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.

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.

6. Colonisation
Dispersal
Colonisation Colonisation
Dispersal
Dispersal

7. Colonisation
Dispersal
Colonisation Colonisation
Dispersal
Dispersal

8. Mt Eccles
National Park

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.

12. Landscape Ecology – Within-
fragment Effects
• Edge effects – interaction between two
contrasting patches resulting in altered
biology and physical conditions at edges.

13. Radiant Energy
Wind Energy

14. Radiant Energy
Radiant Energy
Wind Energy
Wind Energy

17. Abiotic factors influence organism
distribution. List examples
Temperature/ Light Wind
Humidity
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

18. Ecology in the Field –
Construction of a Wind farm

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

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

25. • General Surveys
– Habitat
– Nests/Potential Nesting Sites

29. Wind farms – post construction
• Ongoing Monitoring
• Bird-deaths near wind farms
• Auditing
• Companies compliance with environmental
management plans
– Sound
– Visual impact
– Pollution
– Occupational Health and Safety

30. References
• Sub-regional strategy for Southern Brown Bandicoot:
http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/12
7760/DRAFT-Southern-Brown-Bandicoot-
Strategy_web.pdf
• Birds and windfarms:
http://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/publications/wind-
farm-bird-risk.html
• Draft National Wind Farm Development Guidelines –
Bird Survey:
http://www.agk.com.au/coopersgap/assets/downloads/2_
-_Draft_NWFD_Guidelines.pdf