Appendix B Ecological Monitoirng Report July 2004 to July 2005
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Proposed Extension of Public Golf Course at Kau Sai Chau, Sai Kung Environmental Impact Assessment Report Final Report APPENDIX B ECOLOGICAL MONITOIRNG REPORT JULY 2004 TO JULY 2005 August 2005 Black & Veatch Hong Kong Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Ecological Monitoring Report: July 2004 to June 2005 Prepared for The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Limited Ecosystems Limited July 2005 The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Ltd. Ecological Monitoring Report July 2004 to June 2005 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 BACKGROUND 1 2 MANGROVE MONITORING 2 2.1 INTRODUCTION 2 2.2 MONITORING METHODS 2 2.2.1 Mangrove planting 2 2.2.2 Backshore vegetation 3 2.3 RESULTS 5 2.3.1 Mangrove survival 5 2.3.2 Growth 5 2.3.3 Reproduction 6 2.3.4 Backshore vegetation 6 2.4 CONCLUSIONS 7 2.5 RECOMMENDATIONS 8 3 AQUATIC FAUNA MONITORING 9 4 DRAGONFLY AND BUTTERFLY MONITORING 10 4.1 INTRODUCTION 10 4.2 MONITORING METHODS 10 4.3 RESULTS 10 4.3.1 Dragonflies 10 4.3.2 Butterflies 12 4.4 CONCLUSIONS 13 4.5 RECOMMENDATIONS 13 5 AMPHIBIAN & REPTILE MONITORING 14 5.1 INTRODUCTION 14 5.2 MONITORING METHODS 14 5.3 RESULTS 14 5.4 DISCUSSION 16 5.5 CONCLUSION 16 5.6 RECOMMENDATIONS 17 6 BIRD MONITORING 18 6.1 INTRODUCTION 18 6.2 MONITORING METHODS 18 6.3 RESULTS 20 6.3.1 Species Numbers 20 6.3.2 Bird Numbers 25 6.3.3 Dominance 26 6.3.4 Bird Species List 30 6.3.5 Incidental Observations 30 6.4 CONCLUSIONS 30 6.5 RECOMMENDATIONS 31 7 MAMMALS 35 7.1 BATS 35 7.2 PREDATION ON CIVETS BY FERAL DOGS 35 7.3 WILD BOAR 35 7.4 SUMMARY 36 7.5 CONCLUSIONS 37 7.6 RECOMMENDATIONS 37 Ecosystems Ltd. i The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Ltd. Ecological Monitoring Report July 2004 to June 2005 8 HABITAT MANAGEMENT 39 8.1 CORMORANT ISLAND 39 8.2 BAT ROOST BOXES 39 8.3 EGRETRY PLANTING 40 8.4 BIRD NEST BOXES 40 8.4.1 Introduction 40 8.4.2 Methods & Materials 41 8.4.3 Results 41 8.5 CONCLUSIONS 42 8.6 POTENTIAL HABITATS FOR SCHRENCK’S BITTERN ON KAU SAI CHAU GOLF COURSE 43 8.6.1 Introduction 43 8.6.2 Methods & Materials 43 8.6.3 Results 43 8.6.4 Recommendations 43 8.6.5 Recommendations 43 9 CONSERVATION EDUCATION 45 9.1 NATURE GALLERY 45 9.2 BIRD OF THE MONTH 45 9.3 FIELD TRIP & SEMINAR 45 10 REFERENCES 46 11 APPENDICES 47 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Planting materials and methods and monitoring parameters below the main dam. Table 2.2 Percentage survival at Site E, March 2004 and May 2005, Kau Sai Chau. Table 2.3 Growth of seedlings at Site E, Kau Sai Chau, May 2005 Table 2.4 Plant species recorded on the backshore surrounding Site E, Kau Sai Chau, March 2004 and May 2005. Table 4.1 Dragonfly species recorded on northern Kau Sai Chau Golf pre-development (June 1994) and during ecological monitoring after construction. Table 4.2 Butterfly species recorded at Kau Sai Chau between July 1999 and June 2005. Table 5.1 Reptiles and amphibians recorded before and after construction of the golf course on Kau Sai Chau. Table 6.1 Dominant species and percent dominance for all sample sites over all sample periods at Kau Sai Chau between July 1995 and June 2005 Table 6.2 Bird species list for Kau Sai Chau showing local residence and breeding status; degree of global threat; listing under CITES; and protection status in China. Horizontal lines separate taxonomic families Table 7.1 List of dead civets recovered on Kau Sai Chau from May 1998 through 30 June 2005 Table 7.2 Mammals recorded on Kau Sai Chau from May 1993 through June 2005. Table 8.1 Locations of 10 bat roost boxes installed at Kau Sai Chau in December 2000. Table 8.2 Bat box locations. Table 8.3 Average height of tree and bamboo species at egretry planting site Table 8.4 Nest box history Table 8.5 Contents of each nest box in spring 2005 Ecosystems Ltd. ii The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Ltd. Ecological Monitoring Report July 2004 to June 2005 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Percentage Survival of Mangrove Seedlings at Site E from 1995 to 2005 Figure 2.2 Height of various mangrove species at Site E from 1995 to 2005 Figure 4.1 Cumulative number of dragonfly species recorded during 1995-2005. Figure 4.2 Cumulative number of butterfly species recorded during 1995-2005. Figure 5.1 Taxon accretion curve for reptiles and amphibians on Kau Sai Chau from 1993 to 30 June 2005 Figure 6.1a Locations of sampling transects and points of bird surveys Figure 6.1b Transect width in relation to centreline of transect Figure 6.2 Cumulative total number of species recorded during 10 years of sampling at Kau Sai Chau between summer 1995 and spring 2005 Figure 6.2a Species richness during summer for combined transect and point count sampling at Kau Sai Chau between 1995 and 2005. Figure 6.2b Species richness during autumn for combined transect and point count sampling at Kau Sai Chau between 1995 and 2005 Figure 6.2c Species richness during winter for combined transect and point count sampling at Kau Sai Chau between 1995 and 2005 Figure 6.2d Species richness during spring for combined transect and point count sampling at Kau Sai Chau between 1995 and 2005 Figure 6.3a Kau Sai Chau mean bird species counts by season from summer 1995 through spring 2005 Figure 6.3b Kau Sai Chau mean bird species count by year from 1995 through 2004 Figure 6.4 Means of four seasonal bird counts per year at Kau Sai Chau 1995-2005 Figure 6.5 Total bird counts by season during 40 sampling sessions at Kau Sai Chau from 1995 through 2004 Figure 6.6 Mean bird counts by year at Kau Sai Chau between 1995 and 2005 Figure 6.7 Number of sample seasons during which each of seven species was numerically dominant Figure 6.8 Mean annual dominance of the bird community from 1995-2005 LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1 Ecological Monitoring Schedule at Kau Sai Chau Golf Course, July 2004 to June 2005 Appendix 2a Mangrove planting site below the dam Appendix 2b Mangrove planting layout at Site E Appendix 3 Marbled Eel Anguilla marmorota captured in the pond east of North 2 green in spring 2005. Appendix 4 Chinese Cobra Naja atra Appendix 5 Egretry tree planting site Appendix 6 Marshes on Yim Tin Tsai & Kau Sai Chau Appendix 7 Nature Gallery display at clubhouse for conservation education Appendix 8a Visit to Wild Boar trap Appendix 8b Bird box checking Appendix 8c Slide show Ecosystems Ltd. iii The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Ltd. Ecological Monitoring Report July 2004 to June 2005 Executive Summary Operational phase ecological monitoring of The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course Ltd. was initially performed from June 1995 to December 1998 to comply with requirements of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project. Monitoring resumed in July 1999 on an annual basis, and has continued through June 2005. This report covers the one-year period from 1 July 2004 through 30 June 2005. Monitoring to date has shown that construction and operation of the golf courses had the effect of virtually eliminating hillfires from the island, as predicted in the EIA. During the 10 years since the opening of the north course, habitats have begun to recover from previous fire damage, and many species of native flora and fauna are re-colonising the northern part of the island. Mangrove monitoring between 1995 and 2005 demonstrated that the mangrove restored below the reservoir dam has functioned successfully and as planned to mitigate the losses of mangroves in Kwat Tau Tam inlet. All mangrove plantations except the undisturbed Site C have survived. At Kwat Tau Tam mudflat elevations and substrate quality has enabled colonisation by species which were not planted. New mangrove seedlings have naturally colonised the created mudflats and new mangrove-associate vegetation has colonised the backshore zone. The mangrove Kandelia obovata had the highest rate of survival, natural colonisation, and growth. Many-petaled Mangrove Bruguiera gymnorrhiza seedlings survived when planted as droppers or as potted seedlings, while the mangrove Aegiceras corniculatum seedlings imported from Shenzhen had the lowest survival rate. K. obovata seedlings was recovered gradually from defoliation observed during the last sampling session. Avicennia marina, a dominant mangrove on the pre-construction mudflat, has colonised the created mudflat. Monitoring from July 1995 to June 2005 has shown an increase in numbers of wildlife species. Butterfly species increased by 3 from 25 to 28 during 2004-5. The pre-construction records of amphibians and reptiles included four species, as compared to the post-construction total of 18 species. No new amphibian or reptile species were added between July 2004 and June 2005. Eight snake species now occur on northern Kau Sai Chau, where none was recorded during EIA baseline studies. The bird species list increased from 132 to 135 during the year. No new mammal species were recorded and the total remained at 10. The increase in wildlife species and numbers is a positive trend and demonstrates that golf management has exerted a positive impact on the biodiversity of Kau Sai Chau.