In almost all cases a fauna survey undertaken to support an EIA will sample the vertebrate fauna and the data will be used to infer characteristics about the population. Bias associated with the sampling procedure should therefore be minimised as it will directly affect inferences about the population. Two approaches can be adopted in sampling […]

The Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus) is frequently encountered in the treed areas of the south-west of Western Australia. It will cohabitat with humans in towns and cities, often being a nuisance by occupying the roof space of houses near bushland and making deep guttural cough and sharp hissing sounds at night when people […]

Using uncovered funnel traps to catch vertebrate fauna during the warmer months significantly increases the risk of killing animals (Thompson and Thompson 2009). Some environmental consultants do not use funnel traps in hot conditions (Biota Environmental Sciences 2008) on the belief that it will result in the unnecessary death of animals. Other consultants don’t cover […]

Litter is an important issue onsite for a number of reasons, firstly it impacts on native wildlife and their habitat, it can cause injury or death with animals getting stuck in cans and bottles, broken glass can cause lacerations, wildlife can become entangled and ingestion can be fatal. There are at least 77 species of […]

Linear corridors, in particular long linear corridors for railway lines, haul roads, pipe lines and power lines, should probably be treated as a ‘special case’ when assessing the potential impact on fauna. The EPA (2004) Guidance Statement No 56 on Terrestrial Fauna Surveys for Environmental Impact Assessment in Western Australia in its Table 3 provides […]

A quick look at the Perth metropolitan area in Google Earth will show numerous small plots of vegetation surrounded by housing and industrial development. Similarly, the Wheatbelt contains many remnant plots of native vegetation surrounded by farming land (Plate 1). The value of many of these remnant patches of vegetation should be self-evident as they […]

Western Australian freshwater turtles can be divided into two groups based on their geographical distribution: central and southern (Chelodina oblonga, C. steindachneri, Pseudemydura umbrina) and tropical (C. burrungandjii, C. rugosa, Elseya dentata, Emydura victoriae, E. australis) (Georges 2008). Temperate zone species mostly nest in spring, with hatchlings emerging in early summer (Legler and Georges 1993). […]

In December 2013 Terrestrial Ecosystems presented at the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) workshop on Mulgara. Terrestrial Ecosystems presentation described the outcomes of four case studies completed in the Pilbara. Conclusions from the case studies were that: searching in mature, high or dense spinifex and low shrubs resulted in many burrows not being detected; it […]

Please see below a link to an interesting commentary written by another environmental consultant about how health and safety rules may now be impacting on biological field surveys. The article is reposted with the approval of Terry Reis and magazine Wildlife Australia. Click here for the full article. The views expressed in the article are […]

The EPA (2002; p12) indicates that it expects proponents and their environmental consultants to provide sufficient information in their fauna survey reports to address biodiversity conservation and ecological functional values. Position Statement No 3 (EPA 2002)  goes on to say best practice assessments require that biodiversity be considered to have two key aspects, namely its […]