This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister on 2 February 2011

Approved Conservation Advice for Oreisplanus munionga larana (Marrawah skipper)

(s266B of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999)

This Conservation Advice has been developed based on the best available information at the time this Conservation Advice was approved; this includes existing plans, records or management prescriptions for this species.

Description Oreisplanus munionga larana, Family Hesperiidae, also known as the Marrawah skipper, is a brightly coloured skipper. Skippers are usually considered to be butterflies, but are intermediate between butterflies and moths. This subspecies is rich caramel above with pale yellow wing markings and pale yellow below. The females tend to be larger, slightly paler and more yellowish on the underside (Couchman, 1962; Braby, 2000). The species is found as two subspecies, Oreisplanus munionga munionga found in the mountains of New South Wales and Victoria and Oreisplanus munionga larana found on the north-west coast of Tasmania (Braby, 2000).

Conservation Status The Marrawah skipper is listed as vulnerable. This species is eligible for listing as vulnerable under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cwlth) (EPBC Act) as it has a limited geographic distribution which is precarious for its survival due to severe fragmentation and ongoing threats (TSSC, 2010). The species is listed as endangered under the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.

Distribution and Habitat The Marrawah skipper is endemic to Tasmania, occurring only in far north-western to western Tasmania with disjunct locations on the north coast at Stanley (probably extinct) and south of Penguin (about 77 km east of Stanley). The species is known from 14 populations with an estimated extent of occurrence of 3710 km2, although this could be smaller if large areas of unsuitable habitat are excluded. It has an estimated area of occupancy of 0.2 km2, and estimated total population size of less than 10 000 (Neyland, 1994). This species occurs within the King IBRA Bioregion and the North West Natural Resource Management Region. The other subspecies, Oreisplanus munionga munionga, is found in the mountains of New South Wales and Victoria. The distribution of this species is not known to overlap with any EPBC Act-listed threatened ecological community.

Threats The main identified threats to the Marrawah skipper are cattle grazing and clearance of habitat to create intensively managed grazing ground (Bell, 2002; Harris and Kitchener, 2005). Other threats include inappropriate disturbance regimes from slashing, weed invasion, fire and recreation. The main potential threat to some parts of the species’ range is loss of habitat due to land clearing for forestry operations (Bell, 2002).

Oreisplanus munionga larana (Marrawah skipper) Conservation Advice Page 1 of 4 This Conservation Advice was approved by the Minister on 2 February 2011

Research Priorities Research priorities that would inform future regional and local priority actions include:  Design and implement a monitoring program or, if appropriate, support and enhance existing programs.  More precisely assess population size, distribution, ecological requirements and the relative impacts of threatening processes.  Undertake survey work in suitable habitat and potential habitat to locate any additional populations/occurrences/remnants.

Regional Priority Actions The following regional priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of the Marrawah skipper. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification  Monitor known populations to identify key threats.  Monitor the progress of recovery, including the effectiveness of management actions and the need to adapt them if necessary.  Identify populations of high conservation priority.  Ensure there is no disturbance in areas where the Marrawah skipper occurs, excluding necessary actions to manage the conservation of the species.  Investigate formal conservation arrangements, management agreements and covenants on private land, and for crown and private land investigate inclusion in reserve tenure if possible. Invasive Weeds  Develop and implement a management plan for the control of Cirsium arvense and other identified weeds in the region.  Ensure chemicals or other mechanisms used to eradicate weeds do not have a significant adverse impact on the Marrawah skipper. Fire  Develop and implement a suitable fire management strategy for the habitat of the Marrawah skipper.  Identify appropriate intensity and interval of fire to promote seed germination and/or vegetation regeneration of Carex appressa.  Where appropriate provide maps of known occurrences to local and state Rural Fire Services and seek inclusion of mitigative measures in bush fire risk management plan(s), risk register and/or operation maps. Conservation Information  Raise awareness of the Marrawah skipper within the local community.  Maintain liaison with private landholders and land managers of land on which populations occur. Enable Recovery of Additional Sites and/or Populations  Investigate options for linking, enhancing or establishing additional populations.

Local Priority Actions The following local priority recovery and threat abatement actions can be done to support the recovery of the Marrawah skipper. Habitat Loss, Disturbance and Modification  Control access routes to suitably constrain public access to known sites on public land.  Suitably control and manage access on private land.  Minimise adverse impacts from land use at known sites.  Protect populations of the listed species through the development of conservation agreements and/or covenants.

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Invasive Weeds  Identify and remove weeds in the local area, which could become a threat to the Marrawah skipper, using appropriate methods.  Manage sites to prevent introduction of invasive weeds, which could become a threat to the Marrawah skipper, using appropriate methods. Trampling, Browsing or Grazing  If livestock grazing occurs in the area, ensure land owners/managers use an appropriate management regime and density that does not detrimentally affect this species’ habitat.  Where appropriate, manage total grazing pressure at important/significant sites through exclusion fencing or other barriers on private land, state and public reserves, conservation areas, and state forests. Fire  Implement an appropriate fire management regime for local populations.

This list does not necessarily encompass all actions that may be of benefit to the Marrawah skipper, but highlights those that are considered to be of highest priority at the time of preparing the Conservation Advice.

Information Sources: Bell P (2002). Survey of known sites and potential habitat for the Marrawah skipper in northwest Tasmania. RD&M for Threatened Species Unit, Nature Conservation Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment. Bell P and Miller B (2005). Marrawah skipper discovered at Penguin. Forest Practices News 6(4): 1–2. Braby MF (2000). Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution. CSIRO, Melbourne. Couchman LE (1962). Notes on some Tasmanian and Australian Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 96: 73–81. Couchman LE (1965). Notes on some Tasmanian and Australian Lepidoptera-Rhopalocera. II. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 99: 81–85. Couchman LE and Couchman R (1978). The butterflies of Tasmania. Tasmanian Year Book 11: 66–96. Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE) (1998). Strategic plan for the private land component of the CAR reserve system. Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, Hobart. Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (DPIWE) (2005). Threatened native vegetation communities list (Version 6.0) November 2005. Available on the Internet at: http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/AWAH–6547ZL?open. Forest Practices Board (FPB) (2000). Forest practices code 2000. Forest Practices Board, Hobart. Forest Practices Authority (FPA) (2006). Threatened fauna manual for wood production forests in Tasmania – online database. Available on the Internet at: http://www.fpa.tas.gov.au/index.php?id=82. Harris S and Kitchener A (editors) (2005). From forest to fjaeldmark: descriptions of Tasmania’s vegetation. Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment, Hobart.

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McQuillan P (1994). Butterflies of Tasmania. Tasmanian Field Naturalists Club Inc., Hobart, Tasmania. Neyland M (1994). The ecology and conservation status of three rare Hesperiid butterflies in Tasmania. Wildlife Report 94/3, Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania. Neyland M (2001). Ecology and conservation of the Marrawah skipper (Oreiplanus munionga) in Tasmania. The Tasmanian Naturalist 123: 48–56. Orr S and Gerrand AM (1998). Management decision classification: a system for zoning land managed by Forestry Tasmania. Tasforests 10: 1–14. Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) (2002). Arthur–Pieman conservation area: management plan. Parks and Wildlife Service, Hobart. Parks and Wildlife Service (PWS) (2003). Arthur–Pieman conservation area: fire management plan. Parks and Wildlife Service, Hobart. Parks and Wildlife Service, Forestry Tasmania and Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment (PWS, FT & DPIWE) (2003). Tasmanian Reserve Management Code of Practice. Department of Tourism, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, Hobart. Threatened Species Scientific Committee (TSSC) (2010). Oreisplanus munionga larana (Marrawah skipper) listing advice.

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