Fauna Spotters logo

Striated Worm-lizard (Aprasia striolata)

The Striated Worm-lizard is a small, legless, fossorial lizard of southern Australia. It occurs in sandy or friable soils within heathland, dry sclerophyll forest, coastal scrub, mallee and shrubland. On development sites, individuals and their ant-brood food resources may be affected by vegetation clearing, soil disturbance, rock and log removal, inappropriate fire and habitat fragmentation.

Conservation status

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

Breeding season

Striated Worm-lizards may reproduce in every season, and gravid females have been recorded year-round. Adults feed mainly in the warmer months, but eggs, young and sheltering animals may be present in soil, ant galleries and ground cover at any time, so clearing risk applies throughout the year.

Reproductive mode: Oviparous. Females lay eggs.

Clutch size: Usually 2 eggs.

Incubation: Not recorded.

Size at hatching or birth: Not recorded.

Age at maturity: Inferred from a congener as about 3 years for males and 4 years for females, not directly confirmed for this species.

Nest or egg sites: Not recorded. Suitable sites may include friable sandy or loamy soil, subterranean ant galleries and sheltered ground cover.

Breeding frequency: Not recorded. Year-round reproductive activity suggests that more than one clutch per year may be possible.

Confirm timing locally before clearing, particularly where rainfall or temperature changes may alter feeding, surface activity or the availability of friable soil and ground cover.

  • Mating: Mating dates are not recorded. Males with enlarged testes were collected in all seasons, which may indicate mating throughout the year or enlargement in autumn and winter before spring mating.
  • Gravid females: Gravid females have been recorded in every season. Females may therefore carry eggs at any time of year, including during clearing works.
  • Egg laying: Reproduction is described as aseasonal, and females lay 2 eggs. Specific laying months and egg-laying sites have not been recorded.
  • Incubation: The incubation period is not recorded. Because eggs may be laid throughout the year, eggs may also be present in soil or other concealed shelter in any month.
  • Hatchlings: Hatching months, juvenile emergence and the duration of dependence are not recorded. Year-round egg laying means hatchlings should be treated as possible in any month until local surveys provide better timing.
  • Active period: The species feeds during warmer months, with the greatest food volumes consumed in spring and summer and no feeding recorded in winter. This provides the best available guide to adult surface activity, although a defined active season has not been measured.
  • Winter inactivity: Brumation and hibernation have not been recorded. For planning in the temperate part of the range, treat June to August as a period when animals may be less active and sheltering below ground, under cover or in ant galleries.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk applies year-round because breeding may be aseasonal, eggs and young may be concealed below ground, and adults can shelter in soil, ant galleries, rocks, logs, litter and shrub root systems. Winter works may also affect animals that are less active and unable to move away from machinery.

Identification

The Striated Worm-lizard is a slender, cylindrical, snake-like lizard with no functional limbs. It is usually found below the surface or beneath ground debris, so direct observation during clearing is uncommon.

The body is pale brown, olive-brown or grey-brown above and whitish underneath. Narrow dark stripes usually run along the head, body and tail. The most prominent stripe extends from the snout through the eye, and the tail is blunt and shorter than the body.

The head has a rounded, relatively blunt snout and relatively large eyes. The species has 12 mid-body scale rows and usually three enlarged pre-anal scales. Small hind-limb scales may be present.

Maximum reported total length: Up to 22 centimetres

Mid-body scale rows: 12

Tail: Shorter than the body and blunt

Weight: Not reported in the supplied documents

Identification: Similar species and sex

The combination of a very slender legless body, short blunt tail, usually conspicuous longitudinal stripes, 12 mid-body scale rows and usually three pre-anal scales supports identification as the Striated Worm-lizard. Stripes may be absent or reduced to lines of dots in some Western Australian and Kangaroo Island populations.

It can be confused in the field with other legless lizards and small snakes. Do not rely on colour alone. Record clear photographs of the head, dorsal pattern, ventral scales and tail where possible, and refer uncertain animals to a suitably experienced reptile ecologist.

  • Females are generally larger than males.
  • Adult males have teeth on the premaxilla, while females and juveniles lack these teeth or have only vestigial teeth, but this is not a practical field character for live animals.

Identification: Field signs and handling

No reliable species-specific tracks, scats, sloughs or nest signs are described in the supplied documents. The species may produce a high-pitched squeak when handled or disturbed.

Because it shelters in soil, under rocks, logs and ground debris, inspection of lifted cover and hand searching of friable soil may detect animals, but all disturbance should be carried out by appropriately authorised personnel and in accordance with the project fauna management plan.

  • Treat a small, legless, striped lizard found beneath cover or in friable soil as a potential Striated Worm-lizard until identified.
  • Photograph the animal in place before moving it, where safe and permitted.
  • Replace rocks, logs and other cover after inspection.

Distribution: National range

The species is endemic to southern Australia. Its Australian range is discontinuous, with a south-western Western Australian population and a population extending from western Victoria through South Australia.

The Striated Worm-lizard is recorded in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria. In Victoria, the range extends from the extreme south-western Big Desert through the Little Desert and Grampians, across south-western heathlands and to coastal dunes west of Portland.

Victorian records are concentrated in the south-west, including the Lowan Mallee, Wimmera, Glenelg Plain and Bridgewater bioregions, with records also in the western Greater Grampians bioregion. The Victorian range connects across the border with the Naracoorte Coastal Plain in South Australia.

  • Key Victorian local government areas include Glenelg, West Wimmera, Hindmarsh, Southern Grampians and Northern Grampians.
  • The species has been reported from southern Western Australia and South Australia, including the Eyre Peninsula region.
  • The supplied taxonomic source states that the species is not recorded in New South Wales or the Northern Territory.

Distribution: Subpopulations and status

Two apparently isolated population areas are recognised: south-western Western Australia, and a broader area extending from western Victoria to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. In Victoria, limited dispersal, barriers and loss of intervening habitat have resulted in severe fragmentation.

The species is listed as Endangered in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act. It is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied project information.

Victorian area of occupancy: Estimated at 200 square kilometres, based on 2 by 2 kilometre grids using accepted post-1970 Victorian records

Mature population size: Unknown

Population trend: A continuing decline is suspected in distribution, habitat, locations and mature individuals in Victoria

  • Known Victorian records are largely in the south-west of the state.
  • Most Victorian records are associated with sandy or loamy habitats rather than the Volcanic Plains, although one record is reported near Penshurst.

Habitat: Vegetation communities

The Striated Worm-lizard occupies dry, generally sandy or loamy environments where loose soil, ground debris and ant colonies are available. Habitat can occur in intact vegetation, roadside remnants and other fragmented native vegetation.

In Victoria, the species is associated with heathland, dry sclerophyll forest and coastal scrub. Other Victorian habitat descriptions include mallee, heathy woodland and shrubland with a tussock grassland understorey.

Important Victorian bioregions include the Lowan Mallee, Wimmera, Glenelg Plain, Bridgewater and western Greater Grampians. Coastal dunes and south-western heathlands are also used.

  • Assess sandy or loamy native vegetation even when it is narrow, fragmented or beside roads.
  • Do not exclude potential habitat solely because it is on private land, a roadside or within a disturbed remnant.

Habitat: Physical structure

Suitable sites provide friable soil for burrowing, surface cover such as rocks, logs and litter, and access to subterranean galleries of small ants. Root systems of shrubs and dense ground cover may also provide shelter.

The supplied documents do not provide a confirmed elevation range, minimum patch size, soil depth or required vegetation height.

  • Map and retain sandy or loamy soil patches within heathland, mallee, shrubland, woodland and coastal scrub.
  • Retain rocks, logs, litter, tussock cover and shrub root systems where they occur in potential habitat.
  • Avoid unnecessary soil compaction, stripping and burial of the friable surface layer.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding sites

The species feeds mainly on ant brood and is closely associated with ant colonies in loose soil and below ground cover. It consumes prey underground or beneath surface cover and may take a large meal at infrequent intervals.

More than 95% of the diet consists of ant larvae and pupae from several ant genera. Adult ants are consumed occasionally, and other insect pupae may be taken rarely.

The species is believed to locate or enter subterranean ant galleries. One individual contained up to 185 prey items, indicating that feeding can involve a large intake during a single meal.

Main prey: Ant larvae and pupae

Proportion of diet: More than 95% ant larvae and pupae

Maximum prey items recorded in one individual: 185

Foraging pattern: Infrequent feeding with a large meal; greatest food volumes are consumed in spring and summer

  • Protect ant colonies and the associated soil profile in potential habitat.
  • Avoid broad soil disturbance, removal of surface cover and loss of shrub root systems where ant galleries may occur.
  • Do not apply insecticides in potential habitat unless the treatment is assessed as compatible with the species and its prey base.

Foraging habitat: Foraging range

A species-specific foraging range or home-range size is not available in the supplied documents. Limited dispersal ability is reported, so connected areas of suitable soil and cover should be retained rather than treating isolated habitat patches as interchangeable.

  • Survey and manage the full soil and ground-cover mosaic around records, not only the point where an animal is found.
  • Retain links between suitable sandy or loamy habitat patches where these occur within a project footprint.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The species lays eggs in suitable sheltered substrate and may reproduce throughout the year. Breeding habitat is likely to require friable soil, stable ground cover and access to the ant colonies that support adults.

Gravid females and males with enlarged testes have been recorded in all seasons, although the extent and timing of reproduction in Victoria require further investigation. Females lay two elongate, soft, parchment-shelled eggs.

The supplied documents do not describe a confirmed nest location, incubation period, hatching period, number of clutches per year or adult lifespan. A congener suggests that males mature in the third year and females in the fourth year, but these ages are inferred for the Striated Worm-lizard rather than directly established.

Breeding season: Potentially year-round; gravid females and males with enlarged testes have been recorded in all seasons

Clutch size: Two eggs

Egg type: Elongate, soft, parchment-shelled eggs

Gestation or incubation: Not reported in the supplied documents

Age at maturity: Inferred as about 3 years for males and 4 years for females, based on a congener

Lifespan: Not known; the species is suspected to be relatively long-lived

Breeding habitat: Breeding habitat features

Specific egg-laying sites have not been described. Retain friable sandy or loamy soil, rocks, logs, litter, shrub root systems and subterranean ant galleries within occupied or potential habitat.

Avoid clearing, soil stripping, compaction and removal of ground cover at any time of year because breeding may be aseasonal and eggs or young may be concealed below the surface.

  • Use pre-clearance searches and staged clearing in suitable habitat, with a fauna spotter catcher present where required.
  • Keep retained habitat connected to nearby areas containing ant colonies and ground cover.

Sheltering habitat: Known refuges

The Striated Worm-lizard is largely fossorial and spends much of its time below ground or beneath surface cover. Its small size and cryptic behaviour make shelter features important during clearing and construction.

The species shelters within the substrate, under rocks, logs and ground debris, and in the subterranean galleries of small ants. It may also occur within the root systems of shrubs.

No measurements are available for burrow diameter, shelter depth, refuge size or the distance animals move from shelter.

Known shelter types: Substrate, subterranean ant galleries, rocks, logs, ground debris and shrub root systems

Known refuge dimensions: Not reported in the supplied documents

  • Inspect rocks, logs, litter, dense ground cover and friable soil before they are disturbed.
  • Retain natural cover in place where possible, particularly in sandy or loamy heathland, mallee, shrubland, woodland and coastal scrub.
  • Replace lifted rocks, logs and debris after inspection to maintain refuge conditions.

Sheltering habitat: Clearing response

Because individuals are usually below ground and may occupy ant galleries, conventional visual searches may miss them. Disturbance of the soil profile, removal of cover and machinery traffic can destroy concealed refuges without an animal being seen.

  • Treat all suitable friable soil and ground-cover features within the work area as potential shelter habitat.
  • Avoid stockpiling soil, rocks, logs or vegetation on retained habitat.
  • Stop work and seek ecological advice if a suspected Striated Worm-lizard is found.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main documented risks are habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. These risks are particularly relevant where projects remove native vegetation, disturb sandy soil or alter the condition of roadside and remnant habitat.

Agricultural development and urbanisation have cleared habitat, and tree plantations have fragmented populations. Further clearing of heathland, mallee, shrubland, coastal scrub, dry forest and sandy roadside remnants can remove shelter, breeding sites and ant colonies.

Limited dispersal ability and habitat gaps between extant populations increase the effect of fragmentation. Roadside clearing or poor roadside management may also affect populations that persist in narrow remnants.

  • Avoid clearing occupied and potential habitat where practicable.
  • Retain connected native vegetation, friable soil and ground cover around records.
  • Prevent machinery access, soil compaction and spoil placement in retained habitat.

Threats: Ground disturbance and fire

Removal of rocks, logs and ground debris can remove shelter. Slashing, vegetation removal, weeds, pasture invasion and soil disturbance can reduce habitat condition and affect ant prey.

Too-frequent fires have affected heathland habitat and may continue to reduce its condition. The supplied documents do not identify a fire interval that is suitable for this species.

  • Do not remove rocks, logs or litter unless the action is authorised and has been assessed for fauna impacts.
  • Keep fire, slashing and construction access outside retained habitat where possible.
  • Manage weeds and pasture species without unnecessary disturbance to the soil surface or ant colonies.

Threats: Predators and other risks

Feral cats, foxes and dogs are possible predators. The supplied documents do not identify a species-specific disease threat or a demonstrated hydrology-related threat.

Changes to drainage or soil moisture are not quantified in the available information. Any project that substantially changes surface water, soil moisture or drainage in sandy habitat should assess the effect on soil structure, vegetation and ant prey before works begin.

  • Control or manage introduced predators in accordance with the project and land manager requirements.
  • Avoid unnecessary changes to drainage, runoff and soil moisture in potential habitat.
  • Record sightings and habitat condition because the species is cryptic and targeted survey information is limited.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and record review

The Striated Worm-lizard is a small, cryptic, fossorial reptile that is difficult to detect. Use habitat assessment and targeted searches together, and treat the absence of records as inconclusive because Victorian records have been opportunistic and no targeted surveys were available in the assessment.

Map sandy or other friable soils, heathland, dry sclerophyll forest, coastal scrub, mallee, heathy woodland and shrubland before selecting survey locations.

Review previous records and inspect retained habitat for rocks, logs, ground debris, litter, shrub root systems and likely ant colonies or galleries.

Prioritise connected patches and habitat near known records, including roadsides and private land remnants, because the species has limited dispersal ability and populations may be severely fragmented.

Survey methodology: 2. Diurnal targeted searches

Undertake searches during the day because the species is believed to be diurnal and shelters within the substrate, under rocks, logs and ground debris, and in small-ant galleries.

Search carefully beneath suitable rocks, logs and debris, and inspect friable soil and litter without leaving habitat features exposed or damaged.

Plan the main search effort for warmer spring and summer conditions, when the species is reported to feed most actively, while recognising that reproduction may occur throughout the year.

  • Record the search date, start and finish time, weather, soil condition, habitat type, area searched and each habitat feature inspected.
  • Replace every lifted rock, log or debris item in its original position and condition after inspection.
  • Use qualified personnel for any excavation or soil disturbance, and do not excavate ant galleries or suspected refuges unless this is authorised in the project fauna management plan.

Survey methodology: 3. Repeated searches and detection limits

Repeat searches across suitable habitat where the project risk warrants it, because the species is cryptic, fossorial and has low detectability.

Use fixed search areas or transects so that effort can be compared between visits and retained habitat can be checked before and after works.

Do not claim that the species is absent solely because a search found no animals; the Victorian assessment states that there have been no targeted surveys and that available observations are opportunistic.

  • Document the total area searched, number of observers, search duration, number and type of cover objects inspected, and any constraints such as dense vegetation, unsafe ground or inaccessible private land.
  • Obtain advice from the relevant state conservation agency if the project requires a defensible species-specific survey design, because the supplied documents do not provide a prescribed number of nights, trap nights, hours, transect length or minimum area.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Complete a pre-clearance habitat inspection and targeted daytime search of all suitable habitat that may be disturbed, with the effort and limitations documented.
  • Do not use spotlighting, pitfall trapping or funnel trapping as a default method for this species without project-specific advice, approvals and an animal welfare assessment, because the supplied documents do not provide a validated trapping or spotlighting protocol.
  • Submit verified records, including negative survey information where required, to the relevant state wildlife database or biodiversity atlas.
  • Retain photographs, coordinates, observer details, habitat descriptions, search effort, weather, specimen photographs and any handling or relocation records in the project file.
  • Report any detection promptly to the project ecologist and the relevant state authority where required by the approval or permit.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Avoiding disturbance to occupied or suitable habitat is the preferred control. The species is associated with sandy or friable soils and ground-level shelter, so ordinary clearing controls must include rocks, logs, litter, shrubs and the soil profile.

  • Redesign the work footprint to retain known records, sandy or friable soil patches, heathland, mallee, heathy woodland, shrubland, coastal scrub and dry sclerophyll forest wherever practicable.
  • Retain rocks, logs, ground debris, leaf litter and shrub root systems because these provide shelter or may be associated with ant prey and subterranean galleries.
  • Maintain links between retained habitat patches and avoid creating additional barriers through roads, plantations, cleared corridors or unnecessary fencing.
  • Keep machinery, spoil, laydown areas, access tracks and fuel storage outside retained habitat and outside marked no-go areas.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and planning

  • Confirm the species status in every state or territory affected by the project before works start; it is not listed under the EPBC Act in the supplied information, and it is listed as Endangered in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act framework.
  • Obtain any state permits, wildlife authorisations, animal ethics approvals, clearing approvals and project-specific conditions that apply to searching, handling, relocation or injury response.
  • Seek an EPBC Act referral decision if the species is later identified as nationally listed, or if another nationally listed matter may be affected.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies suitable habitat, exclusion areas, search methods, spotter catcher responsibilities, stop-work triggers, relocation arrangements and reporting requirements.

Before habitat disturbance: Work staging and site preparation

  • Schedule habitat disturbance outside periods of high activity where practicable, with preference for warmer spring and summer conditions for pre-clearance detection, while recognising that the species may reproduce in all seasons.
  • Stage clearing so that retained habitat remains connected and animals have nearby cover available if they are encountered during works.
  • Complete a pre-clearance search immediately before disturbance and repeat it after any delay that could allow habitat to be reoccupied.
  • Mark retained habitat, rocks, logs, litter, soil patches, access limits and no-go areas on plans and on the ground.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will not block movement between retained habitat patches, trap animals against machinery or damage friable soils and ground cover.
  • Brief machinery operators and supervisors on the species, habitat markers, daily inspection requirements and the stop-work process.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery interface

Use a spotter catcher and a clear stop-work process whenever suitable habitat is being disturbed. The animal may be below ground or under cover, so slow, staged clearing and careful handling of ground features are required.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, no-go markers, access routes and retained habitat at the start of each shift and after rain, vehicle movement or other events that may damage controls.
  • Keep a suitably authorised fauna spotter catcher present for clearing or ground disturbance in mapped suitable habitat, as required by the approval and fauna management plan.
  • Direct machinery to work slowly and in stages, allowing the spotter catcher to inspect the next work area before rocks, logs, debris, vegetation or friable soil are moved.
  • Keep the spotter catcher in a safe position agreed with the operator, maintain radio or visual contact, and stop machinery immediately when the spotter catcher gives the stop signal.
  • Do not allow workers to handle animals unless they are authorised and competent under the project approval and fauna management plan.

During habitat disturbance: Ground features and habitat handling

  • Inspect rocks, logs, litter, root systems and loose surface soil before moving them, because the species shelters beneath or within these features.
  • Move salvageable rocks, logs and coarse ground debris by hand or with suitable equipment to nearby retained habitat where this is safe, authorised and consistent with the fauna management plan.
  • Do not stockpile removed habitat features in the work area where animals may be trapped, crushed or exposed to predators.
  • Avoid unnecessary removal of rocks and logs, which is identified as a threat to the species.
  • Treat burrows, ant galleries and suspected subsurface refuges as potential shelter and stop local works until the fauna spotter catcher and ecologist decide how to proceed.

During habitat disturbance: Animal found, injured or trapped

  • Stop work in the immediate area when a Striated Worm-lizard is found, protect it from machinery, people and predators, and notify the fauna spotter catcher and project ecologist.
  • Allow the authorised fauna handler to assess and handle the animal using the minimum contact needed for identification, protection and relocation.
  • Do not hold the animal longer than necessary or move it to an unapproved distant site; relocate it only to suitable, nearby retained habitat with comparable sandy or friable soil and ground cover, as authorised by the fauna management plan.
  • Place an injured animal in a secure, ventilated container and transfer it promptly to a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer under the relevant state requirements.
  • Do not resume work until the animal has been safely managed, the immediate habitat has been checked and the fauna spotter catcher or delegated ecologist releases the area.

During habitat disturbance: Stop-work triggers and records

  • Stop work for any confirmed detection, suspected injury, animal trapped in an excavation or exclusion fence, damage to a retained habitat area, failed fauna control or change in the approved work footprint.
  • Record the date, time, coordinates, activity, machinery, habitat feature, animal condition, photographs, identification, handler, action taken, relocation location and people notified.
  • Report repeated detections, mortality, injury, unsuccessful relocation, unexpected habitat loss or any breach of approval conditions to the project manager and relevant authority.
  • Review the work method before restarting if detections indicate that the pre-clearance search or exclusion controls were not adequate.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Post-clearance work must confirm that animals have not been left in the work area and that retained habitat and controls remain functional. Monitoring should be scaled to the risk, approval conditions and any detections during construction.

  • Inspect the cleared area, retained habitat edges, stockpiles, excavations, fences and access routes after each clearing stage and before the next stage begins.
  • Search remaining rocks, logs, litter and friable soil at the edge of the disturbance for animals that may have been missed during clearing.
  • Check that no animal is trapped in trenches, pits, pipework, temporary fencing, spoil piles or other project structures.
  • Close or cover pits and trenches when unattended, or provide escape measures approved in the fauna management plan.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and controls

  • Monitor known or relocated populations and retained habitat where required by approval conditions or where the species was detected during works.
  • Use repeated, documented daytime searches of suitable retained habitat and record search effort so that results can be compared over time.
  • Maintain exclusion fencing, no-go markers, erosion controls and habitat protection measures until the responsible ecologist confirms that they are no longer required.
  • Control weeds, pasture invasion and other vegetation changes that reduce the quality or continuity of sandy and heathland habitat.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and offsets

  • Provide the regulator and land manager with the approved completion report, survey results, detection records, handling and relocation records, injuries or deaths, photographs and any departures from the fauna management plan.
  • Submit verified occurrence records to the relevant state wildlife database or biodiversity atlas.
  • Apply any offset, restoration or compensatory habitat requirement specified by the approval, permit or state policy; do not treat an offset as a substitute for avoiding and minimising habitat loss.
  • Update the site risk assessment if monitoring shows continuing decline in habitat condition, loss of connectivity, predator pressure or effects from altered fire regimes.

Rehabilitation actions: Restore habitat structure

Rehabilitation should recreate connected, dry habitat with friable soil and abundant ground-level shelter. The documents provide habitat and threat information but do not specify a planting schedule, restoration density or performance target, so targets must be set with the relevant authority and ecologist.

  • Re-establish locally appropriate heathland, mallee, heathy woodland, shrubland, coastal scrub or dry sclerophyll forest according to the original site and regional vegetation community.
  • Use locally suitable native plants that restore low shrubs, ground cover and litter without converting the site to pasture or dense exotic grass cover.
  • Retain or reinstate sandy or other friable soil profiles and prevent compaction in areas intended to provide habitat.
  • Reinstate clean, stable rocks, logs, coarse ground debris and leaf litter in nearby retained or rehabilitated habitat, using local material where permitted.
  • Do not place habitat features where they will be buried, flooded, exposed to vehicle traffic or isolated from other suitable habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats

  • Control weeds and pasture species that replace native heathland, shrubland and ground cover.
  • Manage feral cats, foxes and other introduced predators in accordance with the land manager's approved pest program.
  • Prevent unnecessary clearing, slashing, rock removal and soil disturbance in rehabilitated habitat.
  • Develop fire management with the land manager so that fire frequency does not further degrade heathland habitat or isolate retained populations.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Monitor plant establishment, native ground cover, soil condition, reinstated rocks and logs, weed cover, predator activity and connectivity between retained patches.
  • Repeat daytime searches for the species in suitable rehabilitated habitat during warmer spring and summer conditions, while recording effort and weather.
  • Set site-specific success measures with the relevant authority, including survival of plantings, stable friable soil, persistence of ground shelter, weed control and linkage to retained habitat.
  • Continue monitoring long enough to detect whether habitat structure is being maintained and whether management is increasing the suitability of the site for this cryptic, fossorial species.

Sources