Asian Renewable Energy Hub Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey Prepared for NW Interconnected Power November 2018 Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey © Biota Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd 2019 ABN 49 092 687 119 Level 1, 228 Carr Place Leederville Western Australia 6007 Ph: (08) 9328 1900 Fax: (08) 9328 6138 Project No.: 1290C Prepared by: V. Ford, J. King Document Quality Checking History Version: 1 Peer review: S. Schmidt, P. Brooshooft Rev 0 Director review: G. Humphreys Rev 0 Format review: G. Humphreys Approved for issue: G. Humphreys This document has been prepared to the requirements of the client identified on the cover page and no representation is made to any third party. It may be cited for the purposes of scientific research or other fair use, but it may not be reproduced or distributed to any third party by any physical or electronic means without the express permission of the client for whom it was prepared or Biota Environmental Sciences Pty Ltd. This report has been designed for double-sided printing. Hard copies supplied by Biota are printed on recycled paper. Cube:Current:1290C (AREH Fauna):Documents:AREH Fauna Rev A.docx 3 Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey 4 Cube:Current:1290C (AREH Fauna):Documents:AREH Fauna Rev A.docx Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey Contents 1.0 Executive Summary 9 1.1 Project Background 9 1.2 Methods 9 1.3 Vertebrate Fauna 9 1.4 Vertebrate Fauna of Conservation Significance 10 1.5 Invertebrate Fauna 11 2.0 Introduction 13 2.1 Project Background 13 2.2 Study Objectives and Scope 13 3.0 Existing Environment 15 3.1 IBRA Bioregions and Subregions 15 3.2 Conservation Reserves 15 3.3 Land Systems 17 3.4 Beard’s Regional Vegetation Mapping 17 4.0 Methods 21 4.1 Desktop Review 21 4.2 Habitat Definition 22 4.3 Vertebrate Fauna Field Survey 24 4.4 SRE Fauna Survey 44 4.5 Nomenclature 49 4.6 Data Analysis 49 4.7 Survey Limitations 50 4.8 Legislation and Policy Conformance 50 5.0 Results 53 5.1 Fauna Habitats 53 5.2 Desktop Review 56 5.3 Recorded Assemblage 59 5.4 Survey Adequacy 69 5.5 Species Accumulation 70 5.6 Faunal Assemblage Analysis 71 6.0 Conservation Significant Vertebrate Fauna 73 6.1 Mammals 73 6.2 Birds 79 6.3 Reptiles 80 6.4 Conservation Significant Fauna Likely to Occur but Not Recorded 81 7.0 Invertebrate Fauna 83 8.0 Conclusions 85 9.0 Glossary 87 Cube:Current:1290C (AREH Fauna):Documents:AREH Fauna Rev A.docx 5 Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey 10.0 References 89 Appendix 1 Desktop Review Results Appendix 2 Database Search Results Appendix 3 Regulation 17 Licence Appendix 4 Helix Molecular Solutions Report Appendix 5 Conservation Significance Framework Appendix 6 Conservation Significant Species Considered Unlikely to Occur Tables Table 3.1: Description and extent of land systems in the study area. 18 Table 3.2: Description and extent of Beard’s broad vegetation units in the study area (Source: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development). 18 Table 4.1: Ranking system used to assign the likelihood that a species would occur in the study area. 22 Table 4.2: Literature reviewed in relation to the study area. 23 Table 4.3: Weather conditions during the field survey (data from BOM, Mandora Station 004019). 24 Table 4.4: Details of trap site locations and sampling effort (trap-nights) per phase. 29 Table 4.5: Trapping site descriptions and photographs. 31 Table 4.6: Avifauna census times at each trapping site (minutes). 38 Table 4.7: Motion camera sites. 40 Table 4.8: Bat-call recording sites. 40 Table 4.9: Details of SM4 units deployed to record in the audible range. 42 Table 4.10: Summary of vertebrate fauna search effort. 42 Table 4.11: Summary of methods used to sample for short-range endemic invertebrate fauna. 44 Table 4.12: Search sites targeting potential SRE invertebrate fauna. 44 Table 4.13: Criteria used to determine SRE status. 48 Table 4.14: State and Commonwealth legislation, policy and guidelines of most relevance to this study. 50 Table 5.1: Fauna habitats of the study area and the survey sites at which they were sampled. 54 Table 5.2: Conservation significant fauna returned from the desktop review with their likelihood of occurrence. 57 Table 5.3: Overview of vertebrate fauna recorded from the study area. 59 Table 5.4: Non-volant mammals recorded during the survey. 61 Table 5.5: Bats recorded during the survey. 62 Table 5.6: Birds recorded within the study area. 64 6 Cube:Current:1290C (AREH Fauna):Documents:AREH Fauna Rev A.docx Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey Table 5.7: Reptiles recorded during the survey. 66 Table 5.8: Amphibians recorded during the survey. 68 Figures Figure 2.1: Location of the study area. 14 Figure 3.1: IBRA sub-regions and conservation reserves in proximity to the study area. 16 Figure 3.2: Land systems of the study area. 19 Figure 3.3: Beard’s vegetation associations for the study area. 20 Figure 4.1: Weather observations in the year preceding the survey (August 2016 – March 2018) compared to long-term (1913 – 2018) climatological averages (data from the Bureau of Meteorology Mandora Station 004019). 25 Figure 4.2: Overview of fauna sampling effort within the study area (see Figures 4.3 to 4.7 for more detail on each sampling method). 26 Figure 4.3: Location of fauna trapping sites within the study area. 28 Figure 4.4: Locations of systematic bird census sites. 39 Figure 4.5: Locations of automated recording units. 41 Figure 4.6: Location of search and habitat assessment sites. 43 Figure 4.7: Locations of potential SRE invertebrate fauna sampling sites. 45 Figure 5.1: Fauna habitats defined within the study area. 55 Figure 5.2: Species richness returned from database searches and other surveys in the region relative to the current study. 69 Figure 5.3: Rarefaction curve, actual species accumulation and estimated species richness (Chao1) for ground fauna species recorded at the 16 systematic trapping sites. 70 Figure 5.4: Rarefaction curve and estimated species richness (Chao1) for bird species recorded via dedicated bird census at the systematic sampling sites. 71 Figure 5.5: Dendrogram display of Bray-Curtis Similarity between systematic sites and the habitats that they sampled (ground fauna only). 72 Figure 6.1: Records of conservation significant vertebrate fauna from this study. 74 Plates Plate 4.1: AHFSRE01. 46 Plate 4.2: AHFSRE02. 46 Plate 4.3: AHFSRE03. 46 Plate 4.4: AHFSRE04. 46 Plate 4.5: AHFSRE05. 46 Plate 4.6: AHFSRE06. 46 Plate 4.7: AHFSRE07. 47 Plate 4.8: AHFSRE08. 47 Plate 4.9: AHFSRE09. 47 Plate 4.10: AHFSRE10. 47 Plate 5.1: Shrub and spinifex on sandplain. 53 Plate 5.2: Gravelly lateritic rises. 53 Plate 5.3: Inland sand dune. 53 Plate 5.4: Rock outcropping. 53 Cube:Current:1290C (AREH Fauna):Documents:AREH Fauna Rev A.docx 7 Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey Plate 5.5: Beach and foredunes. 53 Plate 5.6: Paleo-tidal coastal plains. 53 Plate 6.1: Typical Black-footed Rock-wallaby habitat within the study area. 76 Plate 6.2: Typical Black-footed Rock-wallaby habitat within the study area. 76 Plate 6.3: Black-footed Rock-wallaby shelter and scat piles within the study area. 76 Plate 6.4: Black-footed Rock-wallaby tracks within the study area. 76 Plate 6.5: Bilby burrow in Shrub and spinifex on sandplain habitat. 77 Plate 6.6: Bilby record from automatic camera. 77 Plate 6.7: Mulgara burrow within typical habitat. 78 Plate 6.8: Mulgara burrow. 78 Plate 6.9: Active Western Pebble-mound Mouse mound. 79 Plate 6.10: Lerista separanda specimen from the survey vouchered with the WA Museum. 80 8 Cube:Current:1290C (AREH Fauna):Documents:AREH Fauna Rev A.docx Asian Renewable Energy Hub Level 2 Terrestrial Fauna and SRE Fauna Survey 1.0 Executive Summary 1.1 Project Background NW Interconnected Power Pty Ltd is seeking to develop the Asian Renewable Energy Hub. The proposal is to construct and operate a large-scale wind and solar hybrid renewable energy project (hereafter ‘the project’) at a site approximately 220 km east of Port Hedland and 270 km southwest of Broome, in the northwest of Western Australia. The project will be constructed within a 660,686 ha development envelope (hereafter ‘the study area’). Biota was commissioned to conduct a Level 2 terrestrial fauna survey and targeted sampling for conservation significant fauna and short-range endemic (SRE) fauna. The first phase of the terrestrial fauna survey was carried out from 24th August – 5th September 2017. The second sampling phase of the survey was undertaken from 13th – 21st March 2018, following summer rainfall. All surveys were completed as far as practicable in accordance with relevant State and Commonwealth policy, with key policy and guidelines that were considered including: • Environmental Factor Guideline: Terrestrial Fauna (EPA 2016a); • Technical Guide - Terrestrial Fauna Surveys (EPA 2016b); and • Technical Guide - Sampling of Short Range Endemic Invertebrates (EPA 2016c). 1.2 Methods A total of 22 fauna trapping sites were installed across the study area, representatively sampling the range of habitat types present.