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Centralian Floodplains Desert Skink (Liopholis slateri)

The Centralian Floodplains Desert Skink is a small, burrowing desert skink of central Australia. It lives in open shrubland and drainage-line habitats where shrubs have raised soil mounds suitable for complex burrow systems. Clearing, earthworks, weed invasion, altered fire and flooding can remove or damage the burrows and mounded shrubs on which local populations depend.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

South Australia, National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972: Endangered.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Vulnerable.

Breeding season

This species is live-bearing, but mating, pregnancy and birth dates are not recorded. Activity was consistent from October to January, while warmer spring and summer conditions are identified as the likely reproductive period, so avoid relying on seasonal inactivity when planning clearing.

Reproductive mode: Live-bearing. Females give birth to live young.

Litter size: Not recorded.

Gestation: Not recorded.

Size at birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: No nest or egg site is recorded. Births may occur within established, multi-entrance burrow systems in soil mounds around shrubs and small trees.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded.

Confirm timing locally before works, because rainfall and temperature can alter activity and reproductive timing in central Australian floodplain habitat.

  • Mating: Mating dates are not recorded. The likely reproductive period is spring and summer, from about September to February, with no confirmed peak.
  • Gravid females: The timing of pregnancy is not recorded. Females may carry embryos during the likely spring and summer reproductive period, but the duration of gestation is unknown.
  • Births: Birth dates are not recorded. Births are most reasonably planned for within the likely spring and summer reproductive period, about September to February, but this timing is unconfirmed.
  • Newborns: The timing of newborn emergence and the period of greatest abundance are not recorded. Spring and summer are used as the precautionary period because they are the likely reproductive months.
  • Active period: Behaviour was consistent over October to January, and the species is diurnal and crepuscular. Warmer weather is associated with increased activity, but no monthly activity peak is recorded.
  • Winter inactivity: No species-specific brumation or winter inactivity period is recorded. As a general precaution for an arid burrowing reptile, treat June to August as a period when animals may shelter in burrows and be less able to escape machinery.
  • Highest clearing risk: The likely highest risk period is September to February, when the likely reproductive period overlaps with warmer-weather activity. Burrow systems and mounded shrubs remain sensitive to clearing, collapse and soil disturbance in every month.

Identification

This is a small, darkly patterned, burrowing skink that is most often detected from its mound and burrow system rather than by seeing the animal. Identification should be confirmed carefully because it can be confused with the related desert skink, Liopholis inornata.

Slater's Skink has a generally darker colour pattern, with black streaks on a muted grey-brown background. The underside is paler dull blue-grey. It is a relatively small skink, although published size information in the supplied sources is inconsistent: one adult measured 103 mm snout to vent length and weighed 35 g, while the survey guideline gives a maximum snout to vent length of 93 mm.

Recorded adult: 103 mm snout to vent length and 35 g

Survey guideline maximum: 93 mm snout to vent length

  • Look for an alert skink sitting on, or partly emerging from, a soil mound beneath a shrub.
  • Expect diurnal to crepuscular activity, with basking most likely in the morning and late afternoon during warmer weather.

Identification: Distinguishing it from the desert skink

The related desert skink, Liopholis inornata, also constructs burrows at shrub bases, but it occurs on sandy soils and generally has a simpler burrow system with smaller entrances and a conspicuous fan of loose substrate at the main entrance. Slater's Skink occurs mainly on alluvial clay soils, has darker, more muted colouration, and usually has a paler dull blue-grey underside rather than the glossy white or pink-white underside of the desert skink.

Midbody scales: Usually 38 or 40, within a reported range of 37 to 44 for Slater's Skink

Desert skink comparison: Usually 34 to 42 midbody scales, with a reported mean of 37

  • Treat a new locality as requiring confirmation by an experienced observer.
  • Use a photo voucher and arrange tissue sampling for DNA confirmation where the identification or range is uncertain.
  • Do not rely on colour alone, because the differences between the two species can be subtle.

Identification: Field signs

The strongest field evidence is a complex burrow system in a soil mound beneath a small tree or shrub. Burrow systems may have several open entrances and concealed, thinly covered exit holes known as pop holes.

An external latrine or scat pile near the burrow is frequently associated with Slater's Skink and is not commonly reported for other lizards living in the same area. Tracks, calls, nests, sloughs and eyeshine are not identified as reliable field signs in the supplied sources.

Burrow entrances: 31.25 to 77.0 mm diameter in the study sample

Typical opening count: 1 to 10 entrances per mound, with a mean of 3.26 in the study sample

Associated sign: A latrine or scat pile may occur near the burrow system

  • Inspect mounded shrubs from more than 10 metres with binoculars before approaching.
  • Move to 5 to 6 metres and repeat the scan, then search from within 1 metre if no animal is seen.
  • Avoid entering or excavating a suspected burrow system during detection work.

Distribution: National range

The species is centred on the arid interior around Alice Springs, with records from the Finke and MacDonnell bioregions. The supplied sources identify the Northern Territory as the main documented range and indicate occurrence or historical occurrence in northern South Australia.

In the Northern Territory, extant populations are known from Finke Gorge National Park, Tempe Downs Station, Illamurta Springs Conservation Reserve, Owen Springs Reserve, sites on the Finke River, Ellery Creek near Hermannsburg and Loves Creek Station. The species has also been associated with the Finke and MacDonnell bioregions around Alice Springs.

Northern South Australia is included in the broader reported range, and the species is listed as Endangered in South Australia. The supplied sources do not provide a current site list or confirmed population count for South Australia.

States and territories: Northern Territory and South Australia

Bioregions: Finke and MacDonnell Ranges bioregions

Best documented centre of range: Around Alice Springs and adjacent central Australian drainage systems

  • Give priority to alluvial plains, minor drainage lines and mounded shrubs within the known central Australian range.
  • Treat records outside the well-documented Northern Territory range as requiring careful taxonomic verification.

Distribution: Strongholds and trend

The Tanami Desert and Uluru region are described as strongholds for the related Great Desert Skink, not for Slater's Skink. Slater's Skink is instead associated with several small sites in the Finke and MacDonnell region, including Owen Springs Reserve and Loves Creek.

The species has declined substantially over about 40 years. It has disappeared from some former sites, including the type locality near Alice Springs and a site on the Palmer River at Tempe Downs Station.

Known population count: Seven small, highly fragmented populations were reported in the MacDonnell Ranges and Finke bioregions

Study population example: About 10 ha at one Owen Springs site and 0.25 ha at a second site

Population trend: Significant decline in abundance and distribution over the past 40 years

Habitat: Overall habitat

Slater's Skink is associated mainly with open shrubland on alluvial soils near drainage lines. The habitat is defined less by a single plant species than by the combination of open ground, suitable shrubs and raised soil mounds that can support burrows.

Most known sites are on open shrubland or shrubland on alluvial clay-based soils close to perennial creeks or drainage lines. More recent records include minor drainage lines among stony hills, elevated narrow rocky creek lines, an isolated dune and low calcareous rises with spinifex.

At Owen Springs, the ground between shrubs was typically open, with sparse vegetation where buffel grass had not invaded.

Soils: Usually alluvial clay-based soils; some records are from dunes, calcareous rises and rocky creek lines

Typical setting: Open shrubland close to drainage lines

Elevation limit: Not reported in the supplied sources

  • Map all drainage lines, alluvial flats, minor creek lines and mounded shrubs before clearing or earthworks.
  • Retain open areas around suitable mounded shrubs rather than treating the shrub canopy alone as the habitat unit.

Habitat: Vegetation and structure

Burrows are constructed in soil mounds formed around the base of shrubs and small trees. Eremophila sturtii was the dominant shrub associated with burrows in the Owen Springs study, with additional systems under Acacia victoriae, Hakea leucoptera and Enchylaena tomentosa.

Suitable mounds were generally open or sparsely vegetated. Small chenopod shrubs, native grasses and occasional buffel grass occurred on mound edges, but dense buffel grass cover is unsuitable because it can overgrow the mound and burrow entrances.

Shrub height at occupied or previously occupied systems: 0.42 to 3.22 m

Mound height: 4.5 to 33 cm

Mound basal circumference: 3.12 to 10.36 m

Distance to nearest mounded shrub: 0.6 to 7.8 m

  • Record shrub species, mound height, mound circumference, surrounding cover and distance to the next mounded shrub.
  • Search mounds under shrubs from 0.42 to 3.22 m tall, because the species uses a broad range of shrub sizes.
  • Treat mounds less than 4.5 cm high as less likely to contain an occupied system, while still recording them as potential habitat.

Foraging habitat: Foraging behaviour

Slater's Skink is a sit and wait predator that hunts from the mound and burrow entrance. The supplied documents do not identify its prey species, diet composition or normal foraging range.

Animals hunt by sitting on the mound and waiting for prey to approach. They may bask on the mound or at the burrow entrance, allowing them to remain close to shelter while monitoring the surrounding open ground.

The open space between mounded shrubs is therefore part of the foraging habitat, even where it has little vegetation cover.

Foraging method: Sit and wait, from the mound or near a burrow entrance

Diet: Specific prey were not reported in the supplied sources

Foraging range: Not quantified; observations indicate foraging close to the burrow system

  • Retain the mound, its shrub and the open ground immediately around it.
  • Do not assume that bare ground between shrubs is disturbed land with no habitat value.
  • Avoid stockpiling soil, slash or construction materials around mounded shrubs.

Foraging habitat: Habitat condition for feeding

The study sites had sparse vegetation on and between mounds, with other cover generally 0.6 to 6.3 m from the mound. Dense buffel grass can cover pedestals and reduce access to the mound and burrow entrances.

Distance to other cover: 0.6 to 6.3 m in the burrow study

Typical nearby plants: Chenopods and native grasses, with buffel grass present on some mounds

  • Keep invasive grass control methods away from occupied burrow entrances unless they have been assessed for direct effects on the mound and animal.
  • Inspect nearby open ground for basking animals before vehicles, personnel or machinery approach.

Breeding habitat: Breeding information

The supplied sources provide only limited information on reproduction. They indicate a likely spring and summer reproductive period and show that breeding habitat is closely tied to established mounded shrubs and secure burrows.

The survey guideline states that activity is likely to be highest during warmer weather, particularly during the likely spring and summer reproductive period. The sources do not provide a confirmed mating period, clutch size, gestation period, age at maturity or lifespan.

Burrow systems provide protected, thermally stable spaces. Their use during reproduction is plausible from the species' obligate burrowing habit, but a specific nesting chamber or breeding den has not been described in the supplied documents.

Breeding season: Likely spring and summer, based on the survey guideline; exact timing is not confirmed

Clutch or litter size: Not reported

Gestation or incubation: Not reported

Age at maturity: Not reported

Lifespan: Not reported

Breeding habitat feature: Established, multi-entrance burrow systems in mounded shrubs on open alluvial ground

Breeding habitat: Site protection during the breeding period

Because reproductive timing is associated with warmer spring and summer conditions, disturbance to occupied mounds during this period may affect adults and any dependent young within burrows. The sources do not provide a species-specific exclusion distance, so site controls should be set by the project ecologist after mapping each burrow system and considering the machinery and impact type.

  • Complete targeted searches before clearing or ground disturbance in suitable habitat.
  • Mark occupied and likely burrow systems as no-go areas for machinery, vehicle parking, spoil placement and trenching.
  • Escalate any proposed disturbance to an occupied system to the relevant fauna specialist and approval authority.

Sheltering habitat: Burrow structure

The species is an obligate burrower. Its shelter consists of complex burrow systems excavated into soil mounds around shrubs, providing shade, predator refuge and a more stable thermal environment than the surface.

Burrow systems may have up to 10 entrances and can include connected tunnels, concealed pop holes and small internal cavities. In one excavated mound, two systems had a combined tunnel length of 221 cm, with tunnel diameters of 21 to 30 mm.

The studied mounds were formed beneath shrubs ranging from 0.42 to 3.22 m tall. Burrows may extend below the mound into the underlying ground, so disturbance must not be limited to the visible mound surface.

Number of entrances: 1 to 10 per system in the study sample

Entrance diameter: 31.25 to 77.0 mm

Internal tunnel diameter: 21 to 30 mm in the excavated system

Mound height: 4.5 to 33 cm

Recorded combined tunnel length: 221 cm in one excavated mound

  • Treat the entire mound, shrub base and immediate soil profile as a refuge feature.
  • Do not probe, fill, excavate or collapse suspected burrows during routine searches.
  • Record concealed pop holes as burrow entrances even when they are thinly covered with sand.

Sheltering habitat: Thermal refuge

The burrow provided a more stable thermal environment than the surface. In the temperature study, the logger inside the burrow recorded a maximum of 36.9 degrees Celsius, compared with 57.6 degrees in shade and 70.2 degrees in full sun.

Burrow temperature range: 12.0 to 36.9 degrees Celsius in the study

Full sun comparison: 7.3 to 70.2 degrees Celsius in the study

Burrow mean temperature: 23.3 degrees Celsius over the study period

  • Protect burrow entrances and mound shade from clearing, fire, grading and soil compaction.
  • Keep vehicles and heavy machinery off the mound and its surrounding soil.
  • Do not use surface temperature or apparent inactivity as evidence that a mound is unoccupied.

Threats: Clearing and construction

The main risks are loss or degradation of mounded shrub habitat and direct damage to burrow systems. This species has a fragmented distribution, so loss of a small number of occupied mounds can affect a local population.

Clearing shrubs, grading alluvial soil, trenching, road construction and vehicle access can remove the mound and collapse or sever the burrow system. Spoil, laydown areas and repeated vehicle movements can also bury entrances or compact the soil needed for burrow maintenance.

The species' refuge extends below the visible mound, so shallow disturbance can still damage the occupied system.

Primary project risk: Direct loss or collapse of multi-entrance burrow systems and their mounded shrubs

Fragmentation concern: Known populations are small and highly fragmented

  • Search and map all mounded shrubs and burrow entrances before clearing.
  • Fence or otherwise mark occupied systems before machinery enters the work area.
  • Keep access tracks, spoil, compounds and temporary work areas away from mounds and their shrubs.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher where an animal is seen or where work could affect an occupied burrow.

Threats: Weeds and fire

Buffel grass and other exotic weeds can overgrow the pedestals where the skinks construct burrows. Altered fire regimes and dense weed cover can change the open structure of the habitat and damage refuges.

Minor buffel grass infestation did not appear to cause abandonment of every mound in the study, but the sampled sites did not contain the dense cover found in heavily invaded areas.

Study observation: Four of five mounds with some buffel grass remained occupied

Documented concern: Dense buffel grass can overgrow the pedestals used for burrows

  • Map and control buffel grass around occupied habitat using methods that do not collapse or contaminate burrows.
  • Avoid broadscale disturbance or burning of occupied mounds.
  • Assess proposed fire regimes for their effects on shrub survival, mound stability and burrow entrances.

Threats: Flooding and hydrology

Flood events can cause natural loss of burrow systems and potential habitat. Drainage diversion, altered overland flow, creek-line works and increased sediment movement may therefore affect both existing mounds and the processes that maintain them.

Hydrological threat: Flood events have been identified as a cause of natural loss of burrow systems

  • Avoid placing infrastructure across drainage lines, alluvial flats or minor creek lines containing mounded shrubs.
  • Assess changes to flood depth, velocity and duration before altering drainage or installing crossings.
  • Inspect occupied habitat after major floods for collapsed entrances and changed mound condition.

Threats: Predators, roads and disease

The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease or predator control programme. Burrows provide protection from predators, so their loss may increase exposure. Roads and vehicle movements are a direct site risk where they cross mounded shrub habitat, although road mortality has not been quantified in the supplied sources.

Disease evidence: No species-specific disease was reported in the supplied documents

Road impact evidence: Road mortality was not quantified in the supplied documents

  • Apply low-speed controls and pre-clearance searches where roads or access tracks pass through suitable habitat.
  • Do not infer that an apparently empty burrow is unused, because occupancy can change and animals may be below ground.
  • Record predator, road mortality and disease observations and report them to the project ecologist and relevant government agency.

Survey methodology: 1. Map and inspect potential habitat

Survey effort should focus on the species' distinctive burrow systems and on lizards basking near mounded shrubs. Slater's skink is diurnal to crepuscular and is most likely to be active in warmer weather, particularly during spring and summer.

Before fieldwork, map alluvial plains, drainage lines, minor drainage lines among stony hills, shrubland and open shrubland.

Prioritise small trees and shrubs, particularly Eremophila species, with soil mounds around their bases.

Inspect habitat on alluvial clay based soils close to drainage lines, while also checking elevated narrow rocky creek lines, low calcareous rises, isolated dunes and spinifex covered areas where the species has been recorded.

Known distribution: Central Australia, including the Finke and MacDonnell bioregions of the Northern Territory and northern South Australia.

Known population pattern: Seven small, highly fragmented populations were reported within the MacDonnell Ranges and Finke bioregions in the cited study.

  • Record the location, condition and extent of every mounded shrub, burrow system, latrine and connected patch of suitable habitat.
  • Treat mounded shrubs and associated burrows as habitat features even when no lizard is visible.

Survey methodology: 2. Search burrows and mounded shrubs

Search during daylight, with additional attention to the periods when basking is most likely, about 2 to 6 hours after sunrise and during the 2 hours before sunset in summer.

Start at least 10 metres from each mounded shrub and scan the mound, shrub base and burrow entrances with 10 x 40 binoculars.

If no animal is seen, repeat the search from 5 to 6 metres, then move to within 1 metre and conduct a thorough inspection.

Burrow entrances: One to 10 entrances per mound were recorded, with a mean of 3.26 entrances in the study.

Mound size: Occupied or previously occupied systems were in mounds 4.5 to 33 centimetres high, with basal circumferences of 3.12 to 10.36 metres.

Shrub size: Associated shrubs were 0.42 to 3.22 metres high.

Entrance size: Burrow opening diameters were 31.25 to 77.0 millimetres.

  • Search for complex burrow systems with several entrances, thinly covered pop holes and a nearby external latrine or scat pile.
  • Distinguish likely Slater's skink burrows from the simpler burrows of Liopholis inornata, which occur on sandy soils and commonly have smaller entrances with a conspicuous fan of loose substrate.
  • Do not excavate occupied burrows during a survey.

Survey methodology: 3. Confirm occupancy and identity

Use quiet observation of burrow entrances and mounds to confirm occupancy where possible.

Pitfall trapping near known burrow systems may assist confirmation, but it must be designed, installed and operated by appropriately authorised personnel under an approved animal welfare method.

Because Slater's skink can be confused with the closely related desert skink, verify any new locality with a photo voucher and tissue sample for DNA sequence extraction, and submit material to the appropriate state museum for identification.

Burrow spacing context: In the study, the nearest mounded shrub was 0.6 to 7.80 metres away, and other cover was 0.6 to 6.30 metres away.

Typical habitat structure: Suitable areas were open shrubland on alluvial plains, with a high proportion of shrubs having mounds higher than 5 centimetres.

  • Record whether the burrow is active, recently occupied or apparently unoccupied, without disturbing the mound or entrances.
  • Photograph the mound, shrub, entrances, latrine and surrounding ground cover at a scale that allows later verification.
  • Record the substrate, shrub species, mound dimensions, entrance count, entrance dimensions, surrounding vegetation and distance to the nearest mounded shrub.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Survey all suitable habitat within the disturbance footprint and any adjacent area that may be affected by access, vibration, spoil placement, drainage changes, fire or weed movement.
  • Use the staged visual search from more than 10 metres, then 5 to 6 metres, then 1 metre at every mounded shrub or likely burrow system.
  • Do not describe a site as free of Slater's skinks solely because no lizard was seen, because occupied animals can remain inside their burrows.
  • Document survey dates, start and finish times, weather, recent rainfall, observer names and experience, search areas, search duration, methods, burrow findings, photographs and any trapping effort.
  • Record all positive and negative observations, including burrow systems without visible animals.
  • Submit confirmed records to the relevant Northern Territory or South Australian wildlife database and provide records to the project regulator and land manager.
  • Obtain approval before collecting tissue, trapping, handling or relocating an animal.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Slater's skink depends on mounded shrubs and complex burrow systems in open arid habitats. Avoidance of occupied and potentially occupied burrows is the first control for clearing and construction work.

Primary habitat feature: A mounded shrub or small tree containing a complex, multi entrance burrow system.

Recorded burrow complexity: One excavated system contained two connected systems with a combined tunnel length of 221 centimetres, although excavation is not appropriate as a project survey method.

  • Redesign the footprint to retain mounded shrubs, their burrow systems, nearby open ground and connecting patches of suitable shrubland.
  • Avoid drainage lines, alluvial plains and minor creek lines where burrow systems may occur.
  • Retain groups of mounded shrubs rather than isolated shrubs, because the study recorded nearest mounded shrubs 0.6 to 7.80 metres apart.
  • Prevent changes to overland flow, flooding patterns, soil stability and drainage that could damage mounds or wash out burrows.
  • Keep heavy vehicles, laydown areas, spoil, trenching and vibration away from marked burrows and their mounds.
  • Maintain open ground around retained mounds, while preventing dense buffel grass and other weed growth from overgrowing the mounds.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

National status: Endangered under the EPBC Act.

Activity period: Diurnal to crepuscular, with likely higher activity in warmer weather, particularly spring and summer.

  • Check whether the action requires referral or approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 because Slater's skink is nationally listed as Endangered.
  • Confirm Northern Territory or South Australian threatened species requirements, permits and animal welfare approvals before surveying, trapping, handling, collecting tissue or relocating an animal.
  • Prepare a species specific fauna management plan that identifies known and potential burrows, exclusion areas, authorised personnel, machinery controls, stop work triggers and reporting contacts.
  • Schedule clearing outside the period of greatest expected activity where practicable, noting that activity is likely to increase in warmer weather and during the spring and summer reproductive period.
  • Stage works so that retained habitat and escape routes remain available while each work area is cleared and inspected.

Before habitat disturbance: Prepare the site

  • Complete a pre clearance search using the staged binocular and close inspection method for every mounded shrub and potential burrow.
  • Mark each burrow system, mound, latrine and retained habitat patch with visible exclusion markers that machinery operators can see.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can protect mounds without blocking movement between retained habitat patches or damaging burrow entrances.
  • Brief operators and spotter catchers on the appearance of mounds, entrances, pop holes and latrines before work starts.
  • Provide a clean area for temporary equipment and ensure that no spoil, mulch, fuel, waste or wash water can enter a burrow or drainage line.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

The fauna spotter catcher should control the immediate work area and keep machinery away from burrows and mounded shrubs. Work must stop when an animal, active burrow or unassessed habitat feature is found inside or next to the disturbance area.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, markers and access routes at the start of each shift and after heavy rain, flooding, vehicle movement or changes to the work area.
  • Conduct a daily pre start inspection of all mounded shrubs, marked burrows and nearby open ground before machinery enters the work area.
  • Keep a fauna spotter catcher present during clearing and other ground disturbance that could affect mapped habitat.
  • Use low speed vehicle movements near retained habitat and prohibit machinery from driving over mounds, entrances or likely underground tunnels.
  • Keep excavated soil, spoil, trench water and construction materials away from retained burrow systems.
  • Control buffel grass, other weeds and accidental fire ignition around retained habitat in accordance with the approved management plan.

During habitat disturbance: Spotter catcher and machinery procedure

Burrow structure: Burrows may have multiple entrances, connected tunnels, concealed pop holes and small chambers below the top of the mound.

Internal tunnel diameter: The excavated system had tunnel diameters of 21 to 30 millimetres.

  • The spotter catcher must walk the next work area before clearing, identify any mound or burrow, and give the operator a clear exclusion instruction.
  • The operator must stop immediately when directed and must not resume until the spotter catcher has inspected the feature and the environmental officer has confirmed the control.
  • Use hand methods around a retained mound or burrow where mechanical clearance could collapse the structure or damage roots and soil deposits.
  • Do not probe, fill, collapse, smoke, flood or excavate a burrow to force an animal out.
  • Keep workers quiet and minimise vibration while an animal is being observed or safely removed from the immediate work zone.

During habitat disturbance: Animal found, injury and stop work

  • Stop work and establish an exclusion zone if a Slater's skink is found, if an active burrow is exposed, or if a mound is damaged.
  • Keep people and machinery back while the authorised fauna handler assesses whether the animal can move into nearby retained habitat without handling.
  • Only a person authorised under the relevant permit and fauna management plan may handle or relocate the animal.
  • Relocate an animal only to suitable nearby retained habitat agreed with the regulator or wildlife authority, and record the release location.
  • Place an injured animal in a secure, appropriately ventilated container and transfer it promptly to an approved wildlife carer or veterinarian.
  • Do not retain an animal overnight, transport it across a major geographic barrier or release it without the required approval.
  • Photograph the animal and habitat, record the suspected species identification, time, location, action taken and outcome, and obtain DNA confirmation for a new locality where required.
  • Resume work only after the environmental officer has inspected the area, updated the exclusion controls and authorised the restart.

After habitat disturbance: Post clearance inspection

Post clearance work must confirm that retained habitat and burrow systems remain functional. Records should support regulatory reporting and future searches at the site.

  • Inspect the cleared edge, retained mounds, access tracks, drainage controls and exclusion fencing after each work stage.
  • Check for collapsed entrances, sediment deposition, erosion, vehicle damage, altered water flow, weed establishment and new disturbance around retained shrubs.
  • Repeat the burrow search on retained mounded shrubs after construction and after major rainfall or flooding.
  • Record whether each known burrow remains intact and whether new entrances, latrines, basking observations or fresh disturbance are present.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat during the period specified in the approval or fauna management plan, with additional inspections during warmer weather and spring and summer activity.
  • Use the same mapped search points, photographs and burrow condition measures so results can be compared through time.
  • Report all sightings, captures, injuries, deaths, relocations, damaged burrows, breaches of exclusion controls and unexpected habitat impacts to the project environmental officer and relevant regulator.
  • Submit verified species records, including negative survey information where requested, to the relevant state or territory wildlife database.
  • Keep permit records, spotter catcher diaries, daily checklists, photographs, GPS points, tissue accession details and incident reports with the project environmental records.

After habitat disturbance: Offsets and residual impacts

  • Apply the mitigation hierarchy and document any residual loss or damage to mounded shrubs, burrows and connected habitat.
  • Discuss offsets or other approved compensatory measures with the relevant regulator where impacts cannot be avoided or adequately mitigated.
  • Do not treat artificial burrows or later rehabilitation as a substitute for avoiding occupied habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild habitat structure

Rehabilitation should rebuild the open shrubland structure and soil mounds that Slater's skink uses for shelter, basking and foraging. It should also address weeds, altered fire and flood impacts that can remove burrow habitat.

Mound dimensions recorded at occupied systems: 4.5 to 33 centimetres high and 3.12 to 10.36 metres basal circumference.

Associated shrub height: 0.42 to 3.22 metres.

  • Restore open shrubland on suitable alluvial soils, with mounded shrubs and small trees distributed through the rehabilitated area.
  • Use locally appropriate native shrub species documented from occupied sites, including suitable Eremophila species and Acacia victoriae where these species occur naturally at the site.
  • Form stable soil mounds around established shrubs only where this can be done without burying existing vegetation, changing drainage or creating erosion risk.
  • Aim to recreate shrubs with mounds higher than 5 centimetres, because suitable habitat was described as having a high proportion of shrubs with mounds above that height.
  • Retain open ground between shrubs and avoid dense ground cover that could overgrow mound surfaces and entrances.

Rehabilitation actions: Burrow restoration and threat control

Natural burrow temperature: At one monitored burrow, the inside location recorded 12.0 to 36.9 degrees Celsius, compared with 7.3 to 70.2 degrees Celsius in full sun.

Artificial refuge basis: The burrow study was undertaken to provide baseline information for habitat restoration, translocation and captive breeding programs.

  • Protect natural burrows first and use artificial burrows only where supported by the approved restoration or translocation plan.
  • Design any artificial refuge to reflect the documented natural system, including several entrances, connected tunnels, concealed escape openings and a stable, thermally buffered underground refuge.
  • Do not excavate or install an artificial burrow into an occupied natural mound.
  • Control buffel grass and other invasive weeds before they form dense stands over mounds or entrances.
  • Manage fire so that intense or frequent burns do not remove mound shrubs, destabilise soil or eliminate the open habitat structure used by the species.
  • Maintain natural drainage and avoid directing concentrated runoff across mounds or rehabilitated burrow areas.
  • Manage introduced predators and other site specific threats where required by the approved conservation plan.

Rehabilitation actions: Success measures

  • Map the number, size and condition of rehabilitated shrubs and soil mounds at completion and during follow up inspections.
  • Measure mound height, basal circumference, shrub height, distance to the nearest mounded shrub and ground cover condition at permanent monitoring points.
  • Record natural or artificial burrow entrances, latrines, basking observations and confirmed Slater's skink use without damaging the structures.
  • Set site specific success criteria for weed cover, mound survival, erosion, fire damage, drainage stability and evidence of burrow occupancy.
  • Continue monitoring until the regulator and project environmental officer agree that the habitat is stable and the approved success measures have been met.

Sources