Survey guidelines for Australia’s threatened bats
Guidelines for detecting bats listed as threatened under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage & the Arts
These guidelines were prepared by Terry Reardon, with the expert advice and experience of Kyle Armstrong (Pilbara leaf-nosed bat), Lindy Lumsden (Christmas Island pipistrelle), Peggy Eby (grey-headed flying fox), and Olivia Whybird and Chris Clague (spectacled flying fox).
Information on species and/or comments on drafts was provided by Greg Ford (Queensland DPI), Chris Clague, Bruce Thomson (Queensland PWS), Roger Coles (University of Queensland), Lindsay Agnew, Brad Law (State Forests of NSW), Michael Pennay (current President of the Australasian Bat Society Inc NSW DECCW), Glenn Hoye (Fly By Night Bat Surveys NSW), Greg Richards (Greg Richards and Associates Pty Ltd ACT) and Damian Milne (Parks and Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory).
Brad Law generously allowed the use of an unpublished manuscript that addressed the issue of determining survey effort for bats.
The Australasian Bat Society Inc. allowed the use of the standards for bat detector-based surveys to be included in the Appendix, and also offered its general help in the preparation of this document.
The draft version of this document was reviewed and updated by Kyle Armstrong in April 2009. The following people are acknowledged for checking updated individual species profiles: Chris Clague, Peggy Eby, Glenn Hoye, Lindy Lumsden, Damian Milne, Terry Reardon, Greg Richards and Chris Turbill.
Project team
Senior Project Manager (AMBS) Jayne Tipping
Project Manager (AMBS) Catherine Athey
Author/Bat Specialist (SAM) Terence Reardon
CONTENTS
i
Survey guidelines for Australia’s threatened bats i
Acknowledgements ii
Project team ii
INTRODUCTION 3
Background 3
Scope of the survey guidelines 5
Determining if a survey should be conducted 5
PLANNING AND DESIGN OF SURVEYS 7
Conducting surveys in six steps 7
Step 1: Identify taxa that may occur in the study area 7
(i) Characterise the study area 7
(ii) Establish the regional context 7
(iii) Identify those threatened bats that are known to, likely to or may occur in the region 7
(iv) Prepare a list of threatened taxa that could occur in the study area 8
Step 2: Determine optimal timing for surveys of ‘target’ taxa 9
Step 3: Determine optimal location of surveys 10
Step 4: Establish sampling design and survey effort 11
Spatial sampling 11
Temporal sampling 11
Step 5: Select appropriate personnel to conduct surveys 12
Step 6: Document survey methods and results 14
Review of survey methods 16
Bat survey techniques 16
Capture methods used in the survey guidelines 16
Other capture methods 17
Echolocation call detection 18
Roost searches 20
The presence of food plants for flying foxes 22
Radio-tracking 22
Chemi-luminescent tagging 22
Survey effort 22
Harp traps 22
Mistnets 23
Echolocation call detectors 23
Combining methods 25
National survey guidelines for threatened bat species 26
Rationale of the survey guidelines for threatened bat species 26
Animal welfare and licensing considerations 26
Species profiles 27
Bare-rumped sheath-tailed bat 29
Greater large-eared horseshoe bat 33
Semon’s leaf-nosed bat 37
Large-eared pied bat 41
Spectacled flying fox 45
Christmas Island pipistrelle 49
Grey-headed flying fox 53
South-eastern long-eared bat 57
Orange leaf-nosed bat (Pilbara form) 60
Southern bent-winged bat 66
References 70
Appendix A 75
Recommendations of the Australasian Bat Society Inc for reporting standards for insectivorous bat surveys using bat detectors 75
Appendix B 80
Recommended common names and current taxonomy 80
Tables
HOW TO USE THESE GUIDELINES
The purpose of this document is to provide proponents and assessors with a guide to surveying Australia’s threatened bats listed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
These guidelines will help you to determine the likelihood of a species’ presence or absence on your site. They have been prepared using a variety of expert sources, and should be read in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Art’s Significant impact guidelines 1.1 - Matters of national environmental significance.
These guidelines are not mandatory. Proposals failing to meet these survey guidelines for reasons of efficiency, cost or validity will not necessarily default to a judgement that referral is required (that is, that a significant impact is likely), especially where the proponent issues an evidence-based rationale for an alternative survey approach. Alternatives to a dedicated survey may also be appropriate. For example, a desktop analysis of historic data may indicate that a significant impact is not likely. Similarly, a regional habitat analysis may be used to inform judgement of the likely importance of a site to the listed bats. Proponents should also consider the proposal’s impact in the context of the species’ national, regional, district and site importance to establish the most effective survey technique(s).
Failing to survey appropriately for threatened species that may be present at a site could result in the department applying the precautionary principle with regard to significant impact determinations. That is, if no supporting evidence (such as survey results) is presented to support the claim of species absence then the department may assume that the species is in fact present. The department will not accept claimed species absence without effective validation such as through these guidelines, other survey techniques (for example a state guideline or an accepted industry guideline), or relevant expertise. Where a claim of absence is made, proposals should provide a robust evaluation of species absence.
Biological surveys are usually an essential component of significant impact assessment, and should be conducted on the site of the proposed action prior to referral. Surveys assist in the evaluation of impact on matters of national environmental significance by establishing presence or the likelihood of presence/absence of a species. Before undertaking a survey, proponents may wish to contact the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Art’s relevant assessment section to discuss their project and seek advice on appropriate survey effort and design.
Executing a survey to this model and identifying listed species presence does not in itself predict a significant impact. Species presence is one of many factors that increase the likelihood of significant impact. Proponents should use species presence as a consideration in establishing whether a significant impact is likely or certain. As part of the assessment process, sufficient information is usually required to determine if a species’ presence at a site constitutes a ‘population’ or ‘important population’ as defined in the Significant impact guidelines 1.1 publication. Information on whether the occurrence constitutes a ‘population’ or ‘important population’ will not necessarily be generated by surveys conducted using these guidelines.
These guidelines help determine presence or the probability of presence. They do not establish or assess species abundance, as the effort in terms of cost and time required for an abundance survey is much greater than that determining presence/absence. Effective abundance surveys would need to compare survey effort and techniques with further exploration of a proposal’s context, including important population location(s), habitat importance, ecological function and species behaviour.
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