Rev Fauna Flora Assessment

                                                                                 Native Foresters



    •    Possible - suitable habitat present for the species, but no recent database records from
         the study area or proximity; and
    •    Unlikely - based on a lack of suitable habitat and lack of proximate records.

2.2.4 Survey timing and weather conditions

The flora and fauna surveys were conducted under the following conditions (BOM Daily Weather
Observations for Tewantin (http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/):

▪    May 2017 (mid-autumn) under cool, overcast and rainy conditions with temperatures ranging
     from 16.2 to 23.9 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 58-99%. Scattered showers over
     the survey dates delivered approximately 37 millimetres of rain and there was 4.2 millimetres
     of rain recorded during the preceding week.
▪    March 2018 (early autumn) under rainy, overcast conditions with temperatures ranging from
     22.7 to 28.6 degrees Celsius and 47.6 millimetres of rain in the preceeding 24 hours.
▪    April 2018 (early autumn) 24 to 27 degrees Celsius with light rain preceeding the survey and
     27mm of rain recorded during the preceding week.
▪    June 2018 (mid-winter) under rainy, overcast conditions with temperatures ranging from 5.7
     – 18.7 degrees Celsius and 6.4mm of rain in the preceding 24 hours.

The timing of the survey is considered suitable for detecting the target EVNT listed plant,
Pararistolochia praevenosa, which can be identified all year round based on its characteristic leaf
size, shape and hooked petiole as well as its mottled, ridged or furrowed stem.

The timing of the surveys is deemed optimal for detecting Wallum froglet and for identifying
surface activity of Swamp Crayfish, as there was seasonal inundation of the site following periods
of intense rainfall during both survey periods.

2.2.5 Survey limitations

Emphasis is placed on surveying listed threatened ecological communities, populations and/or
species that are considered likely to occur within the survey area. With respect to opportunistic
observations, the possibility exists that certain species may not have been detected during field
investigations due to:

    •    seasonal inactivity during field survey;
    •    species present within microhabitats not surveyed;
    •    cryptic species able to avoid detection;
    •    transient wide-ranging species not present during survey period;
    •    absence of reproductive material for flora identification;

The lack of observational data on some species should therefore not be taken as necessarily
indicating that a species is absent from the site. The repetition of the survey in different seasons
and years is recommended to minimise the effect of this limitation on the survey results.
The precautionary principle was applied in estimating the likelihood of Commonwealth and State
listed species based on habitats identified within the subject site.

With respect to sampling for Swamp Crayfish in the ephemeral ponds that occurred throughout
the Melaleuca wetland / Gahnia sedgeland, it was difficult to make multiple sweeps through the
substrate in areas of dense emergent vegetation. Swamp Crayfish are often difficult to detect as



Carramar Extension – Fauna and Flora Assessment – Revision 2                                        14