1 CORINGA–HERALD NATIONAL NATURE RESERVE – IDENTIFICATION OF INVERTEBRATES COLLECTED ON THE 2007 INVERTEBRATE SURVEY Penelope Greenslade and Roger Farrow Report prepared by XCS Consulting for the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts June 2008 2 Addresses of authors Penelope Greenslade, School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, GPO Box, Australian Capital Territory, 0200, Australia. Roger Farrow, Tilembeya Consulting, "Tilembeya", 777 Urila Road, Queanbeyan, New South Wales 2620, Australia. XCS Consulting, GPO Box 2566, Canberra City, 2601, Australia. DISCLAIMER: While XCS Consulting Pty Ltd makes all reasonable effort to ensure that information provided to the customer is accurate and reliable, XCS Consulting makes no warranties and accepts no liabilities for any injury, loss or damage resulting from use and reliance upon information provided. Mention of any product or service is for information purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation by XCS Consulting Pty Ltd of any such product or service, either expressed or implied. Copyright © Commonwealth of Australia 2008 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, any process may reproduce no part without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney General’s Department, Robert Garret Offices, National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600 or posted at http://www.ag.gov.au/cca Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Australian Government or the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts or the Minister for Climate Change and Water. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure that the contents of this publication are factually correct, the Commonwealth does not accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the contents, and shall not be liable for any loss or damage that may be occasioned directly or indirectly through the use of, or reliance on, the contents of this publication. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................... 7 Major Findings in relation to management............................................................. 7 SUMMARY OF TAXA OF IMPORTANCE RELEVANT TO MANAGEMENT................................. 8 Other findings ......................................................................................................... 9 Outcomes .............................................................................................................. 12 Outputs.................................................................................................................. 12 Key management recommendations..................................................................... 12 AIMS .............................................................................................................................. 14 Main aims.............................................................................................................. 14 Detailed aims ........................................................................................................ 14 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 15 Background and Significance ............................................................................... 15 METHODS ...................................................................................................................... 17 DATA AND RESULTS ...................................................................................................... 19 Summary of collections according to method and island ..................................... 19 Light Traps................................................................................................ 19 Tullgren funnel extraction of leaf litter, humus and soil .......................... 19 Pitfall Traps............................................................................................... 20 Yellow pans .............................................................................................. 24 Soil flotation.............................................................................................. 24 Sweeps and beats ...................................................................................... 25 Hand collections........................................................................................ 25 Epigaeic fauna of different vegetation types ........................................................ 25 Pisonia grandis Forest (NEH only)....................................................................... 26 Argusia argentea Shrubland (NEH, SWH) ........................................................... 26 Cordia subcordata Forest (NEH) .......................................................................... 27 Abutilon albescens Sub-shrubland (NEH, SWH)................................................. 27 Achyranthes aspera Sub-shrub patch (NEH SWH) .............................................. 27 Sporobolus virginicus Grassland (NEH SWH)..................................................... 27 Tribulus cistoides Herbland) (NEH SWH)........................................................... 28 Lepidium englerianum Herbpatch (NEH SWH)................................................... 28 Fauna collected in other habitat types................................................................... 28 NOTES ON FAUNA COLLECTED ...................................................................................... 30 Arthropoda: Arachnida ......................................................................................... 30 Acarina (Mites) ......................................................................................... 30 Araneae (Spiders)...................................................................................... 30 Pseudoscorpionida .................................................................................... 31 Arthropoda: Crustacea .......................................................................................... 32 Isopoda (Woodlice, Slaters, Sowbugs) ..................................................... 32 Other Crustacea (Crabs, Hermit Crabs).................................................... 33 Arthropoda: Tardigrada ........................................................................................ 33 Arthropoda: Collembola (Springtails) .................................................................. 33 Arthropoda: Insecta............................................................................................... 39 Dictyoptera (Cockroaches) ............................................................... 39 4 Coleoptera (Beetles).......................................................................... 39 Dermaptera (Earwigs)....................................................................... 40 Diptera (Flies) ................................................................................... 40 Hemiptera (True bugs, scales etc)..................................................... 40 Hymenoptera (Wasps, Ants and Bees) ............................................. 40 Formicidae (Ants) ............................................................................. 41 TABLE 4. TOTAL NUMBERS OF ANT SPECIES CAUGHT IN THREE YEARS ON NEH ............ 43 Isoptera (Termites)............................................................................ 45 Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)................................................. 45 Neuroptera (Lacewings).................................................................... 46 Orthoptera (Grasshopppers and Crickets)......................................... 46 Psocoptera (Booklice)....................................................................... 46 Thysanoptera (Thrips)....................................................................... 46 Thysanura (Silverfish) ...................................................................... 47 Arthropoda: Myriapoda ........................................................................................ 47 Pauropoda ................................................................................................. 47 Symphyla .................................................................................................. 48 Diplopoda – Penicillata –Polyxenida (Pincushion millipedes)................. 48 Chilopoda – Geophilidae (Centipedes)..................................................... 49 Annelida: Oligochaeta: Enchytraeidae (Sewage worms) ..................................... 50 Mollusca (Slugs and snails) .................................................................................. 50 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 51 Ecological groups.................................................................................................. 51 Resilience and sustainability................................................................................. 53 Diversity................................................................................................................ 53 Biogeographical affinity of the fauna ..................................................................