Waterbird and aquatic invertebrate survey for the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Prepared for Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd January 2018 Final Report Waterbird and aquatic invertebrate survey for the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Prepared for Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd Waterbird and aquatic invertebrate survey for the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Prepared for Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd Final Report Authors: Anna Leung, Volker Framenau, Ryan Ellis Reviewer: Karen Crews Date: 31 January 2018 Submitted to: Brett Hazelden Chain of authorship and review Name Task Version Date V.W. Framenau Draft for client comments 1.0 31 March 2017 R. Ellis Final submitted to client 2.0 31 January 2018 ©Phoenix Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd 2018 The use of this report is solely for the Client for the purpose in which it was prepared. Phoenix Environmental Sciences accepts no responsibility for use beyond this purpose. All rights are reserved and no part of this report may be reproduced or copied in any form without the written permission of Phoenix Environmental Sciences or the Client. Phoenix Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd 1/511 Wanneroo Rd BALCATTA WA 6021 P: 08 6323 5410 E: [email protected] Project code: 1063-TM-KAL-ECO Waterbird and aquatic invertebrate survey of the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Prepared for Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................... IV 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................. 6 1.2 Survey objectives and scope of works .................................................................................... 8 2 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT .................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Commonwealth ....................................................................................................................... 9 2.2 State ...................................................................................................................................... 10 3 EXISTING ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................................................. 11 3.1 Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation of Australia ............................................................. 11 3.2 Land systems ......................................................................................................................... 13 3.3 Hydrology and geomorphology ............................................................................................ 15 3.4 Climate and weather ............................................................................................................. 15 3.5 Land use ................................................................................................................................ 17 3.5.1 Threatening processes .................................................................................................. 17 3.5.2 Reserves ........................................................................................................................ 17 3.6 Biological context .................................................................................................................. 17 3.6.1 Waterbirds .................................................................................................................... 18 3.6.2 Aquatic macro-invertebrates and zooplankton ............................................................ 19 4 METHODS ...................................................................................................................................... 20 4.1 Desktop review ..................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Field survey ........................................................................................................................... 21 4.2.1 Timing and survey effort ............................................................................................... 21 4.2.2 Sites selection and habitat characterisation ................................................................. 21 4.2.3 Water quality ................................................................................................................ 23 4.2.4 Waterbirds .................................................................................................................... 23 4.2.5 Aquatic invertebrates.................................................................................................... 23 4.3 Taxonomy and nomenclature ............................................................................................... 24 4.3.1 Morphological species identification ............................................................................ 24 4.3.2 Molecular species identification ................................................................................... 24 4.3.3 Nomenclature ............................................................................................................... 24 4.4 Statistical analyses ................................................................................................................ 25 4.4.1 Water quality ................................................................................................................ 25 4.4.2 Species richness ............................................................................................................ 25 4.4.3 Water quality and invertebrate communities .............................................................. 26 4.5 Survey personnel .................................................................................................................. 26 5 RESULTS ........................................................................................................................................ 27 5.1 Desktop review ..................................................................................................................... 27 5.1.1 Waterbirds .................................................................................................................... 27 Phoenix Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd i Waterbird and aquatic invertebrate survey of the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project Prepared for Kalium Lakes Potash Pty Ltd 5.1.2 Aquatic invertebrates.................................................................................................... 27 5.2 Field survey ........................................................................................................................... 27 5.2.1 Hydrology ...................................................................................................................... 27 5.2.2 Water quality ................................................................................................................ 30 5.2.3 Waterbirds .................................................................................................................... 31 5.2.4 Aquatic invertebrates.................................................................................................... 33 5.2.5 Arachnida (spiders and allies) ....................................................................................... 44 5.2.6 Crustacea (crabs and allies) .......................................................................................... 44 5.2.7 Insecta (insects)............................................................................................................. 46 5.2.8 Gastropoda (snails) ....................................................................................................... 46 5.2.9 Oligochaeta (aquatic worms) ........................................................................................ 47 5.2.10 Species richness ............................................................................................................ 47 5.3 Survey limitations ................................................................................................................. 50 6 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................................... 51 6.1 Water quality ........................................................................................................................ 51 6.2 Waterbirds ............................................................................................................................ 52 6.3 Aquatic invertebrates ........................................................................................................... 52 6.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 53 7 REFERENCES .................................................................................................................................. 54 List of Figures Figure 1-1 Location of the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project and study area for the waterbird and aquatic invertebrate survey ..................................................................................... 7 Figure 3-1 Location of the Beyondie Sulphate of Potash Project