Presented to VCE Environmental Science students online on 2-5-2012 by Thomas Wright, Senior Ecologist at AECOM. Relevant to Unit 3: Biodiversity and Unit 4: Environmental Management Systems.
Ecology in Practice - Thomas Wright, Senior Ecologist, AECOM
1. VCE Environmental Science
Unit 3: Biodiversity
ECOLOGY IN PRACTICE
Created by Thomas Wright – Senior Ecologist, AECOM
Sponsored by AGL Energy Limited as part of the Macarthur Wind Farm Project
2. Overview
• Landscape Ecology - Fragmentation
– Definition and concepts
– Examples of edge-effects
• Ecology in the Field
– Case Study: construction of a wind farm
3. Landscape Ecology - Definition
• How does the environment affect species
distribution.
• Environment can mean:
– Natural (forests, grasslands, oceans, etc.)
– Anthropogenic (paddocks, cities, roads, etc.)
4. Landscape Ecology - Definition
• Fragmentation is the division of habitat or
ecosystems into smaller and disconnected
patches/fragments.
• Fragmentation effects can be divided into:
– Between fragment-effects (connectivity,
isolation, dispersal); and
– Within fragment-effects (edge effects,
disturbances).
5. Landscape Ecology – Between-
fragment Effects
• Patch/fragment – homogenous area with
certain spatial features (size, length, width,
distance to next patch).
• Isolation/connectivity - how
isolated/connected one patch is to
another. Is species specific.
• Matrix – the background landscape
species are required to disperse through.
9. Southern Brown Bandicoot
• Is listed as vulnerable under the EPBC Act
• Found in southern South Australia, southern Victoria
and eastern New South Wales.
• Prefers coastal heathland, heathy forests and forests where there is plenty of
ground protection.
• Main threats are:
•C
•H
•I
•P
•P
•O
• Victorian populations occur around Warrnambool-Otway Plains, lowland
Gippsland, Western Gippsland Plain and Greater Grampians.
• Gippsland populations is within Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary.
10.
11.
12. Landscape Ecology – Within-
fragment Effects
• Edge effects – interaction between two
contrasting patches resulting in altered
biology and physical conditions at edges.
20. Wind
farm plan
Flora and
Fauna
Surveys
VICTORIAN
Remnant VICTORIAN COMMONWEALTH
Vegetation – FFG Act- EPBC Act-listed
NetGain listed Items Items
Referral to
Offset Permit to Commonwealth
Management Plan DSE Environment
Minister
21.
22.
23. Wind farms
• Potential risks to birds and bats
– Direct, i.e. collision
– Indirect
• Loss of habitat
• Avoidance of nesting sites
• Noise and other disturbances during construction
• AUSWEA guidelines for bird and bat
surveys
• DNWFDG – survey guidelines (draft)
24. • Bird surveys on Wind Farms
• Species
• Height
• Number
• Flight behaviour
– Hovering, circling, horizontal, vertical
• Migratory or sedentary
• Bat surveys on Wind Farms
• ANABAT – records echolocation calls
• Indirect and direct observations by observers