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Marble-faced Delma (Delma australis)

The Marble-faced Delma is a small, slender legless lizard of mallee, spinifex, chenopod shrubland and related semi-arid vegetation across inland southern Australia. It is endangered in New South Wales, where clearing, loss of ground cover, grazing and altered fire regimes can remove both shelter and insect prey on development sites.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Endangered.

Breeding season

Marble-faced Delmas lay two eggs in November or December. Eggs hatch after approximately 70 days, so clearing can affect eggs and hatchlings from late spring through early autumn, as well as adults sheltering in ground cover at any time.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous, egg-laying.

Clutch size: Two eggs, with one clutch per year.

Incubation: Approximately 70 days.

Size at hatching: 31 mm snout to vent length.

Age at maturity: Not recorded.

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded for this species.

Breeding frequency: One clutch per year.

Confirm timing locally before works, particularly where rainfall or temperature may alter surface activity, prey availability or the timing of breeding and hatching.

  • Mating: Mating has not been recorded for this species. As a general planning window for an Australian oviparous pygopodid, allow for mating before the documented November to December laying period.
  • Gravid females: The presence and timing of gravid females have not been recorded. Treat October to December as a potential period for females carrying eggs before the documented November to December laying period.
  • Egg laying: Females lay two eggs in November or December. One clutch per year is recorded.
  • Incubation: Eggs remain in the nest or shelter for approximately 70 days. Eggs laid in November or December may be present through January and February, with some December eggs extending into early March.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching follows approximately 70 days of incubation, giving a likely emergence period from January to early March. Hatchlings are about 31 mm snout to vent length and are precocial, so they can move and feed independently after hatching.
  • Active period: No seasonal activity pattern is recorded. Adults are generally active during the day, with additional records around sunrise, sunset and at night, so surface activity may occur in every month.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from November to February because this period includes egg laying and most of the incubation and hatching period. March remains a potential risk period for late hatching, and clearing in any month can remove adults sheltering in leaf litter, rocks, logs, fallen timber, spinifex and shrubs.

Identification

The Marble-faced Delma is a slender pygopod, or legless lizard, with a snake-like body but lizard characteristics. It is generally found close to the ground in leaf litter, spinifex and woody debris.

Adults are brown to reddish brown above, with an off-white or greyish underside and lips. The head, throat and underside have strong vertical black bars, while the top and sides of the head and neck have black variegations and reticulations.

The snout is short and rounded. The tail is about twice the length of the body, giving the animal a total length of approximately 160 to 180 mm in the NSW listing determination.

Snout to vent length: Average about 90 mm; maximum recorded 93 mm

Hatchling snout to vent length: 31 mm

Maximum recorded body mass: 4.57 g, calculated rather than directly weighed

Hatchling body mass: 0.26 g

Identification: Distinguishing features

In the field, look for the combination of a very slender legless body, a short rounded snout, a long tail and conspicuous vertical black bars on the throat, sides of the head and underside.

It has no limbs, no venom and no fangs. Identification should be confirmed from photographs and, where permitted, close examination of the head pattern because other Australian legless lizards can also appear snake-like.

  • Record the full body and tail where possible, rather than relying on body length alone.
  • Photograph the head, throat, underside and dorsal pattern before release.
  • Do not handle an individual unnecessarily during clearing supervision or capture and relocation work.

Identification: Field signs

No species-specific tracks, scats, calls, nests, sloughs or eyeshine are described in the supplied sources.

The most useful field evidence is a live animal or a confirmed photograph. Search records should also note occupied spinifex clumps, deep leaf litter, rocks, logs, fallen timber and small shrubs that may conceal individuals.

  • Treat intact ground cover and likely shelter features as potential habitat even when no lizard is visible.
  • Check beneath loose rocks, logs and fallen timber only under an approved survey or fauna management method, and replace each feature in its original position.
  • Record the exact location and habitat condition for every detection.

Distribution: National range

The species has a broad inland Australian range but is patchy in New South Wales. NSW records are concentrated in two disjunct areas, with additional records east of the Darling River and near Broken Hill.

The Marble-faced Delma occurs from southern Western Australia through much of South Australia and into the southern Northern Territory, north-western Victoria and western New South Wales.

The supplied NSW distribution table records the species from the Barrier Range subregion of the Broken Hill Complex, the Nymagee subregion of the Cobar Peneplain, and the Darling Depression and South Olary Plain subregions of the Murray Darling Depression. South Australia is also recorded as known range.

  • States and territories recorded in the supplied sources are Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and New South Wales.
  • Known NSW bioregional records include the Broken Hill Complex, Cobar Peneplain and Murray Darling Depression.

Distribution: NSW strongholds and subpopulations

Most NSW records are from the Scotia mallee west of the Darling River in the far south-west and from the central Murray area around Round Hill and Nombinnie Nature Reserves.

The NSW listing determination describes two disjunct populations, one in central-western NSW around Round Hill and Yathong Nature Reserves and one in the south-western corner of the state. More recent surveys detected the species north of Wentworth, east of the Darling River, and in spinifex on rocky hillsides north-west of Broken Hill.

The species was recorded regularly at Yathong Nature Reserve between 1867 and 1991, but recent studies cited in the determination did not find it there.

Known population size: Not stated in the supplied sources

Population trend: Not established in the supplied sources

NSW population structure: Two disjunct populations were identified in the NSW listing determination

Known or predicted NSW records: Barrier Range, Nymagee, Darling Depression and South Olary Plain subregions

Habitat: Vegetation and soils

In NSW, the Marble-faced Delma is associated mainly with temperate mallee woodland and spinifex grassland. Elsewhere it has also been recorded in chenopod shrubland, heathland, buloke associated with mallee, and eucalypt-lined watercourses.

Important NSW habitat is mallee woodland with a spinifex understorey, particularly Triodia scariosa. The species has also been recorded in spinifex on rocky hillsides near Broken Hill.

The species usually occupies sandy substrates, but may also use cracking red loam soils. Habitat outside NSW includes chenopod shrublands, heathlands, buloke associated with mallee and eucalypt-lined watercourses.

  • Retain intact mallee and spinifex vegetation within and beside a work area.
  • Avoid clearing chenopod shrubland, heathland and riparian vegetation where the species may occur.
  • Map sandy areas, cracking red loam, rocky spinifex hillsides and connected patches of suitable ground cover before works.

Habitat: Habitat structure

Deep leaf litter, surface rocks, logs, fallen timber, bark, grass clumps and low shrubs provide cover and shelter. Woody debris, leaf litter and spinifex are important features of mallee habitat for ground-dwelling animals in the far south-west.

Habitat condition depends on the amount and continuity of ground cover. Grazing, trampling, fire and removal of debris can reduce the structure needed for movement, feeding and refuge.

  • Retain leaf litter, sticks, bark, fallen logs, surface rocks, spinifex clumps and understorey shrubs.
  • Keep habitat patches connected where practicable because the NSW populations are disjunct and isolated habitat may not ensure persistence.
  • Use exclusion fencing or clearly marked no-go areas to prevent machinery, stock and temporary works from damaging retained ground cover.

Habitat: Elevation and climate

The species is associated with inland, semi-arid and arid vegetation communities. The supplied trait data record an elevation range of 182 to 590 metres above sea level.

No more specific temperature, rainfall or climatic threshold is given in the supplied sources.

Recorded elevation: 182 to 590 m above sea level

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding sites

The Marble-faced Delma is an active hunter that feeds near ground level in leaf litter, spinifex and other cover. Its food is mainly invertebrate prey associated with intact ground-layer habitat.

The main recorded food consists of insects and spiders, with broader sources describing arthropods and one source also reporting fruit. The species hunts actively rather than relying on a fixed web or ambush site.

Foraging habitat includes deep leaf litter, spinifex clumps, grass clumps, fallen timber and the spaces beneath rocks and logs. These features support both the lizard and its prey.

Main prey: Insects, spiders and other arthropods

Other food reported: Fruit is reported by one supplied source

Foraging range: Not recorded in the supplied sources

  • Retain undisturbed leaf litter, spinifex, fallen timber, rocks and low shrubs around proposed clearing areas.
  • Avoid broad-scale removal or burning of ground cover because this can remove prey and feeding shelter at the same time.
  • Inspect retained habitat edges for animals displaced by vegetation removal and machinery movement.

Foraging habitat: Activity period

The species is generally active during the day, although activity has also been recorded at night and around sunrise and sunset. This variation means that daytime searches alone may not detect every individual.

For fauna management, avoid assuming that an apparently empty shelter is unused. Individuals may be beneath cover during part of the day or may be active at crepuscular or nocturnal times.

  • Plan searches around site conditions and the approved survey method rather than relying on a single time of day.
  • Keep disturbance to retained shelter features low because animals may be concealed beneath them when crews are present.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The Marble-faced Delma is egg-laying. The supplied sources provide a clutch size, laying period and approximate incubation period, but do not provide reliable information on mating behaviour, maturity, lifespan or a specific nest structure.

Two eggs are laid in November or December. Hatching occurs after approximately 70 days, placing the expected hatching period around January to early March when laying occurs at the stated time.

The supplied sources do not state the age at maturity, lifespan, mating period, egg dimensions, or whether breeding occurs in a particular type of shelter.

Breeding mode: Oviparous

Laying period: November to December

Clutch size: Two eggs

Incubation: Approximately 70 days

Age at maturity: Not recorded in the supplied sources

Lifespan: Not recorded in the supplied sources

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat

Breeding habitat is expected to be within the same mallee, spinifex and ground-cover habitat used for shelter and feeding. The supplied sources do not identify a specialised nest, burrow or hollow.

Because eggs and small hatchlings may be concealed in ground cover, clearing, grading, burning and removal of logs or rocks during late spring and summer may affect breeding animals or developing young.

  • Retain intact ground cover and potential shelter features through November to February wherever practicable.
  • Use staged clearing and fauna spotter catcher supervision where work cannot avoid suitable habitat during the breeding and hatching period.
  • Do not stockpile cleared timber, rocks or leaf litter against retained habitat.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

The species shelters close to the ground rather than in tree hollows or large burrows. Ground-layer features that are often treated as waste during clearing can provide its principal refuges.

Individuals have been found in deep leaf litter, beneath rocks, under logs and fallen timber, and in grass clumps such as spinifex. They may climb into hummock grass and have been observed sleeping in the branches of small shrubs.

No shelter dimensions, burrow dimensions, den sizes or preferred tree hollow sizes are given in the supplied sources.

Shelter height: Mostly ground level, with occasional use of hummock grass and small shrubs

Known refuge dimensions: Not recorded in the supplied sources

Hollows or burrows: No use of tree hollows or defined burrows is reported

  • Retain logs, embedded timber, surface rocks, bark, leaf litter, spinifex clumps and understorey shrubs.
  • Search likely refuges carefully before they are moved, crushed, buried or burnt.
  • Replace lifted rocks and logs in their original position after inspection where this is safe and consistent with the approved method.

Sheltering habitat: Shelter condition

Loss of leaf litter, surface rocks, fallen timber, bark and other ground cover removes shelter for the lizard and can also reduce shelter and food for its prey.

Heavy grazing and trampling by livestock, feral goats, rabbits and pigs can damage spinifex clumps, shrubs and soil structure. Machinery access and temporary construction areas can cause similar localised loss of cover.

  • Fence or mark retained shelter areas before construction access begins.
  • Limit vehicle movements across mallee, spinifex and chenopod ground cover.
  • Reduce grazing pressure or exclude stock from retained habitat where regeneration and cover are needed.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented risks are loss and degradation of mallee and spinifex habitat, altered fire regimes, grazing and removal of ground cover. On development sites, direct clearing and machinery disturbance can affect animals, prey and shelter together.

Clearing of mallee containing spinifex, heathland and riparian habitat removes known habitat. The NSW determination notes that the species occurs in scattered, disjunct populations and that existing conservation areas may not ensure its survival because of their size and isolation.

Fragmentation can reduce available habitat and limit movement between occupied areas. Construction compounds, access tracks, linear infrastructure and easements can add narrow cleared gaps through otherwise suitable ground cover.

  • Avoid clearing intact mallee, spinifex, chenopod shrubland, heathland and suitable riparian vegetation.
  • Keep temporary work areas, access tracks and stockpiles out of retained habitat.
  • Retain vegetated connections between habitat patches wherever practicable.

Threats: Fire and grazing

Inappropriate fire frequency can reduce vegetation cover, food resources and the ability of animals to recolonise burnt areas. Fires that are too frequent, extensive or non-patchy are identified as a particular concern in the NSW determination.

Livestock, goats, rabbits and pigs can graze spinifex and shrubs, trample clumps and alter soil structure. Grazing and trampling also increase weed invasion and reduce ground cover.

  • Avoid burning all suitable habitat in one event.
  • Plan fire mosaics and intervals with the relevant land manager and threatened species advice.
  • Manage total grazing pressure in and beside retained habitat.
  • Retain unburnt refuge areas with leaf litter, logs, rocks and spinifex.

Threats: Predators and other site risks

Fox predation is considered possible, given the species' activity and feeding habits. The supplied recovery advice also identifies feral cats as predators or competitors for resources.

The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease, hydrology change or road mortality study. Roads and water management should nevertheless be assessed where they remove or fragment mallee, spinifex, riparian or other suitable ground cover.

Disease threat: No species-specific disease is identified in the supplied sources

Hydrology threat: No species-specific hydrology impact is identified in the supplied sources

Road threat: No species-specific road mortality data are provided

  • Control or manage foxes, feral cats and rabbits in accordance with approved pest management programs.
  • Inspect road and track alignments for direct loss of shelter and habitat connectivity before construction.
  • Prevent unnecessary drainage, erosion and soil compaction in retained habitat.
  • Record and report any injured or dead animals found during works.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and diurnal searches

Survey this species in intact or partly disturbed mallee, mallee with spinifex, chenopod shrubland and other suitable areas with sandy or cracking red loam soils. Focus searches on ground cover and refuge features, because the Marble-faced Delma is small, mostly diurnal and shelters in leaf litter, spinifex clumps, fallen timber and beneath rocks.

Map suitable habitat before selecting survey points. Record mallee woodland, spinifex grassland, chenopod shrubland, sandy substrates, cracking red loam, rocky hillsides, deep leaf litter, logs, fallen timber and surface rocks.

Conduct systematic searches during daylight when the species is generally active. Search slowly through spinifex clumps, leaf litter, beneath loose rocks and around logs, while avoiding unnecessary damage to retained habitat.

Survey across all suitable habitat within the disturbance footprint and in retained areas that may receive relocated animals. Record the search area, transect length, start and finish times, weather, ground cover and detection conditions.

Typical body size: About 9 cm snout to vent, with the tail about twice the body length.

Known activity: Usually diurnal, with records of activity around sunrise, sunset and at night.

  • Use a measured transect or defined search area so that effort can be repeated and compared between visits.
  • Do not remove or permanently displace rocks, logs or large areas of leaf litter during a general search.
  • Treat a lack of detections as inconclusive where suitable cover is dense or access is limited.

Survey methodology: 2. Targeted refuge searches

Search refuge features individually in suitable habitat. Check the edges and bases of spinifex clumps, deep leaf litter, fallen timber, bark, surface rocks and small shrubs.

Lift only loose rocks, bark and timber that can be safely replaced. Inspect the underlying surface and replace each feature in its original position and orientation.

Give additional attention to mallee with a Triodia scariosa understorey, because most NSW records have come from this habitat type.

  • Use a qualified ecologist or fauna spotter catcher who can identify a small legless lizard and distinguish it from other pygopodids and snakes.
  • Keep a record of each refuge feature searched and any animal, shed skin or other sign found.
  • Avoid searching during conditions that make handling or movement unsafe, including unstable rock piles, extreme heat or active fire conditions.

Survey methodology: 3. Crepuscular and nocturnal checks

Include checks around sunset, sunrise or after dark where the risk assessment indicates that daytime searches may miss animals. The species is mainly active during the day, but activity has also been recorded at night and around dawn and dusk.

Use a quiet, controlled search of suitable ground cover and refuge features rather than assuming that spotlighting alone will detect the species.

Record the number of nights, search hours, observers, area searched, weather and lighting conditions. The supplied documents do not specify a species-specific number of nights or hours, so set effort through the project survey plan and justify it against the extent and condition of suitable habitat.

  • Repeat searches when the first visit is affected by poor access, heavy disturbance, unsuitable conditions or incomplete coverage.
  • Do not use trapping or cover boards unless they are approved in the survey plan and operated by people authorised to conduct reptile surveys.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Survey every patch of suitable habitat that may be cleared, excavated, compacted, burnt or isolated.
  • Use a combination of daytime habitat searches and targeted refuge searches, with crepuscular or nocturnal checks where detection risk remains high.
  • Document the area searched, transect or search boundaries, dates, start and finish times, observers, weather, habitat condition, search method, effort and results.
  • Photograph and record the location of every detection, using an accurate coordinate and the datum required by the receiving database.
  • Submit confirmed records and negative survey results to the relevant state wildlife database, including the NSW BioNet Atlas where the work is in New South Wales.
  • Retain field sheets, photographs, spatial files and fauna handling records with the project environmental records.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Avoid clearing suitable Marble-faced Delma habitat wherever practicable. The main project risks are loss of mallee and spinifex, removal of ground cover, altered fire, grazing or trampling, and isolation of retained habitat.

Retain intact mallee, spinifex clumps, chenopod shrubland, deep leaf litter, surface rocks, fallen timber, bark and understorey shrubs within and beside the work area.

Avoid clearing mallee with a spinifex understorey, particularly where the ground layer is continuous and contains logs, rocks and leaf litter.

Maintain connected strips between retained habitat patches where practicable. Do not create unnecessary isolated remnants or narrow retained areas that are exposed to machinery, grazing, fire or weed invasion.

Keep stock, feral goats, rabbits, pigs and machinery out of retained ground cover during construction.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

Confirm the current conservation status in each state or territory before work starts. The species is listed as Endangered in New South Wales and is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied profile.

Seek advice on state threatened species approvals, scientific licences, fauna handling authorities and local planning conditions before surveying, clearing or relocating an animal.

A project that may affect other nationally listed matters still requires its own EPBC Act assessment. This species alone is not identified as nationally listed in the supplied records.

Prepare a fauna management plan that defines survey limits, exclusion zones, authorised handlers, relocation arrangements, stop-work triggers, incident reporting and contact details.

NSW status: Endangered.

Commonwealth status in the supplied profile: Not listed.

  • Obtain written approval for any trapping, handling, temporary holding or relocation before those activities begin.
  • Use the most recent government listing and approval information at the project location, rather than relying only on the supplied profile.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

Complete the pre-clearance survey shortly before disturbance, with timing and effort suited to the habitat present and the work footprint.

Mark no-go areas, retained spinifex, leaf litter, logs, rocks, shrubs and connectivity corridors on plans and on the ground.

Install exclusion fencing where it can keep machinery, workers, stock and spoil out of retained habitat. Inspect fencing after rainfall, vehicle movements and other events that may create gaps.

Brief operators and the fauna spotter catcher before each clearing shift. Identify the species, its refuge features, the daily work limits and the stop-work procedure.

  • Keep spoil, laydown areas, access tracks, refuelling areas and washdown points outside retained habitat.
  • Stage clearing so that animals can move towards retained habitat only where the fauna management plan confirms that this is safe and appropriate.
  • Do not burn retained habitat or conduct broad, non-patchy burns as part of site preparation.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Use a fauna spotter catcher during clearing and ground disturbance in suitable habitat. Work must proceed slowly enough to inspect refuge features and respond immediately to a detection.

Hold a daily pre-start with the supervisor, machinery operators and fauna spotter catcher. Confirm the approved work area, access route, retained habitat, weather, contacts and stop-work triggers.

Keep the fauna spotter catcher where they can see the active work face and communicate directly with the operator. Stop machinery before the spotter enters the exclusion zone or inspects a feature.

Clear progressively in small sections rather than opening the entire work area at once. Inspect each section before machinery removes vegetation, rocks, logs, leaf litter or soil.

Use low-speed machinery movements and avoid driving over retained ground cover, spinifex clumps, logs, rocks and leaf litter.

  • Stop work immediately if the fauna spotter catcher loses visual control of the work face or cannot communicate with the operator.
  • Suspend work during conditions that prevent safe detection or handling, including smoke, dust, poor visibility, unstable ground or extreme heat.
  • Keep a daily record of cleared area, start and finish times, personnel, weather, searches, detections, incidents and corrective actions.

During habitat disturbance: Handling habitat features

Inspect leaf litter, spinifex clumps, loose rocks, logs, bark and fallen timber before removal. Retain these features where possible and move them only under the approved fauna management plan.

If a log, rock or other cover feature must be moved, have the fauna spotter catcher check beneath and around it first. Replace retained features in nearby suitable habitat where this does not expose an animal to machinery or predators.

Do not assume that an apparently empty feature is unused. The species can shelter beneath rocks, logs, fallen timber, bark, leaf litter and grass clumps.

Do not excavate, rake or mechanically disturb retained habitat outside the approved clearing boundary.

  • Do not use fire to remove spinifex or ground cover during clearing unless separately approved and assessed for threatened species impacts.
  • Keep relocated cover features away from vehicle paths, spoil, drainage lines and areas that will be repeatedly slashed or compacted.

During habitat disturbance: If the animal is found

Stop work around the animal and establish a quiet exclusion zone. Keep workers, vehicles and machinery clear until the authorised fauna handler has assessed the situation.

Only an appropriately authorised and experienced person may handle, temporarily hold or relocate the animal. Minimise handling time and follow the approved fauna management plan.

Where relocation is authorised, place the animal in nearby retained habitat with suitable leaf litter, spinifex, rocks, logs or other cover, outside the active work area and within the species' local habitat.

If the animal is injured, contain it only as directed by the authorised handler and arrange prompt assessment by a veterinarian or wildlife carer approved for native reptiles.

Record the species identification, location, time, condition, action taken, release location, handler and photographs where this can be done without delay or further disturbance.

  • Do not chase an animal through dense spinifex or force it from cover.
  • Do not release an animal into unsuitable cleared ground, an isolated remnant or habitat separated from the work area by a road or other hazard.
  • Stop work and notify the project ecologist if the species is detected outside the approved handling or relocation arrangements, if more animals are found than anticipated, or if an injured or dead animal is found.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Close out the clearing area with a documented inspection and maintain protection of retained habitat. Use the results to adjust controls for later stages and to meet approval and database reporting requirements.

Inspect the completed clearing area and the edge of retained habitat for live or injured animals, disturbed cover features, trapped fauna, open trenches and gaps in exclusion fencing.

Check that all approved habitat feature handling has been completed and that logs, rocks, leaf litter and spinifex intended for retention have not been buried, burnt, compacted or removed.

Keep excavations, trenches and temporary structures inspected and managed until they are closed or made safe for fauna.

  • Arrange a further fauna search if clearing stopped overnight, weather changed substantially, or machinery disturbed ground that had not been inspected.
  • Report any unplanned clearing, mortality, injury, handling incident or breach of a no-go area to the project environmental officer and relevant authority as required.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

Monitor retained habitat after clearing for damage from dust, weeds, grazing, trampling, altered drainage, fire or machinery access.

Compare post-work habitat condition with the pre-clearance records, including spinifex cover, leaf litter, logs, rocks, understorey shrubs and connectivity to other retained areas.

Submit detection records and required project reports to the relevant state wildlife database and approval authority. Include zero detections where those records are required by the survey plan or approval.

  • Keep fauna records, photographs, coordinates, handling forms, veterinary records and corrective actions in the project file.
  • Maintain exclusion fencing, signage and access controls until the environmental officer confirms that the risk of construction-related entry has ended.
  • Apply approved offsets or other compensatory measures where residual impacts remain and an approval or planning instrument requires them.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should restore the ground cover and shelter features used by the Marble-faced Delma. Give priority to local mallee and spinifex structure, leaf litter, woody debris and surface rocks, rather than relying on tree planting alone.

Re-establish local mallee woodland or suitable chenopod shrubland consistent with the pre-disturbance vegetation community and soil type.

Replant or encourage recovery of spinifex, including Triodia scariosa where it formed part of the local community and is appropriate to the site.

Retain and redistribute suitable fallen timber, bark, surface rocks and coarse woody debris across rehabilitated areas, using clean material from the site where permitted.

Spread retained leaf litter over disturbed ground where it is free of weeds and contamination. Do not bury ground cover under excessive spoil or mulch.

  • Use local provenance plants and seed where practicable and record the species, source and planting areas.
  • Restore links between retained habitat patches rather than creating narrow isolated plantings.
  • Exclude stock and manage total grazing pressure until ground cover and understorey vegetation have regenerated.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats

Control weeds that reduce spinifex, shrub and ground-layer regeneration, while preventing herbicide use from damaging retained habitat or the species' insect prey.

Control foxes, feral cats, rabbits, goats and pigs in accordance with approved pest management programs and relevant animal welfare requirements.

Prevent new vehicle tracks, soil compaction, erosion and trampling across rehabilitated ground cover.

Use a fire regime that retains unburnt refuge and food areas and avoids burning all suitable habitat in one event. Obtain ecological and regulatory advice before planned burning.

  • Do not use frequent or non-patchy fire to manage spinifex density.
  • Inspect rehabilitated areas after fire, grazing, flood, major rainfall and construction access events.
  • Repair failed erosion controls and close unauthorised access promptly.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitor success

Monitor rehabilitation for regeneration of mallee, spinifex, shrubs, leaf litter and woody debris, and for continuing connectivity with retained habitat.

Repeat targeted searches using the approved survey plan and record search area, effort, conditions and detections in the same format as the pre-clearance survey.

Use the pre-disturbance habitat record as the reference condition. Investigate and correct declines in ground cover, refuge features, plant regeneration or habitat connectivity.

  • Set completion criteria for vegetation establishment, ground-cover retention, weed control, grazing exclusion, refuge-feature placement and protection from fire.
  • Keep monitoring and maintenance records until the project environmental officer and approval authority accept that the rehabilitation outcomes have been met.
  • Report any Marble-faced Delma records to the relevant state wildlife database and update the project risk assessment if the species is detected.

Sources