Biodiversity Strategy - Gosford City Council - NSW Government

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Figure 6.12 Sweet Ceratosoma Nudibranch (Ceratosoma amoenum) on Halophila sp. (David Harasti). Sandy beaches Many people consider sandy beaches to be biological deserts because there are few large animals to be seen. However, there are in fact numerous species of small organisms living beneath the sand of Gosford's beaches. They include bacteria, fungi, diatoms and invertebrates (eg. nematodes, crustaceans, polychaetes and molluscs). Most are referred to as meiofauna because they are less than half a millimetre long. Gosford's beaches also have larger macrofauna, which include crustaceans (eg. ghost crabs), polychaetes (eg. giant beach worms) and molluscs (eg. pipis). There have been few studies of Gosford's beaches and there is little information on the species present. Wave action and its interaction with grain size and tides influences the kinds of species and their diversity. However, the relative importance of various factors (both natural and anthropogenic) in explaining distributional patterns is poorly understood, thus constituting a significant data gap, especially given the current "sea change" phenomenon. Threats to sandy beaches in include pollution, pathogens, mining, disruption of sand transport, hard structures, beach cleaning/nourishment, off-road vehicles, bait harvesting, trampling and exotic species. Moreover, global warming is expected to cause a rise in sea level and an increase in frequency and intensity of storms, factors that will induce erosion and loss of habitat. A - 6.2.3 Freshwater Habitats Gosford has a variety of freshwater habitats, such as freshwater wetlands, rivers and creeks. Whilst there are only a few freshwater wetlands under the management of Council (eg. Iluka Lagoon, Pearl Beach Lagoon, Melaleuca or Everglades Wetland and Lisarow Wetland), there are literally hundreds of creeks. Most of these creeks are small or ephemeral and very little is known about them. Indeed, many of them don't even have names. Biodiversity - Technical Report Page 147
Lisarow Wetland Lisarow Wetland is unique as it is the only true freshwater wetland in the Gos ford area. The wetland is of high conservation significance as it provides ideal habitats for locally rare flora including Melaleuca biconvexa, Melaleuca liniifolia (Paper Barks) and Eucalyptus robusta (Swamp Mahogany). The wetland also supports locally rare fauna including Paracrinia haswelli (Haswell’s Frog) and Platalea flavipes (Yellow-Billed Spoonbill). Other native fauna to the area include various other water birds, reptiles, amphibians, mammals and fresh water fish. The wetland is also a likely habitat for Litoria brevipalmata (Green-Thighed Frog), which is very rare in New South Wales. The conservation of these species is vital to the success of the wetland. A large percentage of the wetland is in very good condition. However other parts are polluted with roadside litter, infested with weeds, affected by storm water runoff and rubbish dumped by people using the footpaths constructed around the edges of the wetland. The weed infestation of the wetland has caused a significant decline in the native flora species. There are several informal paths through the wetland, which cause the waterlogged soil to become compacted. All of the processes are threatening the ecosystem and need to be managed if it is to be conserved for the future. Council has prepared a Plan of Management for Lisarow Wetlands. Everglades Lagoon System The Everglades Lagoon System, which includes the Melaleuca Wetland Reserve, consists of seven freshwater lagoons situated within, and adjacent to, the Everglades Country Club at Woy Woy. The lagoon situated furthest downstream, however, is influenced by brackish water during extremely high tides. This has not always been so, the hydrology of this wetland has been drastically modified, to the extent that the direction of flow has been reversed. The wetlands ecological community at the Everglades Lagoon System has been listed as an Endangered Ecological Community on Schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act as Sydney Freshwater Wetland. Council adopted the Everglades Lagoon System Precinct Plan of Management in December 2004 (KBR, 2004). The Plan provides the framework and objectives for the management of the Precinct, management actions to achieve those objectives and performance targets. The wetland system is a locally important habitat for variety of birds, reptiles, mammals, fishes, amphibians and invertebrates. Comprehensive species lists, for both flora and fauna, can be in The Everglades Lagoon System Precinct Plan of Management (KBR, 2005). This document also prioritises various management actions for the ecological sustainability of the system. Freshwater creeks There are over 2,000 km of small creeks with the Gosford LGA. In their natural state, freshwater creeks are biodiverse, with fish and other vertebrates (eg. platypus), plants, algae and micro and macro invertebrates. They have a variety of habitats and strong linkages with their riparian habitats. The riparian zones provide leaf litter, habitat, and act as a filter to pollutants and nutrients from the surrounding catchment. Streams are also an important component of downstream estuarine ecosystem food webs. There is little information about the 2,000 km of small creeks in Gosford except that for the most part, they have been highly impacted by urbanisation. The urbanisation of Gosford's creeks is characterised by the clearing of native vegetation. This vegetation is usually replaced by impervious surfaces such as roads, pathways, buildings and car parks, which increase runoff velocity and pollutant content. Other impacts caused by urbanization include channelisation, snag removal, erosion and sedimentation, habitat modification, alteration of the systems natural hydrology and high loads of nutrients. The latter often leads to eutrophication and the proliferation of exotic weed species. Biodiversity - Technical Report Page 148
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Gosford City Council BIODIVERSITY S
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CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION............
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A - 4.5 Climate ...................
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1 INTRODUCTION In accordance with C
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• Local interest groups such as B
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GOSFORD VISION 2025 INTERNATIONAL C
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Council is placing the information
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2 EXISTING SITUATION 2.1 Biodiversi
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ackdrop to areas of the City, conse
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Table 2: Statistics on Gosford's wa
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example, of the approximately 83 di
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• Biodiversity is best conserved
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6 Council to consider the developme
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Actions • Enhancing community edu
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5 Develop and implement strategies
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Appendix Gosford City Council BIODI
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CONTENTS APPENDIX GOSFORD CITY COUN
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A - 7.7 Human Interactions with Nat
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Genetic diversity is the variety of
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Biodiversity - Technical Report Pag
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A - 2.0 LEGISLATIVE CONTEXT The dev
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Amendment Act 2004 Standard Instrum
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areas within the Greater Metropolit
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A - 2.3.2 Council Corporate Reporti
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Biodiversity Toolbox The Commonweal
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A - 2.4 Discussion of Comparable Pl
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Biodiversity - Technical Report Pag
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A - 2.6 References Australian Local
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• Bushcare Program - ongoing •
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A - 3.2 Appraisal of biodiversity p
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Officer Table 3.2. Area of properti
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and sub-communities and to provide
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the Central Coast. The returned sur
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Council received funding for develo
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Council commissioned the Bush Stone
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education and training opportunitie
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of urban development applications w
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Unmanaged cattle grazing can impact
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Three public schools in the catchme
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Milestone 5 - Monitoring and Report
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A - 3.4 References Australian Museu
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(see Figure 4. 3) which accounts fo
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Newcastle and forms a major barrier
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Mooney Mooney and Mangrove Creeks.
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Aeolian Landscapes Beach Landscapes
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A - 4.5 Climate Generally the clima
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Kangaroo, possums, flying squirrels
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A - 4.9 Current Landuse Since the 1
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State government is also preparing
Page 99 and 100: A - 5.0 TERRESTRIAL BIODIVERSITY Th
Page 101 and 102: Lily) was once relatively widesprea
Page 103 and 104: Figure 5.1 Native vegetation commun
Page 105 and 106: Biodiversity - Technical Report Pag
Page 107 and 108: There have been few quantitative st
Page 109 and 110: • Rainforest • Wetlands • Dun
Page 111 and 112: Figure 5.5 Endangered ecological co
Page 113 and 114: of streams for water quality purpos
Page 115 and 116: Figures 5.5 - 5.7 Waratah (Telopea
Page 117 and 118: A - 5.4 A - 5.4.1 Terrestrial Fauna
Page 119 and 120: A - 5.4.3 Invertebrates There conti
Page 121 and 122: A draft Recovery Plan has been prep
Page 123 and 124: assumption that occupancy of a site
Page 125 and 126: Variables such as ‘proportion of
Page 127 and 128: Mount Kincumba to Bouddi NP and Cop
Page 129 and 130: A - 5.7 References Anon (1996) 'Sev
Page 131 and 132: Scotts D (1991) “Old-growth fores
Page 133 and 134: A - 6.2 Aquatic Habitats A - 6.2.1
Page 135 and 136: considered. This is true for all ri
Page 137 and 138: this zone are isolated Casuarina gl
Page 139 and 140: The Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury
Page 141 and 142: Gulls (Larus novaehollandiae); Pied
Page 143 and 144: Patonga Creek Little information is
Page 145 and 146: A particular objective of the above
Page 147 and 148: northeast lies the suburb of North
Page 149: Figure 6.11 Weedy Seadragon (Phyllo
Page 153 and 154: • appropriately timed collection
Page 155 and 156: A - 6.3 References ANZECC (1992) Au
Page 157 and 158: Almost thirty key threatening proce
Page 159 and 160: Whilst these two species appear mor
Page 161 and 162: Low (1999) surmised that this fungu
Page 163 and 164: A - 7.8 Fire Management Fire manage
Page 165 and 166: 1. Salinity mediated processes - Sa
Page 167 and 168: • Structural flood mitigation wor
Page 169 and 170: Increased needs for active recreati
Page 171 and 172: A - 7.14 References Anderson, C (20
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Biodiversity Strategy - Gosford City Council - NSW Government

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