Atlas Iron Limited Corunna Downs: Terrestrial SRE Invertebrate Fauna Survey
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Atlas Iron Limited Corunna Downs Terrestrial SRE Invertebrate Fauna Survey November 2014 Outback Ecology Services (MWH Australia Pty Ltd) 41 Bishop Street Jolimont WA 6014 Ph: +61 (08) 9388 8799 Fax: +61 (08) 9388 8633 [email protected] Corunna Downs Project: Terrestrial SRE Invertebrate Survey Distribution: Company Copies Contact Name Atlas Iron Limited 1 Electronic copy Mike Rovira, Brendan Bow Document Control for Job Number: CORU-SR-13001 Document Status Author Reviewer Signature Date of Issue M. Quinn Draft Report V1 B. Parsons BP 28/08/2014 P. Bolton Final Report P. Bolton P. Bolton PB 14/11/2014 P:\Corunna Downs\SR\CORU-SR-13001\3. Reporting\CORU-SR-13001_SRE_Survey_Report_Final.docx DISCLAIMER, CONFIDENTIALITY AND COPYRIGHT STATEMENT © Outback Ecology. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any material form or communicated by any means without the permission of the copyright owner. This document is confidential. Neither the whole nor any part of this document may be disclosed to any third party without the prior written approval of Outback Ecology and Atlas Iron Limited. Outback Ecology undertook the work, and prepared this document, in accordance with specific instructions from Atlas Iron Limited to whom this document is addressed, within the time and budgetary requirements of Atlas Iron Limited. The conclusions and recommendations stated in this document are based on those instructions and requirements, and they could change if such instructions and requirements change or are in fact inaccurate or incomplete. Outback Ecology has prepared this document using data and information supplied to Outback Ecology by Atlas Iron Limited and other individuals and organisations, most of whom are referred to in this document. Where possible, throughout the document the source of data used has been identified. Unless stated otherwise, Outback Ecology has not verified such data and information. 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Executive Summary Atlas Iron Limited (Atlas) is investigating options for development of the Corunna Downs Project (the Project), located approximately 25 km south-west of Marble Bar in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Atlas commissioned Outback Ecology, a division of MWH Australia Pty, to undertake a terrestrial short-range endemic invertebrate fauna survey (this Survey) of a 15,797 ha parcel of land associated with the Project (the Study Area). This survey is based on a targeted terrestrial SRE invertebrate fauna survey of the Study Area conducted between 12 March and 19 May 2014 and specimens collected in dry pitfall traps and funnel traps during a vertebrate fauna survey of the Study Area conducted between 24 February and 7 March 2014. For local and regional context, this report also presents a summary of results from previous terrestrial SRE invertebrate fauna surveys that have been conducted in the Study Area and surrounds. This survey was conducted in accordance with Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) guidelines and policy statements for terrestrial invertebrate fauna surveys. The specific objectives of this terrestrial SRE invertebrate fauna assessment were to: assess the occurrence and likely distribution of SRE invertebrate fauna within the Study Area; identify, describe and map fauna habitat with the potential to support SRE taxa and any significant habitat within the Study Area; and assess survey findings in the regional context by comparisons with available data from other localities within the Pilbara bioregion. Broad scale habitat assessments were conducted at each survey site within the Study Area. Additionally SRE-specific habitat assessments were conducted within habitats considered likely to support SRE fauna. SRE-specific habitat assessments involved characterising habitat according to condition, complexity and suitability for invertebrate taxa prone to short-range endemism. A total of nine broad habitat types were identified in the Study Area on the basis of location, landform, substrate, and vegetation community which they offer: Stony Rise; Rocky Foothills; Ironstone Ridgetop Rocky Ridge and Gorge; Spinifex Stony Plain; Drainage Line; Granite Uplands; Hard Spinifex on Calcrete; and Granite Outcrop. Of these habitats, Rocky Ridge and Gorge, and Granite Outcrops were considered to have a high potential to support SRE species and comprised 1,528 ha (9.7 %) and 163 ha (1.0%) of the Study Area, respectively. One habitat, Drainage Lines, has a medium potential of supporting SRE species ES 1 and comprised 405 ha (2.6 %) of the Study Area. The remaining six habitats were considered to have a low potential of supporting SRE species. Database searches and a literature review yielded a total of 50 terrestrial SRE invertebrate species from target SRE groups that have been collected within a 100 km radius of the Study Area. These comprised one species, the millipede Antichiropus `DIP038’, with high potential to occur in the Study Area as it has been collected from Drainage Line habitat within 10 km of the Study Area. A further three species: the millipede Antichiropus `DIP034`, the slater Buddelundia sp. 11 and the snail Rhagada richardsonii have a medium potential to occur in the Study Area as they were collected between 10 km and 30 km from the Study Area from similar habitats as occur in the Study Area. Drawing on MWH’s previous experience with SRE invertebrate fauna surveys and consultation with invertebrate SRE specialists, the following invertebrate groups prone to short-range endemism were targeted during this assessment using wet pitfall trapping, targeted searching, soil sieving and leaf litter collection: mygalomorph spiders, selenopid spiders, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, millipedes, slaters and terrestrial snails. The survey of the Study Area yielded 30 identifiable species from 747 invertebrate specimens from the aforementioned groups. Slaters were the most specious group collected (nine species from 514 specimens), followed by pseudoscorpions (eight species from 80 specimens), scorpions (six species from 137 specimens), snails (two species from eight specimens), selenopid spiders (two species from five specimens), mygalomorph spiders (two species from two specimens) and one millipede from a single specimen. Based on current taxonomy and known species distributions, fourteen species collected in the Study Area were considered either confirmed, likely or potential SRE species. However, only ten of these species were collected from habitat types considered likely to support SRE species. These species comprised: confirmed SRE species: o pseudoscorpion: Feaella sp. nov.; o millipede: Paradoxosomatidae sp. indet. likely SRE species: o slaters: Buddelundiinae 'mw', Philosciidae 'corunna'; and potential SRE species: o selenopid spider: Karaops sp. indet.; o mygalomorph spiders: Aurecocrypta sp. indet. and Aname sp. indet.; o scorpions: Urodacus 'pilbara 16'; and o snails: Rhagada convicta and Rhagada sp. ‘nov’. The remaining four species were