaheri, S. et al. (2017), Environment Agency Abu-Dhabi

Pilcher, N.J. et al. (2017), CMS Office – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Cleguer, C. (2015) PhD dissertation

James Cook University (JCU)

Mery, S. et al. (2015), Antiquity , Volume 83 , Issue 321 , September 2009 , pp. 696 – 708

UNEP/CMS Secretariat, Bonn, Germany (2015)
CMS Technical Series No. 32

Asian Development Bank (2014)

Ponnampalam, L. et al. (2014), Oryx, 49 (4)

United Nations Environment Programme (2012)

Aragones, L. (2012), Sirenian Conservation: Issues and strategies in developing countries, Chapter: 7, University Press Florida (pp.68-70)

Prepared by the Task Force for Conservation of Dugongs in India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. An assessment of  issues related to the conservation of dugongs and implementation of the CMS Dugong MOU in India, to facilitate the country to act as the leading nation in the South Asia Sub-region with respect to dugong conservation.

Lawas, Sarawak. 26-29 July 2011

Beech, M.J. (2010), Liwa, Volume 2 (3): pp. 3-18.

Adulyanukosol, K. et al. (2010), Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on SEASTAR2000 and Asian Bio-logging Science (pp. 43-49)

De Iongh, H. et al. (2009), Scientific Report, Institute of Environmental Sciences. Leiden and Research Centre for Oceanography, Jakarta.

Adulyanukosol, K. et al., (2006), Proceedings of the 3rd International Symposium on SEASTAR2000 and Asian Bio-logging Science  (p.41-50)

Rajamani, L. et al. (2006), Ambio. 35 (5): 266-268

Das, H. (2005) in, Marine Environment and Resources of Abu Dhabi, Edt. by Thabit Zahran Al Abdessalaam. Chapter 11. Pp184-199. Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, UAE. Motivate Publishing

Preen, A. (2004), Biological Conservation, 118(2), p.205-218

United Nations Environment Programme (2001)