Investigation of the Barrier Effects of a Strategic Fuelbreak on a Population of the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible, Victoria

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Investigation of the Barrier Effects of a Strategic Fuelbreak on a Population of the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible, Victoria Investigation of the barrier effects of a strategic fuelbreak on a population of the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible, Victoria P. W. Menkhorst and P. V. Macak January 2013 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Unpublished Internal Report for Fire Branch, Department of Sustainability and Environment Investigation of the barrier effects of a strategic fuelbreak on a population of the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible, Victoria Peter Menkhorst and Phoebe Macak Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research 123 Brown Street, Heidelberg, Victoria 3084 January 2013 Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Department of Sustainability and Environment Heidelberg, Victoria Report produced by: Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Department of Sustainability and Environment PO Box 137 Heidelberg, Victoria 3084 Phone (03) 9450 8600 Website: www.dse.vic.gov.au/ari © State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment 2013 This publication is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical or graphic) without the prior written permission of the State of Victoria, Department of Sustainability and Environment. All requests and enquiries should be directed to the Customer Service Centre, 136 186 or email [email protected] Citation: Menkhorst, P.W. and Macak, P,V. (2013) Investigation of the barrier effects of a strategic fuelbreak on a population of the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible, Victoria. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Unpublished Internal Report for Fire Branch, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Heidelberg, Victoria Disclaimer: This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Accessibility: If you would like to receive this publication in an accessible format, such as large print or audio, please telephone 136 186, or through the National Relay Service (NRS) using a modem or textphone/teletypewriter (TTY) by dialling 1800 555 677, or email [email protected] Front cover photo: The strategic fuelbreak on the northern ridge of Mt Terrible, October 2010 (Peter Menkhorst). Printed by: NMIT Printroom, 77 St Georges Rd, Preston 3072 Contents List of tables and figures ..................................................................................................................vi Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... vii Summary ............................................................................................................................................ 1 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 2 1.1 The Issue ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 The Smoky Mouse .................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Project Aims ............................................................................................................................. 3 2 Methods .................................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Locating a study population ...................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Study area description ............................................................................................................... 5 2.3 Capture and Marking ................................................................................................................ 7 2.4 Radio-tracking .......................................................................................................................... 8 3 Results .................................................................................................................................... 11 3.1 Trapping .................................................................................................................................. 11 3.2 Radio-tracking ........................................................................................................................ 13 4 Discussion .............................................................................................................................. 16 4.1 Movements revealed by trapping and radio-tracking.............................................................. 16 4.2 Likely impacts of the fuelbreak on population processes ....................................................... 16 4.3 Trapping rates ......................................................................................................................... 17 4.4 Other natural history information gleaned from the study ...................................................... 17 References ........................................................................................................................................ 18 List of tables and figures List of tables Table 1. Field trips conducted during the investigation of the impacts of strategic fuelbreaks on the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible. .................................................................................................. 9 Table 2. Details of each Smoky Mouse captured and marked at Mt Terrible, 2010-2011 ............... 12 Table 3. Numbers of detected fuelbreak crossings by radio-collared Smoky Mice. ........................ 14 Table 4. Locations of radio-tagged Smoky Mice during night-time tracking sessions in relation to the daytime nest site used the day before ............................................................................... 14 List of figures Figure 1. Smoky Mouse Pseudomys fumeus trapped at Mt Terrible, May 2010 ............................... 3 Figure 2. Study location ..................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 3. Map of study area showing all trapping grids used, and Smoky Mouse nesting sites ........ 5 Figure 4. Strategic fuelbreak passing through Eucalyptus rubida Montane Dry Woodland at the Mt Terrible study site, May 2010, two years after construction of the fuelbreak .......................... 6 Figure 5. Typical Eucalyptus dives Montane Dry Woodland in the north-western part of the study area, with the Mt Terrible Track visible on the right ............................................................... 6 Figure 6. Smoky Mouse 0-1 showing indentifying ear tattoos ........................................................... 7 Figure 7. Radio collar package used in this study ............................................................................ 10 Figure 8. Smoky Mouse with radio-collar attached ......................................................................... 10 Figure 9. Radio-tracking to locate daytime nesting sites.................................................................. 11 Figure 10. Entrance to Smoky Mouse nest hole, Mt Terrible, October 2011 ................................... 15 vi Acknowledgements This project was commissioned and funded by the Land and Fire Management Branch of DSE. It was overseen by a Project Control Group comprising Aaron van Winden (Chair), Al Beaver, Gordon Friend, Richard Loyn, Stephen Platt, Mario Malovic (Melbourne Water) and John Wright (Parks Victoria). Colleagues Ryan Chick and Jenny Nelson assisted in the identification of Mt Terrible as a suitable study site. Technical assistance in the field and workshop was kindly provided by Ryan Chick, who was instrumental in giving radio-tracking instruction and assistance, and Mike Lindeman (ARI), Rena Gaborov (Wildlife Unlimited), Fiona Freestone and Joe Henderson (volunteers). Nigel Brennan (DSE Woori Yallock) assisted with our understanding of the strategic fuelbreaks project and Emily Borton (DSE Alexandra) provided advice on track conditions. Maps were produced using the DSE Biodiversity Interactive Mapping system. Richard Loyn, Dan Harley, Rodney van der Ree, Lee Harrison and Joanne Ainley provided helpful input into project design and methods. Field work was carried out under Wildlife Research Permit number 10005394 and approval number 10/04 from the Arthur Rylah Institute Animal Ethics Committee. Helpful comments on a draft of this report were provided by Stephen Platt, Richard Loyn, Jenny Nelson and Alan Robley. vii viii Investigation of the barrier effects of a strategic fuelbreak on a population of the Smoky Mouse at Mt Terrible, Victoria Summary Following a series of large bushfires in central Victoria, the Victorian Government initiated the construction of strategic fuelbreaks around Melbourne’s water catchments in 2007. Approval for construction under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (1999) (EPBC Act) was obtained with the proviso that the completed fuelbreaks be subject to formal assessment of potential impacts on threatened
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