Grey-headed Flying-fox Management Strategy for the Lower Hunter Grey-headed Flying-fox


Table 10.6Records of Grey-headed Flying-fox in the Lower Hunter



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Table 10.6Records of Grey-headed Flying-fox in the Lower Hunter

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Roosting Habitat in the Lower Hunter

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12.






Table 12.1Locations

12.1.1Existing Information

Information on camp locations was compiled from databases and records held by ecologists with experience of the Lower Hunter. There are two formally-recognised databases containing information about GHFF camps. The National Camp Database (DSEWPaC undated_b), which is administered by DSEWPaC, contains 269 entries for camps across VIC, NSW, QLD, SA and ACT. The OEH’s GHFF camp database (DECCW 2010a) lists camps that have been used by GHFF or the Black Flying-fox (Pteropus alecto) since 1990. The majority of the camps listed on the OEH database were documented during national GHFF surveys conducted between 1998 and 2005. A further update occurred in 2006/7 (shape file metadata, available through the OEH Spatial Data website). This data is accompanied by a camp-boundary spatial data file (DECCW 20010b). The OEH camp database has recently been updated as a result of a national GHFF camp census held in February 2013 (refer to Section 4.3.2).
Both the national and state databases show 12 camp locations within the Lower Hunter and an additional 18 within 50 km of the Lower Hunter. The OEH database provides some data about each camp, including:


  • accuracy of location (1 = very accurate, within 50 m; 2 = within 500 m; 3 = approximate);

  • species of flying-fox observed in the camp (GHFF, Black Flying-fox, Little Red Flying-fox – P. scapulatus);

  • an assessment against criteria for listing as critical to the survival (CTS) of the GHFF as set out in the draft Recovery Plan (DECCW 2010c) under the Commonwealth EPBC Act;

  • occupation pattern (disused, rare, irregular, annual, continuous, unknown; term undefined); and

  • location details (LGA, map sheet, latitude / longitude and MGA easting / northing).


12.1.2Camp Verification Surveys

A review was undertaken of the existing information regarding GHFF camp locations and various individuals, groups and agencies with an interest in flying-foxes provided input. These included wildlife carers, local ecologists, flying-fox enthusiasts, the HCRCMA and the Parks and Wildlife Group of OEH. Work to verify camp locations and characteristics was undertaken for the purposes of this study in October and November 2012 by contacting persons familiar with each site. In cases where the accuracy of location data was poor or the camps were newly-established, site information was verified by field inspection and discussions with landholders.


An additional seven camps were added to the 12 pre-existing sites within the Lower Hunter. The location of ten of the previously documented 12 camps was adjusted for improved accuracy (refer to Table 12.2 and Appendix ). There was consistent evidence that four of the 19 camps were not occupied during the last ten years, being Belmont, Black Hill, Glenrock and Italia Road. These camps are considered as abandoned, historic sites for the purposes of this strategy.
In February, OEH became aware of another GHFF camp located at Blackalls Park, approximately 12 km south of Newcastle (refer to Table 12.2). This camp has not been field verified as part of this study and information presented about this camp in this report relies on gratefully accepted early reports provided by OEH and Lake Macquarie City Council through OEH.

Table 12.2Grey-headed Flying-fox Camps in the Lower Hunter



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Table 12.3Camp Characteristics

12.3.1Seasonality

Flying-foxes occupy the majority of camps in the Lower Hunter on a seasonal basis. Exceptions to this pattern are the camp at Blackbutt Reserve in urban Newcastle, which is occupied continuously, and a recently-established camp at Lorn, which also appears to support a consistent flying-fox presence. In the majority of years, GHFF numbers in the Lower Hunter are highest in the warmer months of spring, summer and autumn, and all but the two continuously-occupied camps are empty in winter. This general trend is also evident when examining the dates of GHFF records from the Lower Hunter (refer to Table 10.4).
It is significant that GHFF are consistently present in the Lower Hunter from spring to autumn, as this coincides with birthing and raising of young. Actions that affect maternity camps (camps used by females during late pregnancy, birth and periods when young are dependent) potentially affect the reproductive output of the GHFF population. Twelve camps in the Lower Hunter are known to support breeding females (maternity camps):


  • East Cessnock

  • Millfield

  • Fullerton Cove

  • Martinsville

  • Medowie

  • Morisset

  • Snapper Island

  • Hannan Street

  • Raymond Terrace

  • Lorn

  • Tocal

The presence of breeding females has not been confirmed at Throsby, Anna Bay or Bobs Farm due to access issues. However, each of these camps is occupied during the maternity season in sufficient numbers to make the presence of breeding females highly likely.


There is a high degree of variability in the presence and numbers of animals at individual camps, which is typical for the GHFF across its range. In the Lower Hunter, GHFFs are present in large numbers over the cooler months during irregular mass flowering of Spotted Gum (Corymbia maculata). Estimates of GHFF numbers in camps within the Lower Hunter Valley suggested that in early April 2012, during a time of Spotted Gum flowering, this area supported at least 250,000 flying-foxes, or approximately half of the currently estimated GHFF population in Australia. This emphasises the importance of the Lower Hunter to the GHFF.
There is also evidence that the region provides refuge during periods of food shortage. New camps are known to have formed during the 2010 GHFF food shortage. It is believed that Lorn, Hannan Street, Raymond Terrace, Tocal and possibly East Cessnock formed to provide access to food during this time.
12.3.2Vegetation

Typical vegetation characteristics of flying-fox roosting habitat (Eby 2002, Eby & Lunney 2002, Hall & Richards 2000, Peacock 2004, Roberts 2005) include:



  • closed canopy (rainforest, mangroves, floodplain or riparian forest dominated by Casuarina spp. or Melaleuca quinquenervia);

  • continuous canopy area >1 ha (ideally >10 ha in size); and

  • canopy height >5 m.

Whilst most camps in the Lower Hunter comprise of typical vegetation characteristics as described above, there are some exceptions:



  • the canopy height at the East Cessnock camp is atypically low, at approximately 5 m;

  • the extent of vegetation at the Hannan Street and Lorn camps is notably small; both contain approximately 0.2 ha of canopy vegetation that is open in structure and whose major components comprise of introduced species; and

  • the Tocal camp site includes Flooded Gum planted in the early 1990s. These plantings were approximately 20 years old when this camp was first used.

Table 12.4Vegetation Supporting Lower Hunter GHFF Camps



Camp

Vegetation Assemblage

Canopy Availability

GHMv4*

Field Observations

Black Hill

MU007 Sandpaper Fig /Whalebone

not verified

> 10 ha

E. Cessnock

MU115 Eucalyptus parramattensis /Angophora bakeri /Melaleuca nodosa shrubby woodland in the Cessnock-Kurri Kurri area

Paperbark Depression Forest

< 2 ha

Millfield

MU007 Sandpaper Fig /Whalebone warm temperate rainforest

Hunter Valley Dry Rainforest

> 10 ha

Belmont

MU206 Broad-leaved Paperbark /Swamp Oak /Saw Sedge swamp forest on coastal lowlands of the Central Coast and Lower North Coast

as per GHVM v4

> 10 ha

Glenrock

MU071 /MU072 Moist shrubby open forest types dominated by Spotted Gum

not verified

> 10 ha

Martinsville

MU010 Jackwood /Lilly Pilly /Sassafras riparian warm temperate rainforest of the Central Coast

Wet gully forest: Bangalow Palm /Sydney Blue Gum /rainforest midstorey including Acmena smithii

> 10 ha

Morisset

MU055 Sydney Blue Gum / Lilly Pilly mesic tall open forest of coastal ranges and tablelands escarpment

as per GHVM v4

> 10 ha

Hannan Street

MU000 Non-native vegetation

Private garden planting

< 0.25 ha

Lorn

MU000 Non-native vegetation

Garden planting, introduced trees

< 0.25 ha

Blackbutt Reserve

MU050 Blackbutt /Turpentine /Sydney Blue Gum mesic tall open forest on ranges of the Central Coast

MU050 and also planted warm temperate rainforest

> 10 ha

Blackalls Park

MU200 Swamp Mahogany / Flax-leaved Paperbark swamp forest on coastal floodplains of the Central Coast

unverified

> 4 ha

Throsby

MU229 Grey Mangrove low closed forest

as per GHVMv4

< 4 ha

Anna Bay

MU128 Smooth-barked Apple /Blackbutt /Old Man Banksia woodland on coastal sands of the Central and Lower North Coast

MU206 Broad-leaved Paperbark /Swamp Oak /Saw Sedge swamp forest on coastal lowlands of the Central Coast and Lower North Coast

> 10 ha

Bobs Farm

MU128 Smooth-barked Apple /Blackbutt /Old Man Banksia woodland on coastal sands of the Central and Lower North Coast

MU206 Broad-leaved Paperbark /Swamp Oak /Saw Sedge swamp forest on coastal lowlands of the Central Coast and Lower North Coast

> 10 ha

Fullerton Cove

MU229 Grey Mangrove low closed forest

as per GHVM v4

> 10 ha

Italia Road

MU072 Spotted Gum /Broad-leaved Mahogany /Red Ironbark shrubby open forest

Melaleuca decora / Alphitonia excelsa

> 10 ha

Medowie

MU133 Parramatta Red Gum /Fern-leaved Banksia /Melaleuca sieberi swamp woodland of the Tomaree Peninsula

Melaleuca quinquenervia

> 10 ha

Ray. Terrace

MU000 Non-native vegetation

Planted vegetation, animals roosting in Casuarina glauca

< 0.7 ha

Snap. Island

MU018 Tuckeroo / Lilly Pilly / Coast Banksia littoral rainforest

as per GHVM v4

> 10 ha

Tocal

MU000 Non-native vegetation and MU196 River Oak /White Cedar Grassy Riparian Forest of the Dungog Area and Liverpool Ranges

MU000, MU196 and some

additional native planting



~ 6 ha

*Greater Hunter Vegetation Map v 4 (Sommerville 2009; Sivertsen et al. 2011)
12.4.1Position in the Landscape

Typical characteristics of flying-fox roosting habitat (Eby 2002, Eby & Lunney 2002, Hall & Richards 2000, Peacock 2004, Roberts 2005) include:



  • within 50 km of the coast or at elevation <65 m;

  • close proximity to waterways (<500 m), commonly rivers or creeks;

  • level topography, <5˚ incline; and

  • positioned within nightly commuting distance (generally <20 km) of sufficient food resources to support the population of a communal roost.

GHFF camps in the Lower Hunter conform to these generalised camp characteristics (refer to Table 12.5). Seventeen of the camps occur within the coastal floodplain or areas associated with the coastal floodplain.


Table 12.5Landscape Positioning of Lower Hunter GHFF Camps

Camp

Elevation /Proximity to coast

Proximity to water

Topography

Black Hill

70 m / 20 km

< 50 m / 2nd order

Level section of gully

East Cessnock

70 m / 37 km

< 50 m / 2nd order

Level

Millfield

230 m / 40 km

< 50 m / 3rd order

Level section of gully

Belmont

<10 m / < 1 km

< 50 m / swamp

Level

Glenrock

<10 m / 1 km

< 50 m / lagoon

Level

Martinsville

30 m / 23 km

< 50 m / 3rd order

Level section of gully

Morisset

20 m / 17 km

< 50 m / 3rd order

Level - swampy

Hannan Street

<10 m / 29 km

190 m / river

Level

Lorn

<10 m / 38 km

260 m / river

Level

Blackbutt Reserve

100 m / 5 km

<200 m / 1st order

Level area extending onto slope

Blackalls Park

6 m / 9 km

10 – 50 m / 5th order

Level

Throsby

<10 m / 2 km

< 10 m / 2nd order

Level

Anna Bay

<10 m / 4 km

<50 m / swamp

Level

Bobs Farm

10 m / 3 km

<50 m / swamp

Level

Fullerton Cove

<10 m / 5 km

<50 m / 2nd order

Level

Italia Road

20 m / 23 km

100 m / 3rd order

Level

Medowie

<10 m / 8 km

<50 m / swamp

Level

Raymond Terrace

10 m / 14 km

<200 m / lagoon

Level

Snapper Island

<10 m / 4 km

< 50 m / bay

Level

Tocal

20 m / 35 km

< 50 m / river

Level


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