Westonia BioBlitz Report 2007 Westonia Town Common September 2007 1 This report was prepared by: Richard McLellan, Land Program Leader, WWF-Australia First published in May 2008 by: WWF-Australia GPO Box 528 Sydney NSW 2001 Tel: +612 9281 5515 Fax: +612 9281 1060 www.wwf.org.au © WWF-Australia 2008. All rights reserved For bibliographic purposes, this report should be cited as: McLellan, R. 2008, Westonia BioBlitz Report 2007. WWF-Australia, Sydney. Any reproduction in full or in part of this publication must mention the title and credit the above-mentioned publisher as the copyright owner. The contents of this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of WWF-Australia. For copies of this report, please contact WWF-Australia at [email protected] or call 1800 032 551 Cover photo: Peter Mioduszewski with a little long-tailed dunnart recorded at the 2007 Westonia BioBlitz. Photo: © Richard McLellan/WWF-Australia. Back Cover photo: Volunteers at the end of the 2007 BioBlitz. Photo: © Richard McLellan/WWF-Australia. 2 Acknowledgments WWF-Australia would sincerely like to thank the following groups and individuals for their contributions towards the 2007 Westonia BioBlitz: • The Shire of Westonia for permission to collect flora in the Westonia Town Common, and provision of the Base Camp/Headquarters camping area. The latter comprised the Westonia caravan park and Curtin University’s Westonia field station, • Mr Paul Blechynden and the team from the Department of Conservation and Land Management Merredin District Office for their ongoing support of BioBlitzes in the region, • All of the team leaders and other BioBlitz volunteers. Special thanks also to Pauline Guest and Westonia’s NRM Officers - Sara Bright and Rohan Chalmer - for their assistance throughout the event. Their help in the days, weeks and months leading up to the BioBlitz was critical to the weekend's success. 3 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 3 Table of Contents 4 1. Executive Summary 5 2. Introduction 7 2.1. Background 7 2.2. Project Description 7 2.3. Rationale 9 2.4. Goals 9 3. List of Participants 11 4. Site Description 13 4.1. Site Location 13 4.2. GPS and Map Co-ordinates 15 4.3. Weather Conditions 15 4.4. Geology and Soils 16 4.5. Regional Significance 19 5. Survey Methodology 23 6. Results 25 6.1. Flora 26 6.2. Fauna 31 7. Discussion & Recommendations 36 8. References 42 Appendix I - Full Species List 44 Appendix II - Other flora recorded by WWF in the Westonia Common 54 Appendix III - Total numbers of species recorded at WWF BioBlitz events 56 4 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The 2007 Westonia BioBlitz was conducted in the Westonia Town Common - a magnificent patch of bush that surrounds the Westonia townsite - on the 15 th and 16 th of September, 2007. The BioBlitz was organised by WWF through its Threatened Species Network (TSN) program as a special event during Australia’s annual Biodiversity Month. Westonia is located within the globally significant Southwest Australia Ecoregion, a biodiversity hotspot of high conservation value due to its exceptionally high terrestrial diversity and correspondingly high degree of threat. Most of the original woodlands of the region have been preferentially cleared for agriculture – due to their association with the more fertile soils of the region – and much of what remains is under considerable threat. The Westonia Town Common is especially important – in a regional, national and global context – as it is contains one of the largest ‘reserved’ red morrel (Eucalyptus longicornis) woodlands within the Intensive Land Use Zone (ILUZ) in Southwest Australia. Red morrel woodlands have largely been cleared within this region, and no formal nature reserves have ever been established specifically to protect this unique vegetation association. The large size, good condition, and eucalypt vegetation association makes the Westonia Town Common biologically significant, and extremely valuable for conservation. Six sites within the Reserve were subjected to field surveys during the BioBlitz. These were primarily selected to represent a wide range of vegetation types, of the highest quality, within the Reserve. A total of 352 different plant and animal species were recorded as being present within the Westonia Town Common during the 2007 BioBlitz. This number represents a new record high total in the series of BioBlitzes conducted thus far in the WA Wheatbelt. The 5 list of species included: 9 species of mammals, 5 reptiles and amphibians, 51 birds, 44 invertebrates, 225 plants and 18 fungi and lichens. Interesting and exciting discoveries within the Reserve included the presence of the Little Long-tailed Dunnart ( Sminthopsis doichura) - a species is believed to have been rendered locally extinct in many patches of bush throughout the agricultural zone of Southwest Australia. Of concern then is the recorded presence of a number of introduced pest species, particularly the feral animal predator species - cats (Felis catus) and foxes (Vulpes vulpes) . Also of concern, and further underlying the importance of this Reserve, was the fact that by far the greatest number of bird species recorded during the Westonia BioBlitz are considered as types that are ‘declining’ across the WA Wheatbelt, or are ‘remnant dependent’. Thirty-two species - well over half of all birds recorded in the Reserve (63%) during the BioBlitz - are classified as declining or remnant dependent. The Reserve, either in whole, or in part, is threatened by a number of key threatening processes, including vegetation clearing, rubbish-dumping, weed invasion, feral animal predation, unrestricted vehicular use, and fire. It is recommended that the Shire of Westonia should make every effort to improve the Reserve’s conservation protection status and future management. The future conservation of the Reserve would be enhanced by a change of purpose for the Reserve to include ‘for the protection of flora and fauna’; and the development and implementation of a comprehensive Reserve Management Plan 6 2. INTRODUCTION 2.1 Background The 2007 Westonia BioBlitz was conducted in the Westonia Town Common - a magnificent patch of bush that surrounds the Westonia townsite - on the 15 th and 16 th of September, 2007. It was the fourth community-based, collaborative, 24-hour biological survey undertaken by WWF-Australia (WWF) in the Avon River Basin. WWF volunteers conducted biological survey fieldwork alongside members of the Westonia community and others from the Northeast Wheatbelt. Their goal was to discover more about the biodiversity of this high conservation value local Reserve – which is vested in the Shire of Westonia. The volunteers who participated in the 2007 Westonia BioBlitz comprised scientists, amateur naturalists and biologists, and enthusiastic 'learners' – including farmers, students, urban professionals and others. Their results of their efforts are contained within this ‘Westonia BioBlitz Report’. The data obtained during the BioBlitz provides a useful indicator of environmental quality, remnant vegetation significance, and serves as a baseline for future monitoring and management of the Reserve. 2.2 Project Description The 2007 Westonia BioBlitz involved a multi-disciplinary biodiversity survey team brought together specifically for the purpose of conducting a ‘snapshot’ biological survey in a designated site within the Avon River Basin. The BioBlitz was organised by WWF through its Threatened Species Network (TSN) program as a special event in Australia’s annual Biodiversity Month. WWF has worked closely with the Shire of Westonia, and other North East Wheatbelt local government authorities in recent years, particularly through its Woodland Watch, Healthy Ecosystems, and Auction for Landscape Recovery projects, to raise awareness and provide information about the biodiversity values of shire-vested Reserves within the 7 NEWROC 1 region, and to facilitate improvements in remnant vegetation management and conservation – particularly on private properties and lands vested with local government authorities. The North East Wheatbelt Regional Organisation of Councils The Shire of Westonia is the most easterly of the seven local government areas that comprise the North Eastern Wheatbelt Regional Organisation of Councils. 1 North East Wheatbelt Regional Organisation of Councils 8 Figure 1: Location of the NEWROC region in the Avon River Basin in Southwest Australia. (Source: Auction for Landscape Recovery: Final Report, WWF-Australia) The Shire is located on the eastern margins of the West Australian Wheatbelt, extending over an area of 3,268 square kilometers (333,136 hectares). The Shire is renowned for its extensive tracts of magnificent natural woodlands – most of which lie beyond (east of) ‘the clearing line’. The shire’s main industries are broad-acre wheat and sheep farming, with some small-scale mining activity, including prospective gold mining. 2.3 Rationale In conducting the Westonia BioBlitz, WWF is continuing to reinforce key elements of its commitment to threatened species and critical habitat conservation. The BioBlitz concept is a cost-effective, volunteer-focussed and community-based monitoring event, which provides a rapid assessment of site-specific biodiversity that contributes to NEWROC objectives of gaining more information about biodiversity in this relatively remote and little-researched region. The intention of the series of BioBlitz 'snapshot' biodiversity surveys in the region has been to raise the profile of