Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 - Byron Shire Council

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BYRON FLORA AND FAUNA STUDY, 1999 essentially relictual, having contracted to two main cores centred on the NSW North Coast and the Herbert- Daintree uplands of North East Queensland, and is characterised by species with restricted distributions and specialised ecological requirements. Examples occurring in Byron Shire are the Pouched Frog Assa darlingtoni, Fletcher’s Frog Lechriodus fletcheri, Great Barred Frog Mixophys fasciolatus, Loveridge’s Frog Philoria loveridgei (Photo 18), Southern Forest Dragon Hypsilurus spinopes (Photo 20), Three-toed Snake-tooth Skink Coeranoscincus reticulatus, Blue-speckled Forest-skink Eulamprus murrayi (Photo 19), Stephen’s Banded Snake Holocephalus stephensii (Photo 21), Rose-crowned Fruit-dove Ptilinopus regina (Photo 23), Topknot Pigeon Lopholaimus antarcticus, Sooty Owl Tyto tenebricosa, Marbled Frogmouth Podargus ocellatus (Photo 26), Albert’s Lyrebird Menura alberti (Photo 24), Rufous Scrub-bird Atrichornis rufescens, Brown Gerygone Gerygone mouki, Pale-yellow Robin Tregellasia capito, Logrunner Orthonyx temminckii, Paradise Riflebird Ptilorus paradiseus, Green Catbird Ailuroedus crassirostris, Regent Bowerbird Sericulus chrysocephalus, Red-legged Pademelon Thylogale thetis and Parma Wallaby Macropus parma. The Torresian fauna of the tropical, grassy savanna woodlands of northern Australia is represented in the Shire by species such as the Rocket Frog Litoria nasuta, Northern Banjo Frog Limnodynastes terraereginae, Robust Ctenotus Ctenotus robustus, Major Skink Egernia frerei, Brown Tree Snake Boiga irregularis, Freshwater Snake Tropidonophis mairii, Bar-shouldered Dove Geopelia humeralis, Grass Owl Tyto capensis, Forest Kingfisher Todirhamphus macleayi, Red-backed Fairy-wren Malura melanocephalus, Little Friarbird Philemon citreogularis, Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis, White-throated Honeyeater Melithreptus albogularis, White-bellied Cuckoo-shrike Coracina papuensis, White-breasted Woodswallow Artamus leucorhynchus, Chestnut-breasted Mannikin Lonchura castaneothorax, Common Planigale Planigale maculatus (Photo 28), Northern Brown Bandicoot Isoodon macrourus, Hoary Wattled Bat Chalinolobus nigrogriseus and Grassland Melomys Melomys burtoni. Examples of the Bassian fauna of the eucalypt-dominated sclerophyll forests of southern Australia present in Byron Shire are the Common Eastern Froglet Crinia signifera, Brown-striped Frog Limnodynastes peronii, Lace Monitor Varanus varius, Dark-flecked Garden Sunskink Lampropholis delicata, Eastern Blue-tongued Lizard Tiliqua scincoides, Red-bellied Black Snake Pseudechis porphyriacus, Wonga Pigeon Leucosarcia melanoleuca, Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus, Crimson Rosella Platycercus elegans, Red-browed Treecreeper Climacteris erythrops, Superb Fairy-wren Malurus cyaneus, Striated Thornbill Acanthiza lineata, Eastern Spinebill Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, Satin Flycatcher Myiagra cyanoleuca, Bassian Thrush Zoothera lunulata, Spotted-tailed Quoll Dasyurus maculatus, Koala Phascolarctos cinereus (Photo 29)Eastern Pygmy-possum Cercartetus nanus, Greater Glider Petauroides volans, Eastern Falsistrelle Falsistrellus tasmaniensis and Bush Rat Rattus fuscipes. The two other biota present, the Irian and Eyrean, comprise a much smaller complement of species. The Irian biota, extending from the lowland rainforests and savanna woodlands of New Guinea, is represented in the Shire by the Green Tree Frog Litoria caerulea, Superb Fruit-dove Ptilinopus superbus, Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematodus, Little Bronze-cuckoo Chrysococcyx minutillus, White-eared Monarch Monarcha leucotis, Scarlet Honeyeater Myzomela sanguinolenta, Common Blossom-bat Syconycteris australis, Eastern Tube-nosed Bat Nyctimene robinsoni (Photo 30) and Black Flying-fox Pteropus alecto. Members of the Eyrean fauna of arid central Australia are mainly recent colonists which have taken advantage of habitats associated with human settlement. Species present include Burton’s Snake-lizard Lialis burtonis, the Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes, Galah Cacatua roseicapilla, Striped Honeyeater Plectorhyncha lanceolata and Pied Butcherbird Cracticus nigrogularis. In addition to the major biota, a narrow section of the Shire’s coastal plain constitutes part of a smaller biogeographic region known as the Wallum (Coaldrake 1961). Wallum supports fire-prone sclerophyllous vegetation on low-nutrient sands and is characterised by a small group of vertebrate species represented in the Shire by the Wallum Froglet Crinia tinnula, Freycinet’s Frog Litoria freycineti, Wallum Tree Frog Litoria olongburensis (Photo 17) and Southern Emu-wren Stipiturus malachurus. Neogeographically, Byron Shire’s combination of coastal location, wide elevational and topographic variation, fertile soils interspersed with infertile soils, high rainfall and mild climatic regime provide conditions resulting in a mosaic of vegetation communities and promoting plant growth throughout the year (Nix 1976), in turn maximising niches for fauna (CSIRO Division of Wildlife and Ecology 1996). 23
A GREENPRINT FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE 3 24 Databases and GIS as basis for data management 3.1 INTRODUCTION In a time of rapid change it is important to be able to track changes in the environment so that policy too can adapt. Also, given the large and complex nature of the datasets involved in environmental management it is important that this information can be readily accessed, visualized, summarized and updated. Due to their ability to meet these requirements Geographical Information Systems (GIS) are increasingly being utilized as a major tool for planning and management. 3.2 GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) GIS are simply extensions of more traditional data management systems such as relational databases, or in simplified form, spreadsheets. Unlike these systems however, GIS utilise a graphical interface whereby database attributes are attached to point, line, or polygon graphical elements. Apart from the benefits of visualization, and a mechanism for advanced data storage and retrieval, this functionality also permits cartographic map production, detailed data interrogation and query, and spatial modelling. The spatial nature of GIS facilitates the integration of many disparate datasets. For example, for any single location there may exist information related to tenure, ownership, slope, soil type, land use, agricultural suitability, zoning, vegetation type, ecological attributes, rare plants and animals. Where resources are limited and potential planning and management constraints are significant, it is important to achieve optimal outcomes. The ability to perform spatial modelling tasks is a unique feature of GIS, which can be used to optimize land use, or examine the effects of different environmental management scenarios. This study established comprehensive database layers from existing and new survey result information. Existing data Existing data layers used were: • Contours • Cadastre • Council zoning • Soil landscapes Major derived layers In the course of this study, new data layers derived were: • Vegetation mapping (Section 4) • Reserved areas (National Parks, Nature Reserves, State Forests) • Records of significant flora (Section 5) • Records of significant fauna (Section 6) • Ecological attributes (Section 8) • Locations of native fig trees in cleared areas
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Byron Flora and Fauna Study 1999 - Byron Shire Council

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