CDU Researcher Profile

School of Science and Primary Industries
Faculty of Education, Health and Science
Charles Darwin University
Darwin NT 0909
Australia

• Research interests
• Publications
• Current projects
• Recent completions supervised

Research Interests

Michael's research interests include:

• Population Dynamics, Ecology and Toxicology of Marine and Estuarine Snakes. Sea snakes and homalopsine water snakes have received little scientific study. The distribution of these advanced reptiles includes South East Asia and Northern Australia
• The Biology of Sea Turtles in the Northern Territory and adjacent seas. The Northern Territory waters provides feeding grounds and nesting sites for six species of sea turtle. The breeding biology, migration patterns and life histories of these populations are under study
• A Study of Aquatic Snake Scales. This is a PhD project and involves the use of scale characters as a taxonomic tool and the significance of these and other characters in the functional morphology of the scales
  

Recent Publications

1. Koch, AU., Guinea, ML. and Whiting, SD. (2008). Asynchronous Emergence of Flatback Seaturtles, Natator Depressus, from a Beach Hatchery in Northern Australia. Journal of Herpetology, 42(1):1-8.
2. Guinea, ML (2007). Marine Turtle Management Plan for Cape Lambert for Rio Tinto Iron Ore. Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
3. Guinea, ML (2007). Sea Snakes of Ashmore Reef: Interim Report Stage 2. Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
4. Koch, AU, Guinea, ML and Whiting, SD (2007). Effects of sand erosion and current harvest practices on incubation of the flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus). Australian Journal of Zoology, 55(2):97-105.
5. Whiting, S., Guinea, M., Limpus, C. and Fomiatti, K. (2007). Blood chemistry reference values for two ecologically distinct populations of foraging green turtles, eastern Indian Ocean. Comparative Clinical Pathology, 16(2):109-118.
6. Koch, AU., Guinea, M. and Whiting, SD. (2007). Effects of sand erosion and current harvest practices on flatback sea turtle, Natator Depressus. Australian Journal of Zoology, 55(2):97-105.
7. Guinea, ML, Sperling, JB and Whiting, SD (2006). Flatback sea turtle inter-nesting habitat in Fog Bay NT. In: Pilcher, NJ 23rd Annual Symposium of Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Kuala Lumpur, 17-21 March 2003.
8. Koch, A, Guinea, ML and Whiting, SD (2006). The effect of clutch size and nest depth on incubation duration of flatback sea turtles, Natator depressus, in the Northern Territory, Australia. In: Pilcher, NJ 23rd Annual Symposium of Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Kuala Lumpur, 17-21 March 2003.
9. Whiting, SD and Guinea, ML (2006). The nesting biology of flatback turtles in the tropics: seven years of surveys on Bare Sand Island, Darwin, NT, Australia. In: Pilcher, NJ 23rd Annual Symposium of Sea Turtles Biology and Conservation, Kuala Lumpur, 17-21 March 2003.
10. Guinea, ML, Whiting, SD and Koch, AU (2006). Nesting sea turtles on the Australian continental shelf edge islands: Ashmore Reef, Cartier Island and Scott Reef, eastern Indian Ocean. In: Frick, M, Panagopoulou, A, Rees, AF and Williams, K 26th Annual Sumposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Crete, 3-8 April 2006.
11. Koch, AU, Chaloupka, M, Guinea, ML, Limpus, CJ, Pilcher, N, Whiting, SD and Ali, L (2006). Maximizing population information from various beach census regimes. In: Frick, M, Panagopoulou, A, Rees, AF and Williams, K 26th Annual Sumposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, Crete, 3-8 April 2006.
12. Guinea, ML (2006). Sea Snakes and Sea Turtles of Scott Reef (I, II, III). Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
13. Stevens, A, Whiting, SD and Guinea, ML (2006). Eggs well done: Nest success of flatback sea turtles, Bare Sand Island, Northern Territory, Australia. In: 26th Annual Sumposium on Sea turtle Biology and Conservation, Crete, 3-8 April 2006.
14. Koch, AU and Guinea, ML (2006). Lower Nesting Success of Flatback Turtles Caused by Disorientation. Marine Turtle Newsletter, 114:16-17.
15. Dethmers, KEM, Broderick, D, Moritz, C, Fitzsimmons, NN, Limpus, CJ, Lavery, S, Whiting, S, Guinea, M, Prince, RIT and Kennett, R (2006). The genetic structure of Australasian green turtles (Chelonia mydas): exploring the geographical scale of genetic exchange. Molecular Ecology, 15(13):3931-3946.
16. Whiting, SD and Guinea, ML (2005). Sea turtles of the Sahul Banks: work completed and required. The Beagle: Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Supplement 1:248-248.
17. Guinea, ML (2005). Sea Snakes of Ashmore Reef, Hibernia Reef and Cartier Island: Final Survey Report 2005. Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
18. Guinea, ML (2005). Sea Turtle Environmental Management Plan: Black Tip Project for Woodside Energy Ltd. Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
19. Guinea, ML (2005). Report to URS on Tiwi Island Project for Matilda Minerals (Part 2). Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
20. Guinea, ML (2005). Report to URS on Tiwi Island Project for Matilda Minerals. Darwin: Charles Darwin University.
21. Guinea, ML and Whiting, SD (2005). Insights into the distribution and abundance of sea snakes at Ashmore Reef. The Beagle: Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Supplement 1:199-206.
22. Sperling, JB. and Guinea, ML. (2004). A Harness for Attachment of Satellite Transmitters on Flatback Turtles. Marine Turtle Newsletter, 103:11-13.
23. Guinea, ML., Limpus, CJ. and Whiting, SD. (2004). Marine Snakes. In National Oceans Office(Ed.), Description of Key Species Groups in the Northern Planning Area. Hobart: National Oceans Office. (pp. 137-146).
24. Whiting, SD. and Guinea, ML. (2003). Dugongs of Ashmore Reef and the Sahul Banks: A review of current knowledge and a distribution of sightings. The Beagle: Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, Supplement 1:207-210.
25. Guinea, Michael Leonard. (2003). Ecology, systematics and biogeography of sea snakes. PhD Thesis Thesis, Northern Territory University.
26. Blamires, S.J. and Guinea, M.L. (2003). Emergence Success of Flatback Sea Turtles (Natator depressus) at Fog Bay, Northern Territory, Australia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology:International Journal of Turtle and Tortoise Research, 4(3), 548-556.
27. Blamires, S.J., Guinea, M.L., and Prince, R.I.T. (2003). Influence of nest site selection on predation of Flatback Sea Turtle (Natator depressus) eggs by Varanid Lizards in Northern Australia. Chelonian Conservation and Biology:International Journal of Turtle and Tortoise Research, 4(3), 557-563
28. Guinea, M. L. and Whiting, S. (1999). Nocturnal Foraging by the Black-necked Stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus on Sea Turtle Hatchlings. Emu, 99, pp 145-147.
29. Guinea, M. L. (1996). Functions of the cephalic scales of the sea snake Emydocephalus annulatus. Journal of Herpetology, 30 (1), pp 126-128.
30. Guinea, M. L. (1995). Eggshell Characteristics of the banded sea krait Laticauda colubrina and the banded iguana Brachylophis fasciatus from Fiji. South Pacific Journal of Natural Science, 14, pp 169-186.
31. Chatto, R., Guinea, M. L. and Conway, S. (1995). Sea turtles killed by flotsam in Northern Australia. Marine Turtle Newsletter, 69, pp 17-18.
32. Guinea, M. L. (1994). Sea turtles of the Northern Territory. In: James, R. (ed). Proceedings of the Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop, 14-17 November 1990, Gold Coast. Australia Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra. pp 15-22.
33. Guinea, M. L. (1994). Nesting Seasonality of the flatback sea turtle Natator depressus (Garman) at Fog Bay, Northern Territory. In: James, R. (ed). Proceedings of the Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop, 14-17 November 1990, Gold Coast. Australia Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra.. pp 150-153.
34. Guinea, M. L. (1994). A possible model to explain winter nesting by the flatback Natator depressus at Fog Bay, Northern Territory. In: James, R. (ed). Proceedings of the Australian Marine Turtle Conservation Workshop, 14-17 November 1990, Gold Coast. Australia Nature Conservation Agency, Canberra. pp 154-155.
35. Broderick, D., Moritz, C., Miller, J. D., Guinea, M. L., Prince, J. R. and Limpus, C. J. (1994). Genetic studies of the Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata): Evidence for multiple stocks and mixed feeding grounds in Australian waters. Pacific Conservation Biology, 1 (2), pp 123-131.
36. Guinea, M. L. (1994). A win for conservation. The Web, 9, pp 4-5.
37. Guinea, M. L. McGrath, P and Love, B. (1994). A note on the black-ringed mangrove snake (Hydrelaps darwiniensis). The N. T. Naturalist.
38. Guinea, M. L. (1994). Sea Snakes of Fiji and Niue. In: Gopalakrishnakone, P (ed). Venomous Sea Snakes of Asia and the Pacific. National University of Singapore. pp 212-233.
39. Guinea, M. L. (1994). The Sea Turtles of Fiji. South Pacific Regional Environment Program, Technical Reports and Studies Series, no 65, 48 pp.
    

Current Projects

Recent Completions Supervised

PhD

• Scott Whiting: The foraging ecology of green and hawkskill turtles on two reef systems in north western Australia. Lodged: 10/08/01
• Pradina Purwati: Reproduction in fissiparous holothurian, Holothuria leucospilota Clark 1920 in tropical waters of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. Lodged: 23/11/01

Masters

Sean Blamires: Quantifying the Impact of Predation on Sea Turtle Nests by Varanids at Fog Bay. Lodged: 27/10/00