Herpetofaunal Community of the Constructed Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, South Sydney, New South Wales
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Research Reports Herpetofaunal community of the constructed Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, south Sydney, New South Wales Matthew Mo NSW Department of Primary Industries, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute, Woodbridge Road, Menangle NSW 2568. Email: [email protected] Abstract The Lime Kiln Bay Wetland in south Sydney was constructed between 1999 and 2001. This paper provides the first comprehensive description of the herpetofaunal assemblage at the site from observations made between 2006 and 2014. Twenty-three species were detected: six frogs (Hylidae, Limnodynastidae, Myobatrachidae), one freshwater turtle (Cheluidae), 12 lizards (Agamidae, Carphodactylidae, Scincidae, Varanidae) and four snakes (Colubridae, Elapidae, Pythonidae). (The Victorian Naturalist 132 (3) 2015, 64–72) Keywords: constructed wetland, frog, reptile, species assemblage, urban ecology Introduction The Oatley Bushland Corridor is an important vations between 2006 and 2014, and compares stretch of remnant habitat in the St George area the frog and reptile assemblages of the study of southern Sydney (Waterhouse 1997), along area with those of the Wolli Creek Valley and with the Wolli Creek Valley and Rockdale Rockdale Wetland Corridor. Wetland Corridor. It supports a broad range of habitats, including two endangered ecologi- Methods cal communities (Swamp Sclerophyll Forest Study area on coastal floodplain, and Swamp Oak Flood- The Lime Kiln Bay Wetland is built on one of plain Forest). A key feature of the area is the the last natural floodplains in the Georges River constructed Lime Kiln Bay Wetland, restored catchment (Bavor et al. 1995), nestled between as part of Hurstville City Council’s rehabilita- the suburbs of Oatley, Mortdale and Peakhurst tion of recreational spaces (Bavor et al. 1995). (Fig. 1). Remnant native vegetation is present; A comprehensive fauna survey of the Oatley however, there has been an extensive history bushland corridor is lacking, although there of clearing. The soil types are mostly from the have been efforts to document bird assemblag- Hawkesbury Sandstone series. es (Fairley et al. 2013; B Groves and J Cockayne The wetland area includes three main ponds, unpubl. data). Further information is limited to which cover approximately 4 ha, flanked by consultant reports (e.g. White 2010a) and web- a further 24 ha of remnant vegetation. The site postings (Oatley Flora and Fauna Conser- banks are dominated by Swamp Oak Casuarina vation Society (OFF) 2014). glauca, Narrow-leaved Paperbark Melaleuca Studies that provide an inventory of fauna for linariifolia and Prickly Paperbark M. styphelio- a given land tenure contribute much toward rec- ides. Spiny-headed Matrush Lomandra longifo- ognising local ecological values. Knowledge of lia and other ground cover species have been species present and their habitat requirements planted extensively to provide bank stability. is a key resource for informing management de- The Primary Sediment Pond is the collection cisions (Murphy and Murphy 2011), especially point of sediment run-off. The pond is fed by for bushland remnants. Inventories are also use- Dairy Creek (back cover), which drains water ful for detecting biodiversity changes over time, from the Mortdale area. The creek bed is mostly as well as evaluating the metapopulation status exposed sandstone and varies in width from 3 of threatened species (Val et al. 2012). to 5 m. There is a gross pollutant trap (Alli- This paper provides the first comprehensive son et al. 1997; Bennett 2002) along its 900 m description of the herpetofaunal assemblage length. Waterfall Creek drains into the transi- in the Lime Kiln Bay Wetland. Information for tion zone between the Primary Sediment Pond this inventory was generated by casual obser- and the Eastern Ridge Pond. Two small islands 64 The Victorian Naturalist Research Reports Fig. 1. Layout of the Lime Kiln Bay Wetland. Access tracks are marked in broken lines. Abbreviated names: FH=Frog’s Hollow, MP=Macrophyte Pond, ERP=Eastern Ridge Pond, PS=Primary Sediment Pond, GPT=Gross Pollutant Trap. Inset map shows the location of the study area within the Sydney Metropolitan Area. have been established in each pond as wildlife forest of privet and willow’ (J Cockayne pers. refuges. The purpose of the Eastern Ridge Pond comm). More specifically, the understorey was is to disperse excess water away from the Mac- dominated by Broad Leaf Privet Ligustrum lu- rophyte Pond (Fig. 2), reducing flooding pres- cidum, Narrow Leaf Privet L. sinense and Pussy sures. The edges of the ponds are dominated Willow Salix cinerea. The cover of these inva- by Common Reed Phragmites australis, Cum- sive weeds has been substantially reduced and bungi Typha domingensis and Tall Sedge Carex they are subjected to frequent removal. Dense appressa. thickets of Giant Reed Arundo donax, a native The Phragmites Reedbed is the last body of species, occurred between Waterfall Creek and fresh water, separating the ponds from the half of the area that is now the Primary Sedi- tidal mangroves. The expanse of Common ment Pond. Other prevalent weeds included Reed covers approximately 1.2 ha. The upper Japanese Honeysuckle Lonicera japonica, reaches of Lime Kiln Bay support River Man- Morning Glory Ipomoea indica, Madeira Vine grove Aegiceras corniculatum and Grey Man- Anredera cordifolia, Blackberry Rubus frutico- grove Avicennia marina. Three main areas of sus, Cape Ivy Delairea odorata, Balloon Vine rocky outcrop form the ridges of the floodplain: Cardiospermum grandiflorumand Tradescantia Oatley Heights Park (Fig. 3) and the Western Tradescantia fluminensis. The native Common and Southern Rock Outcrops. The woodland Reed always has been present and widespread, is dominated by Sydney Red Gum Angophora especially over the Eastern Ridge Water Course costata, Red Bloodwood Corymbia gummifera where it formed a continuous patch. and Sydney Peppermint Eucalyptus piperita Construction of the Primary Sediment and (Mo 2014). The Lime Kiln Bay Wetland adjoins Macrophyte Ponds occurred between 1999 and Oatley Park and Hurstville Golf Course in the 2001 (Fig. 5). Hurstville City Council’s volun- south-west and north-west respectively. teer bushcare program commenced in 1999, primarily carrying out bush regeneration along Previous state and construction of the Lime the boundaries during construction. Addition- Kiln Bay Wetland al work to establish the current Eastern Ridge The wetland differs markedly from its pre- Pond from a shallow reedbed was undertaken restoration state (Fig. 4), which has been de- between May and September 2005. scribed as ‘a weed-infested place, essentially a Vol 132 (3) 2015 65 Research Reports Fig. 2. Macrophyte Pond. Photo Oatley Flora and Fig. 3. Typical sandstone outcrop set in dry sclero- Fauna Conservation Society. phyll forest in Oatley Heights Park. Fig. 4. A photograph of the wetland area in January 1999, which was taken in the same relative position as Fig. 2. A shallow reedbed covers the area that is now the Macrophyte Pond. Photo J Cockayne. Species detection Whenever possible, bushcare workers and park The taxonomy in this paper follows Cogger users on site were consulted for their personal (2014). Most data are derived from casual ob- fauna sightings. Additional records were ob- servations made by the author between 2006 tained from the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA and 2014 (one to seven visits per month). Ob- 2014) and Atlas of NSW Wildlife (Office of servations of some species (mainly nocturnal, Environment and Heritage (OEH) 2014). Trap- shade-loving or fossorial species) were aided ping methods were not used due to frequent by microhabitat disturbance from bush re- visitation to the study area, which was a major generation methods, e.g. clearing vegetation limitation on species detection. Inaccessible or moving rocks and fallen logs. Spotlighting parts of the study area (e.g. the Phragmites was carried out on 20 nights between February Reedbed and mangroves) were not studied. and August 2010. Frogs were heard during the Species assemblages for two other bushland day and while spotlighting, and their calls were remnants in the St George area were drawn identified to species level by reference to Grif- on to place the results of this study into a re- fiths (2012). In addition, audio recordings were gional context. Data for the Wolli Creek Val- received from residents of adjoining properties. ley (Manidis Roberts Consultants 1996; White An effort was made to visit the study area after and Burgin 2004; Department of Environment heavy rains to maximise the detection of frogs. and Climate Change (DECC) 2007; Little et al. 66 The Victorian Naturalist Research Reports Fig. 5. The western end of the Macrophyte Pond being dug with heavy machinery during the restoration project. Photo J Cockayne. 2010) and Rockdale Wetland Corridor (White Frogs and Burgin 2004; White 1999, 2002, 2010b) Six species of frog were identified by call in were based on secondary sources and the au- this study; four of them also by sightings (Ta- thor’s personal observations. ble 2). All were recorded only in the warmer months, except for the Striped Marsh Frog Results Limnodynastes peronii. It was heard during the A total of 23 species was detected over the study day and night in thick vegetation (>50 cm tall) period (Table 1). Taking this as the complete in water year round, and was observed only by inventory, it is notable that it passed the 50% spotlighting. It was most common in Water- mark in the first year of study (2006) and the fall Creek, Dairy Creek at the gross pollutant 95% mark in the sixth year (2011) (Fig. 6). The trap and temporary pools below the Southern three species detected in the last five years of the Rock Outcrop. An adult was seen falling prey study were observed only once over the entire to a Red-bellied Black Snake Pseudechis por- study period; these were the Eastern Brown phyriacus (M Barbic pers. comm). The frog was Snake Pseudonaja textilis (2010), Smooth concealed in leaf litter at the top of Waterfall Toadlet Uperoleia laevigata (2011) and Copper- Creek and was not seen until it was seized by tailed Skink Ctenotus taeniolatus (2013).