Management options for conserving and restoring fauna and other ecological values of urban streams in the Melbourne Water region Alistair Danger and Christopher J. Walsh Department of Resource Management and Geography, The University of Melbourne A report to Melbourne Water September 2008 2 Table of Contents Summary......................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 7 The urban streams of Melbourne .................................................................................................. 10 Categories of urban tolerance ....................................................................................................... 13 Urban tolerance of selected animals ............................................................................................. 15 Options for managing species by urban tolerance ........................................................................ 15 Urban category A: Urban tolerant species................................................................................ 15 Urban category B: Transient species ........................................................................................ 17 Urban category C: Urban sensitive species .............................................................................. 18 Urban category D: Urban intolerant species............................................................................. 20 Reach-scale management options................................................................................................. 21 Point-source controls ................................................................................................................ 21 Riparian revegetation and fencing along streams ..................................................................... 23 Removal of dispersal barriers ................................................................................................... 24 Reconnection of habitat fragments ........................................................................................... 24 Reintroducing habitat complexity............................................................................................. 24 Managing constructed wetlands for habitat .............................................................................. 25 Control of exotic predators and competitors............................................................................. 25 Environmental flow management............................................................................................. 26 Ecological return on investment ................................................................................................... 26 Future research directions............................................................................................................. 29 Data management...................................................................................................................... 29 Species for which we need more knowledge............................................................................ 30 Habitat fragmentation ............................................................................................................... 31 Exotic species control and interaction with native species....................................................... 31 Other research questions........................................................................................................... 32 The future for Melbourne's streams .............................................................................................. 32 Appendix 1 – Materials and methods ........................................................................................... 33 Appendix 2 – Biology of water dependent native species of wildlife in the Port Phillip and Western Port Bay region............................................................................................................... 36 Invertebrates.................................................................................................................................. 36 1 Austrogammarus australis.................................................................................................... 36 Austrogammarus haasei........................................................................................................ 39 Cherax destructor ................................................................................................................. 41 Engaeus urostrictus .............................................................................................................. 44 Euastacus yarraensis ............................................................................................................ 46 Hesperilla flavescens flavescens........................................................................................... 49 Leptoperla kallistae .............................................................................................................. 52 Paratya australiensis ............................................................................................................ 54 Megaloptera .......................................................................................................................... 57 Synemon plana...................................................................................................................... 60 Hyriidae ................................................................................................................................ 62 Fish................................................................................................................................................ 65 Anguilla australis.................................................................................................................. 65 Gadopsis marmoratus........................................................................................................... 68 Galaxias maculatus............................................................................................................... 71 Galaxias truttaceus ............................................................................................................... 71 Galaxias brevipinnis ............................................................................................................. 71 Galaxiella pusilla.................................................................................................................. 78 Geotria australis................................................................................................................... 81 Mordacia mordax.................................................................................................................. 83 Nannoperca australis............................................................................................................ 86 Nannoperca obscura............................................................................................................. 89 Neochanna cleaveri .............................................................................................................. 91 Prototroctes maraena ........................................................................................................... 93 Retropinna semoni ................................................................................................................ 96 Philypnodon grandiceps ....................................................................................................... 99 Pseudaphritis urvilli............................................................................................................ 102 Frogs ........................................................................................................................................... 104 Litoria raniformis ............................................................................................................... 105 Litoria ewingi...................................................................................................................... 105 Crinia signifera................................................................................................................... 108 Limnodynastes peroni ......................................................................................................... 110 Limnodynastes dumerilii..................................................................................................... 110 2 Limnodynastes tasmaniensis............................................................................................... 110 Reptiles ....................................................................................................................................... 114 Chelodina longicollis.......................................................................................................... 114 Egernia coventryi................................................................................................................ 116 Birds............................................................................................................................................ 119 Anas superciliosa...............................................................................................................