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President's Note Inside ECOLOGICAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION VICTORIA NEWSLETTER ISSUE EIGHT – SEPTEMBER 2020 PRESIDENT’S NOTE INSIDE Events Our new recruits PAGE 2 T’S BEEN all systems go for our events over the Improving our understanding past few months. Our pre-COVID event plans were of threatened flora and all put on hold and we’ve instead had to rethink fauna habitats I and detection PAGES 3-8 everything, learn quickly and move online. We’ve had some good success with our online The Victorian events to date, the highlights being a briefing on Biodiversity Atlas PAGES 9-11 the Melbourne Strategic Assessment (Environment The MSA PAGES 12-14 Mitigation Levy) Act, 2020 by Warrick McGrath How has COVID-19 affected the from DELWP; an update on the Native Vegetation ecological consulting industry and Removal Regulations by Penny Croucamp from what have we learnt? PAGES 15-16 DELWP; and our Victorian Biodiversity Atlas training Fauna and flora series, produced by Mel Hardie and Bev Yen also taxonomic updates PAGES 17-18 from DELWP. Legislation and policy Submissions and survey standards for consultants PAGES 19-21 We also made our submission to the EPBC Act, New and forthcoming 1999 review, compiled a submission into the books PAGES 22-25 Parliament of Victoria’s Inquiry into ecosystem decline in Victoria, and progressed our first survey Contact us [email protected] standard project on Pseudophryne toadlets. Brown Toadlet, Pseudophryne bibronii. © Matt Clancy 1 PRESIDENT’S NOTE Thanks to new volunteers To help us progress these tasks we sought to recruit a number of volunteers, and I’m very happy and thankful that we had a great response! We’ve also had some terrific help with the government inquiries for the EPBC Act Review Discussion Paper, EPBC Act Review Interim Report and Inquiry into Ecosystem Decline in Victoria. I’d like to extend a big thank you to the teams Dendy’s that have helped me Toadlet, pull the submissions and how to use the Pseudophryne together – Cameron Victorian Biodiversity endyi. Miller, Andrea Fullagar, Atlas. We also have © Matt Clancy Sera Cutler, Leila Brook, Matt Dell, Yasmin information about Kelsall, Andrea Canzano and Mel Birtchnell. how our industry has responded to COVID-19 based on results from the This newsletter surveys we sent out in June and a piece on the This edition of Transects has taken an early Melbourne Strategic Assessment (Environment career focus, but contains articles that should still Mitigation Levy) Act, 2020. Of course, regular be applicable to all levels of knowledge either as features include the taxonomic updates and the latest a refresher, an all in one summary or something book releases too. to share with a colleague. Articles include an We hope you stay healthy, both physically introduction to biodiversity legislation, habitat and mentally. requirements for species you should know about, Fiona Sutton Our new recruits – thankyou and welcome! E HAD a recruitment drive over the past Administration and Communications few months to help us deliver our events Manager – Katie Stevenson Wand newsletters, as well as to help run Finance Officer – Prima Emery the back of house parts of the organisation. We Events Subcommittee – Yasmin Kelsall, Rose were very lucky to have a great response and Baulch, Mark Vergara, Ryan MacManus, Daniel Lim we welcome each and every one of them! Newsletter Subcommittee As well as our new volunteers we’re also really and contributors – Yasmin Kelsall, Mike pleased to welcome our new paid administration Timms, Sally Waller, Chris Dunk, Danelle and communications manager, Katie Stevenson. Scicluna, Jessie Moyses, Sally Waller, Katie will help to support the committee and David De Angelis and Leigh Kett our subcommittees, aiming to ensure that Early Career Representatives – we’re able to deliver more for our members. Imogen Merlo and Lachlan McLennan An introduction to the whole ECA Vic Social media and website support – team now is as follows: Jonathan Brière, Josh Driver, Kait The ECA Vic committee comprises Fiona Sutton Gouge, James Garden (President), Jake Urlus (Vice President), Kait Gouge Without our volunteers, ECA Vic would not (Secretary), Katherine Smedley (Treasurer), James exist. We have a few vacancies come up on our Garden, Nic McCaffrey and Michelle Savona. committee and additional volunteer opportunities We’re very grateful for the help and too. If you’d like to know more, please don’t support of the following people: hesitate to get in contact [email protected]. 2 ECOLOGICAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION VICTORIA TRANSECTS EIGHT, SEPTEMBER 2020 Improving our understanding of threatened flora and fauna habitats and detection David De Angelis and Mike Timms OR an ecological consultant, increasing your there are quantitative studies lending support to it familiarity with the habitats or appropriate for some threatened species, and case studies that survey techniques for threatened species at least demonstrate the ability of other species to has the potential to result in improved persist in or recolonise a wider range of habitat types Fconservation outcomes, even though they might or conditions than was previously thought. often seem slight or to be heavily influenced by For example, while the nationally threatened other factors such as policy directives. Of course, Striped Legless Lizard Delma impar is known to it can also help to further your own professional occupy relatively undisturbed native grasslands development and career path, particularly for a dominated by tussocks such as Kangaroo Grass graduate or early career consultant. Themeda triandra and spear-grass Austrostipa spp. Our understanding of what constitutes potentially (Williams and Kukolic 1991; Osborne et. al. 1993), it suitable habitat for rare and threatened flora and is also able to persist in secondary grasslands and fauna is constantly evolving. Biases or assumptions areas dominated by perennial introduced grasses placing more emphasis on the floristic composition such as Serrated Tussock Nassella trichotoma and or ‘nativeness’ of habitat rather than its disturbance Chilean Needle-grass N. neesiana (e.g. O’Shea history or structural integrity have previously, and in 1996; O’Shea 2005), and past management is likely some cases continue to, result in poor conservation to play a greater role in predicting occupancy than and planning decisions being made. floristics (Dorrough and Ash 1999). Figure 1a. Low-lying site dominated by introduced grasses where Swamp Skinks were found. Photo: David De Angelis. More subtle factors like regular mowing, intensive Similarly, the state-listed Swamp Skink Lissolepis fire or grazing regimes, and historic ploughing can coventryi is known from relatively undisturbed sites have a greater influence on the ability of populations with largely indigenous plant cover (e.g. Clemann to persist than floristic composition or quality per se. and Beardsell 1999; Homan 2006), but can also As a result, some species are being increasingly occur in areas dominated by exotic vegetation (e.g. recognised from habitats that might otherwise be Homan 2006; Clemann 2015). Figure 1a shows perceived as being too highly disturbed, polluted or a site on the Mornington Peninsula dominated weedy. by introduced Sweet Vernal-grass Anthoxanthum While it isn’t hard to overstate or cherry-pick from odoratum where Swamp Skinks were found under the literature to support an argument such as this, artificial shelters (roof tiles) and caught in Elliott traps. ECOLOGICAL CONSULTANTS ASSOCIATION VICTORIA TRANSECTS EIGHT, SEPTEMBER 2020 3 Figure 1b. Seasonal wetland dominated by native sedges where no Swamp Skinks were found after a similar survey effort to the site in Figure 1a. Photo: David De Angelis. By contrast, Figure 1b shows a sedge wetland with populations more likely to persist linked to the former site by contiguous vegetation in breeding habitats with elevated where no Swamp Skinks were found after a similar temperatures and salinity, as these have negative effort of approximately 580 trap days, suggesting that effects on the probability and intensity of infection occupancy at these sites is likely to be influenced by the amphibian chytrid fungus (Heard et al. by factors other than the origin of dominant flora 2014). Strangely, this can mean that more exposed, species. This situation was reversed at other sites warm and highly saline waterbodies have a greater surveyed at the same time though. likelihood of supporting the Growling Grass Frog Perhaps the most extreme example of a local than waterbodies that are fresher or support denser, threatened fauna species not only occupying but shading vegetation. with the potential to thrive in introduced habitat is the Just as for considerations of habitat suitability, nationally-listed Golden Sun Moth Synemon plana. survey methodology and effort also influence the It not only seems capable of persisting in areas likelihood of detecting threatened species. In recent dominated by the introduced Chilean Needle-grass, years, techniques have been developed or enhanced but in Canberra its underground larvae have been to improve the detection of some of the species found to grow larger when feeding on it (Richter targeted by consultants in greater Melbourne. et al. 2013). This poses a significant challenge for However, in several cases, further research or land managers and consultants working within the analysis is needed to quantify and compare their species’ range, with some large populations known efficacy. to have declined as a result of spraying out Chilean Such is the case with surveying for the Swamp Needle-grass (Richter et al. 2013). Skink. While Elliott trapping has previously been Several threatened flora species are also capable the main technique recommended to survey for the of persisting in areas that have been disturbed or species (e.g. DSE 2010), it has since been found are otherwise largely dominated by exotic plants. to be less reliable than using remote cameras or For example, although competition or smothering artificial shelters (roof tiles) at some sites (Humphrey by weeds can pose a threat to the nationally-listed et al.
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