During her PhD studies, Xiuqing Hao investigated the impact of recreational boats on harbour porpoises – a strictly protected cetacean species in European waters. Harbour porpoises rely heavily on sound for their life activities, yet the sound frequencies they use overlap significantly with those produced by many recreational boats. Xiuqing Hao predicted the distribution of recreational boats in the inner Danish waters, explored how these boats affect harbour porpoise behaviours, and assessed the impact on the species at a population level.

The new research findings deepen our understanding of the extent of recreational boat impact on harbour porpoises and provide valuable insights that could benefit the conservation management of other cetaceans with similar acoustic vulnerabilities.

The PhD study was completed at Department of Ecoscience, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University.

This summary was prepared by the PhD student.

Time: Monday, 20 January 2025 at 13:00
Place: Room A1.20 "Smørhullet”, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399B, 4000 Roskilde
Title of PhD thesis: Predictive modelling of recreational boat impact on harbour porpoises in the inner Danish waters
Contact information: Xiuqing Hao, e-mail: xiuqing@ecos.au.dk, tel.: +45 52733636
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Patrick Miller, School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, United Kingdom
Research director Mats Amundin, Kolmården Wildlife Park, Sweden
Professor Morten Frederiksen (chair), Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor:
Professor Jacob Nabe-Nielsen, Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English

The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Technical Sciences/GSTS,

Jens Baggesens Vej 53, building 5221, 8200 Aarhus N.