Danger for endangered species
When heavy rainfall and dredging caused tonnes of peat from a mine to escape from Wingecarribee Swamp and wash into Wingecarribee Reservoir, it didn't just look bad for the water quality. A number of endangered plant and animal species living in the swamp were feared to have disappeared.
At the time of the collapse, Caroline Dearson (now SCA Outreach Education Coordinator) was studying life in the swamp as part of her honours degree in Environmental Science. She says the swamp is the only known place in Australia to find the yellow loosestrife plant species. "After the collapse, I surveyed the swamp to see the effect on endangered species," she says. To her relief she found the plants had survived, as well as the endangered giant dragonfly.
Flora and fauna surveys have been conducted since the collapse to determine the state of the species in the swamp and assist with tracking studies.
The surveys showed that Wingecarribee swamp is home to four species already listed as endangered before the swamp collapsed. They are the:
- Giant Dragonfly (petalura gigantea)
- Leek Orchid (Prasophyllum uroglossum)
- Gentian (Gentriana wingecarribiensis)
- Yellow loosestrife (Lysimachie vulgaris var. davurica)
Four threatened bat species were also detected during the fauna survey. These bats are likely to use the swamp as a foraging ground rather than for shelter.
Threatened species recovery plans are now being developed by National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) in conjunction with the SCA.
