A8 Warramboo Borefield Level 2 Fauna Assessment (Astron 2018A)
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Warramboo Borefield Level 2 Fauna Assessment September 2017 Prepared for Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd Report Reference: 14279- 17-BISR-2Rev0_181009 This page has been left blank intentionally Warramboo Borefield Level 2 Fauna Assessment Prepared for Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd Job Number: 14279-17 Reference: 14279-17-BISR-2Rev0_181009 Revision Status Rev Date Description Author(s) Reviewer A 17/11/2017 Draft Issued for Client Review M. Love S. Pearse B 14/09/2018 Draft Issued for Client Review M. Love S. Pearse 0 09/10/2018 Final Issued for Information M. Love S. Pearse Approval Rev Date Issued to Authorised by Name Signature A 17/11/2017 F. Bell S. Pearse B 14/09/2018 F. Bell S. Pearse 0 09/10/2018 F. Bell S. Pearse © Copyright 2018 Astron Environmental Services Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. This document and information contained in it has been prepared by Astron Environmental Services under the terms and conditions of its contract with its client. The report is for the clients use only and may not be used, exploited, copied, duplicated or reproduced in any form or medium whatsoever without the prior written permission of Astron Environmental Services or its client. Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd Warramboo Borefield – Level 2 Fauna Assessment, September 2017 Abbreviations Abbreviation Definition ANOSIM Analysis of Similarity DBCA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions DD Data deficiency EN Endangered EPBC Act Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Commonwealth) ESA Environmentally Sensitive Areas GDA94 Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994 Ha Hectare IA International Agreement IBRA Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia Km Kilometre Mi Migratory MNES Matters of National Environmental Significance (under the EPBC Act) PEC Priority Ecological Community PFS Pre-Feasibility Study SRE Short Range Endemic TEC Threatened Ecological Community The ‘survey area’ Warramboo borefield survey area (4,619.7 ha) VU Vulnerable WA Western Australia WAM Western Australian Museum Page | ii Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd Warramboo Borefield – Level 2 Fauna Assessment, September 2017 Executive Summary Astron Environmental Services has been commissioned to undertake a dual phase Level 2 vertebrate and Short Range Endemic invertebrate fauna assessment of the Warramboo survey area which is 4,619.7 hectares in size. The proposed borefield is located approximately 50 km west of Pannawonica in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Vertebrate Fauna Four broad fauna habitat types were recorded in the survey area: Riparian, Floodplain, Hardpan and Clay Plain. The Riparian habitat in the survey area is considered high value for fauna and Warramboo Creek is considered locally significant as it is an ephemeral water course that supports quality riparian vegetation and attracts fauna in a largely dry landscape. This habitat supports conservation listed fauna species such as the Rainbow Bee-eater and acts as foraging sites for Ghost Bats and Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bats. There were 127 vertebrate fauna species recorded within the survey area, including four amphibian species, 30 reptile species, 71 bird species and 22 mammal species (including four introduced species). The faunal assemblage recorded was similar to other surveys conducted in the vicinity and is considered typical of the Roebourne subregion, which extends along the coast. Two conservation listed fauna species have been recorded in the survey area: Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat (Rhinonicteris aurantia) (Vulnerable) and Ghost Bat (Macroderma gigas) (Vulnerable). These species are classified under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 as ‘Matters of National Environmental Significance’ species: the Ghost Bat and Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat. A single Ghost Bat was recorded caught in a station fence line. This species was not recorded from acoustic bat recordings; however, this species rarely uses echolocation calls while hunting. The Pilbara Leaf- nosed Bat was recorded at one location at low activity levels (two calls) along Warramboo Creek. There were also six records of Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat previously recorded within the survey area, all from riverine habitat along Warramboo Creek. The survey area does not provide any suitable roosting habitat for either bat species. The Riparian and Floodplain habitats were considered to provide ‘suitable foraging and dispersal habitat’ according to habitat suitability ranking criteria for both bat species. The vertebrate fauna recorded represent 44% of all known vertebrate fauna species within the vicinity of the survey area. A large number of the species have a high level of habitat specificity, particularly for rocky and coastal habitats that are not located in the survey area. The habitats recorded in the survey area are not restricted at the local, sub-regional or regional scale as they have been previously recorded from other fauna assessments in the local vicinity. The microhabitats of the Riparian habitat (Warramboo Creek) do contain ecological features, including pooling surface water and large eucalypt trees, important to conservation-listed fauna such as the Ghost Bat and Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat. They also potentially provide suitable foraging and dispersal habitat for the Northern Quoll and suitable foraging habitat for the Pilbara Olive Python according to habitat suitability ranking criteria. Short Range Endemic Invertebrate Fauna The database search yielded 1,531 records that were attributable to Short Range Endemic groups. The Short Range Endemic groups represented 172 taxa, of which 14 represented named species, 103 represented named morphospecies and 55 represented unidentified species belonging to taxa known to contain Short Range Endemic representatives. Only seven species and morphospecies (all Page | iii Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd Warramboo Borefield – Level 2 Fauna Assessment, September 2017 millipedes) represented Short Range Endemics with the remaining 165 taxa being potential Short Range Endemics owing largely to data deficiency. The high proportion of potential Short Range Endemics and undescribed morphospecies indicates a poor state of knowledge about these invertebrates in this region. The field survey yielded 48 invertebrates from Short Range Endemic target taxa, representing eight different species. Three of these species were known to be widespread with the remaining five being potential Short Range Endemics (data deficiency). The potential Short Range Endemics comprised: three scorpion species, Lychas ‘bituberculatus complex’, Lychas ‘gracilimanus’ and Lychas ‘multipunctatus complex’; one isopod, Buddelundia ‘70’; and one snail, Rhagada convicta. Each of these taxa represents a species complex involving multiple species, some of which may have short- range distributions. The taxonomic composition of the survey suggests that it may have been undertaken in unfavourable conditions owing to the lack of trapdoor spiders, burrowing scorpions, pseudoscorpions and cryptic millipedes. Overall, the composition of Short Range Endemic taxa within this part of the Pilbara remains poorly known. Page | iv Rio Tinto Iron Ore Pty Ltd Warramboo Borefield – Level 2 Fauna Assessment, September 2017 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Project Background ..................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Scope and Objectives .................................................................................................. 1 2 Environmental Context .................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Physical Environment .................................................................................................. 5 2.1.1 Climate ........................................................................................................................ 5 2.1.2 Geology and Soils ........................................................................................................ 5 2.1.3 Surface Water and Hydrology ..................................................................................... 6 2.2 Biological Environment ............................................................................................... 6 2.2.1 Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia ................................................... 6 2.2.2 Land Systems ............................................................................................................... 7 2.2.3 Pre-European Vegetation ............................................................................................ 7 2.3 State and Commonwealth Conservation Categories and Management .................... 8 2.4 Land Use and Tenure................................................................................................... 9 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 10 3.1 Desktop Assessment ................................................................................................. 10 3.1.1 Database Searches .................................................................................................... 10 3.1.2 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 10 3.1.3 Habitat Characterisation