A "thriving" dugong population is enjoying life in Queensland's far north but it's left researchers wondering why they don't seem to enjoy things as much further south.
A James Cook University survey found 7000 of the sea cows in the state's far north, almost twice as many as are found in the central and southern regions.
But the researchers are not sure why those conditions are preferable for the marine mammals and want more data to understand their decline further south.
JCU's TropWATER team has surveyed Queensland's entire coastline and found "concerns" about the dugong population in the south.
Lead researcher Chris Cleguer said healthy seagrass meadows are essential for dugong survival, with the hungry creatures eating around 40kg daily.
"We need to know more about seagrass health across Queensland and how this affects dugongs … this includes offshore seagrass, which we know so little about," he said.
"This would help us understand and even predict when the dugong population could change - giving managers the best opportunities to conserve this iconic species."
Dr Clegeur said the thriving dugong population in the state's far north was great news and hoped the trend would continue.
"This trend is notably different from what we observed in our last surveys in central Queensland and the southern section of the Great Barrier Reef - especially the concerning numbers from the Whitsundays to Bundaberg."
