| Survey/Project Number: |
639
Total No. of Sites:
42
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| Survey/Project Name: |
SA Arid Lands NRM Opal Shaft Fauna Monitoring Project |
| Abstract: |
SA Arid Lands NRM Opal Shaft Fauna Monitoring Project
This project is administered by the SA Arid Lands Threatened Fauna Project and began in late 2008. The project aims to:
- Collect information on the ecology and threats to the Bronzeback Legless Lizard in the Coober Pedy area
- Determine the level of threat posed by open shafts to this and other small vertebrate species
- Involve local community members in collection of meaningful scientific data
- Promote greater understanding and appreciation of the threats posed to fauna from open shafts and to create groundswell to change practices
Methods involve capturing fauna that falls into abandoned opal prospecting shafts that are extremely numerous in these areas (up to 2 million in the Coober Pedy area alone). These shafts closely resemble conventional pitfall traps in their surface characteristics, but may be up to 20 metres deep. Modified 10 L buckets are installed approximately 1m below the surface in selected open shafts and checked regularly for fauna by local opal miners and community volunteers. Fauna are photographed and released near their point of capture. |
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| Start Date: |
01/01/2008
End Date: 01/01/2014
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| Survey Type: |
Fauna only |
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| Study Area Description: |
*** No study area description recorded |