Scientific Publications

  • A large cargo ship with containers on deck, marked MSC, seen on the horizon across the ocean, with whales breathing as they swim along the humpback highway.

    Consequences of global shipping traffic for marine giants

    Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

    This paper is my most cited. It’s helping the world rethink how we manage vessel traffic and marine megafauna interactions in our oceans.

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  • Overhead view of the ocean with a drone capturing a whale snot sample and a humpback whale, with Sydney in the background. Labels identify Sydney Austraial, Bondi Beach, whale snot collection, whale snot drone, humpback whale, and dolphins.

    An economical custom-built drone for assessing whale health

    Frontiers in Marine Science

    My teams first publication on world first flip-lid petri dish drones to collect whale snot.

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  • World first 3D X-ray image of artificially detected shingleback lizard using an algorithm. Visual shows detailed textures and colours with green labels and outlines, accompanied by a research caption about detecting illegal wildlife trafficking.

    Detecting illegal wildlife trafficking via real time tomography 3D X-ray imaging and automated algorithms

    Frontiers in Conservation Science

    My teams world first development of AI algorithms to detect illegal wildlife trafficking.

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  • Aerial view from a drone of the first ever recorded super pod feeding event in Australia. Numerous humpback whales swimming and surfacing in the ocean.

    First evidence of bubble‐net feeding and the formation of ‘super‐groups’ by the east Australian population of humpback whales during their southward migration

    Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

    Evidence that humpback whales feed in Australian waters.

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  • Migaloo the white humpback whale off Australia, surfacing in the ocean, with its back and a part of its blowhole visible above the water.

    Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route

    Australian Zoologist

    The first ever long-term sighting record of Migaloo the white humpback whale.

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See Full List on Google Scholar

Full publication list.

2026

  • Pirotta V, Meagher P, Phan HTH, Shen K, Thompson W, Dolman B, Bending Z, Smoothey AF, Hay A, Rowe CE, Motamayor A, Liddell B, Allende A, Allman BE and O'Brien JK (2026). Marine wildlife trafficking: use of AI algorithms for the autodetection of shark fins, seahorses and sea cucumbers. Front. Ocean Sustain. 4:1776978. doi: 10.3389/focsu.2026.1776978

  • Pirotta, V., Taylor, I. A. R., Harcourt, R., & Reidenberg, J. S. (2026). Gaping in humpback whales, a unique behavior documented through citizen science. Animal Behavior and Cognition, 13(2), 153-164. https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.13.02.03.2026

  • Meagher, P., Cincotta, J., Phan, H. T. H., Shen, K., Dolman, B., Brandis, K. J., Pelliccia, D., Poole, C. M., Vinette Herrin, K., O’Brien, J. K., Allman, B. E., Mazumder, D., Gadd, P. S., & Pirotta, V. (2026). Detect and Trace: An Australian Field Trial Using Machine-Learning Tools to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade. Animals, 16(5), 731. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani16050731

2025

  • Pirotta, V., (2025) Opinion Piece: Australia’s Scientific Future: Built on Education, Connection, and Investment. Australian Zoologist, Volume 44 (4). doi: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2025.043

  • McPhee-Frew, J., Dedden, A.V., Pirotta, V., Marshall, A., Waples, K., Raudino, H.C., and Rogers, T. Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) continue migration after giving birth in temperate waters in Australia and New Zealand. Front. Mar. Sci. Sec. Marine Megafauna, Volume 12 - 2025, doi: 10.3389/fmars.2025.1545526

2024

  • Pirotta, V. Cagnazzi, D., Dixon, B., Millar, S., Millar, J., Pickering, G., Butcher, P.A., Stockin, K.A., & Peters. K.J. (2024): Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) occurrence and foraging behaviour along the east coast of Australia, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288330.2024.2409681

  • Pirotta, V. Oceans At Night. Illustrator Cindy Lane.CSIRO Publishing. 1 April 2024.

  • Pirotta, V. Humpback Highway- Diving into the mysterious world of whales. Newsouth Publishing.

2023

  • Pirotta, V., Franklin, W., Mansfield, L., Lowe, J., and Peterson, O. (2023). Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route. Australian Zoologist; doi: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2022.043

  • Raoult, V., Pirotta, V., Gaston, T.F., Norman, B., Reynolds, S., Smith, T.M., Double, M., How, J., and Hayward, M.W. (2023). Widespread exposure of marine parks, whales, and whale sharks to shipping. Marine and Freshwater Research doi: https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF22050

2022

  • Pirotta, V., Shen K, Liu S, Phan HTH, O’Brien JK, Meagher P, Mitchell J, Willis J and Morton E (2022). Detecting illegal wildlife trafficking via real time tomography 3D X-ray imaging and automated algorithms. Front. Conserv. Sci. 3:757950. doi: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2022.757950/full

  • Pirotta, V., David P. Hocking, Jason Iggleden, and Robert Harcourt. (2022). Drone Observations of Marine Life and Human–Wildlife Interactions off Sydney, Australia. Drones 6, no. 3: 75. https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/6/3/75

  • Brasier M and Pirotta, V., (2022) Humpback Whales Have Super Feeding Events in Australian Waters. Front. Young Minds. 10:713720. doi: 10.3389/frym.2022.713720

  • Pirotta, V. McIntosh, R., Gray, R., Marsh, H and Lynch, M. (2022). Marine Mammals. In: Ethical wildlife research in Australia (Eds B. Smith, H. Waudby, C. Alberthsen). CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne, Australia. Publication date: 1 July 2022.

  • Pirotta, V. The Voyage of Whale and Calf. Metcalfe, S.CSIRO Publishing. 1 April 2022.

2021

  • Pirotta V, Owen K, Donnelly D, Brasier MJ, Harcourt R. (2021). First evidence of bubble-net feeding and the formation of ‘super-groups’ by the east Australian population of humpback whales during their southward migration. Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst. 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3621

  • Prendergast, K., Vanderstock, A., Neilly, H., Ross, C., Pirotta, V. and Tegart, P. (2021), Potential and pitfalls of citizen science with children: Reflections on Pollinators in the Playground project. Austral Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.13031

  • Pirotta V. and Harcourt, R. (2021). Opportunistic sightings of blue whales off Sydney, Australia. Australian Zoologist; doi: https://doi.org/10.7882/AZ.2021.020

2020

  • Pirotta, V., Reynolds, W., Ross, G., Jonsen, I., Grech, A., Slip, D., and Harcourt, R. (2020). A citizen science approach to long term monitoring of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Sydney, Australia. Marine Mammal Science, 2020; 36: 472– 485. DOI: 10.1111/mms.12651

  • Raoult, V.; Colefax, A.P.; Allan, B.M.; Cagnazzi, D.; Castelblanco-Martínez, N.; Ierodiaconou, D.; Johnston, D.W.; Landeo-Yauri, S.; Lyons, M.; Pirotta, V.; Schofield, G.; Butcher, P.A. (2020). Operational Protocols for the Use of Drones in Marine Animal Research. Drones, 4, 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones4040064

  • Tulloch, V., Pirotta, V., Grech, A. et al. Long-term trends and a risk analysis of cetacean entanglements and bycatch in fisheries gear in Australian waters. Biodivers Conserv 29,251–282 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01881-x

  • Tulloch, V., Grech, A., Jonsen, I., Pirotta, V. and Harcourt, R. (2020), Cost-effective mitigation strategies to reduce bycatch threats to cetaceans identified using return-on-investment analysis. Conservation Biology, 34: 168-179. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13418

2019

  • Pirotta, V., Grech, A, Jonsen, ID, Laurance, William F. and Harcourt R (2019) Marine roads: Consequences of global shipping traffic for marine giants. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, doi:10.1002/fee.1987

  • Raudino, H. C., J. A. Tyne, A. Smith, K. Ottewell, S. McArthur, A. M. Kopps, D. Chabanne, R. G. Harcourt, V. Pirotta, and K. Waples. (2019). Challenges of collecting blow from small cetaceans. Ecosphere 10(10): e02901. 10.1002/ecs2.2901

2018

  • Geoghegan, J.L., Pirotta, V., Harvey, E., Smith, A., Buchmann, J.P., Ostrowski, M., Eden, J., Harcourt, R., Holmes, E.C. (2018). Virological Sampling of Inaccessible Wildlife with Drones. Viruses, 10, 300: 1-7, doi: 10.3390/v10060300

  • L.K. Armand, P.E. O’Brien and On-board Scientific Party. (2018). Interactions of the Totten Glacier with the Southern Ocean through multiple glacial cycles (IN2017-V01): Post-survey report, Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University: Canberra, Australia

2017

  • Pirotta V., Smith A, Ostrowski M, Russell D, Jonsen ID, Grech A and Harcourt R (2017) An Economical Custom-Built Drone for Assessing Whale Health. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:425. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00425

2016

  • Pirotta V., Slip D, Jonsen ID, Peddemors VM, Cato DH, Ross G, Harcourt R (2016) Migrating humpback whales show no detectable response to whale alarms off Sydney, Australia. Endang Species Res 29:201-209. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00712

2014

  • Harcourt R., Pirotta V., Heller G., Peddemors V., Slip D. (2014) A whale alarm fails to deter migrating humpback whales: an empirical test. Endangered Species Research25:35-42. doi: 10.3354/esr00614