THREATENED SPECIES SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE Established under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The Minister’s delegate approved this conservation advice on 10/03/2016. Conservation Advice Rhinonicteris aurantia (Pilbara form) Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat Conservation Status The species was listed as Vulnerable in April 2001 because: (1) it has undergone, is suspected to have undergone or is likely to undergo in the immediate future a substantial reduction in numbers; (2) its geographic distribution is precarious for its survival (being limited to the Pilbara); and (3) the estimated total number of mature individuals is limited and the number is likely to continue to decline (TSSC 2001). A recent assessment incorporating additional observations from the past 15 years predicted that if mining were to proceed without appropriate controls, there is likely to be a >30 % decline in population size over the next 15 years and, without intervention and management, most roost sites are likely to be destroyed over the next 30–50 years (Woinarski et al 2014). Main factors causing this eligibility: Most underground mine adits used permanently by colonies of this species are threatened by mining development, flooding and/or structural collapse (Hall et al. 1997; McKenzie et al. 1999; Armstrong 2001; DotE 2015). There is also an increasing level of mining development in iron ore terrain that coincides with confirmed or suspected natural roost sites in caves (Armstrong 2011; Woinarski et al. 2014). For more information on this listing and the species threats, see http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/81552-listing-advice.pdf Species can be listed as threatened under state and territory legislation. For information on the listing status of this species under relevant state or territory legislation, see http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/sprat.pl Reason for Conservation Advice revision 1. The species recovery is considered dependant on development control and additional information relevant to this was necessary in the Conservation Advice. 2. Significant new information has come to hand since the species listing. Background The Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat (PLNB; Armstrong 2006a; family Rhinonycteridae—see Foley et al. 2015) is a small insectivorous bat that occurs throughout the Pilbara and adjacent upper Gascoyne regions of Western Australia. This population of the Orange Leaf-nosed Bat is geographically isolated from others further north in the Kimberley, Northern Territory and Queensland by the Great Sandy Desert. The species relies on underground roosts supporting warm, high humidity microclimates. Only relatively deep, complex caves and disused underground mines contain such conditions—these are relatively uncommon, and limit the area of occupancy of the PLNB. Further information on the biology of the PLNB is summarised in Appendix A and the Department’s Species Profile and Threats Database (DotE 2015). Rhinonicteris aurantia (Pilbara form) (Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat) conservation advice Page 1 of 11 Conservation Actions National conservation objectives Ensure that activities within the range of the PLNB do not have a significant impact under the EPBC Act. Guidance on what is likely to have a significant impact on this species is provided in Appendix A. Eliminate key threats to the PLNB and halt the predicted decline of the species through best practice mining design and construction and better coordinated regional management. Protect and manage all known roost sites to support the recovery and long term persistence of the PLNB. Identify and protect sufficient high value foraging habitat around roost sites to support the long term persistence of PLNB colonies. Support coordinated research on the occurrence, population size and ecological requirements of the PLNB so best practice management options can be developed to minimise anticipated impacts from new and existing mining activity. Priority Conservation Actions The following actions are considered necessary to stop the decline of and, or support the recovery of the PLNB: Discover new occurrences. Conduct field surveys for the PLNB in environmental assessments for proposed development projects using bat detectors to better understand the area of occurrence and highlight potential roost sites. Acoustic surveys should be undertaken in a manner consistent with currently prevailing wisdom on acceptable methods and equipment, so as to maximise the potential for encounter (e.g. DEWHA 2010; ABS 2015). Discover new roosts. Include targeted searches for new roosts in environmental assessments for proposed development projects to determine whether critical roosting habitat of the PLNB (see Appendix A) coincides with development interests, and to better define the size and occurrence of colonies in the regional population. Confirm diurnal roosts. Assess, with a sufficiently robust method (e.g. DEWHA 2010; DotE 2015), the likelihood of diurnal roosting in caves and underground mines within and adjacent to proposed development projects to determine their importance to the PLNB and allow the risk of the project to the regional population to be assessed. Protect roosts. Protect confirmed and suspected diurnal roost sites—especially those occupied permanently and used for breeding—by establishing adequate buffers and restrictions around them, and implementing other management actions as appropriate to the local context. Consideration to should be given to managing and protecting colonies of the PLNB in historical underground mine workings occurring within a development project area (see map in Appendix A). Monitor the population. Monitor all known colonies of the PLNB using robust and non- invasive methods to understand changes in usage across seasons and at times they are known to breed and raise young. From monitoring activity levels, assess the relative importance of roost sites based on estimated colony size and/or frequency of usage. Sites with the largest colonies should be designated as critical habitat. Assess and protect foraging habitat. For development projects, retain and preserve an adequate extent of observed or predicted high value foraging habitat near critical roost habitats of the PLNB to support the persistence of any existing colony and their continued usage of roosts (see Appendix A). Develop and support coordinated research. Undertake research projects, with the involvement of qualified biologists, to better understand the occurrence, population size Rhinonicteris aurantia (Pilbara form) (Pilbara Leaf-nosed Bat) conservation advice Page 2 of 11 and ecological requirements of the PLNB in a regional and population-wide context (i.e. greater than local scale development project assessments). Encourage submission of occurrence data. Environmental consultants, development proponents and researchers are encouraged to provide new information on the occurrence of the PLNB to database resources managed by the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife (e.g. NatureMap at http://naturemap.dpaw.wa.gov.au/default.aspx), with embargoes and confidentiality maintained to the general public as appropriate. Suitably control public access to all known roost sites on both private and public lands. Implement a separate regional management plan. This plan should be linked to a dynamic database that provides information on occurrence and roosting for context to local developments, and provides further detailed guidance on surveying for, protecting and managing the PLNB. Information and research priorities The following information requirements inform the national conservation objectives and the identification of priority conservation actions. They may be useful for directing future research and environmental offsets, and include: Review and collate unpublished information, particularly that collected by mining companies. Clarify the number and distribution of day roosts (see Appendix A for definition of roost types). Characterise natural roosts. Characterise and map foraging habitat. Understand the role of landscape connectivity and resource availability for the movement between roosts. Understand population and colony size and social behaviour. Increase knowledge of appropriate buffer size for mining activities. Develop protocols for artificial roost construction. Develop a regional management plan that prevents destruction of or significant disturbance to roost sites. These priority research and information requirements were developed during a workshop held specifically to identify priority research actions for the PLNB (DPAW 2013a,b; Cramer et al 2016). These topics can be expanded as may be relevant to a situation—for example, an investigation into the behaviour and diet of bats near artificial light sources might be relevant for situations where light sources are planned for an area near a known, significant roost. Priority should be given to non-invasive research methods. Research programmes should not include methods that will have a significant impact on the local persistence and survival of colonies under investigation, or introduce an unacceptable level of disturbance. The need for certain types of information needs to be weighed against the priority need to limit all types of disturbance to known colonies. Some types of research might impose greater levels of disturbance than activities associated with nearby resource developments. Consideration should also be given to conducting suitable research