Sourcing background (historical) information

There may be various sources of background information which should be consulted before designing your survey. The following categories could be considered:

• flora and fauna information
• conservation status
• other site information

Consider the details for each of these.

Flora and Fauna Information
Previously collected information on the fauna and flora present at the site of the intended survey is helpful to the current researcher. Such information can provide the researcher with a broad list of species that may be expected in the location enabling easy and quick identification. It can indicate the likely presence of rare or endangered species.

There are a large number of potentially useful sources of existing data. These include

• museums
• naturalist groups, e.g. Greening Australia
• journal articles
• published and unpublished reports from Federal and State Government Departments
• Indigenous and local landowner knowledge
• The Internet - searches of individual site names, or areas, and relevant key words (e.g. flora lists, fauna lists, survey information, biological records).

Internet Sites in Australia

http://www.ea.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/
The Federal Government's conservation agency, Environment Australia, maintains an excellent website, "Environment Australia Online".
A complete data base of all flora and fauna species occurring within specific areas in each state can be compiled by clicking on the tool buttons within the website.

http://www.environment.gov.au/
bg/plants/threaten/lists
Lists of endangered flora and fauna.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/anbg/index.html
The Australian National Botanic Gardens.

http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/
The Australian Biological Resources Study, which aims to provide the underlying taxonomic knowledge necessary for the conservation and sustainable use of Australia's biodiversity. This site provides access to a number of lists and databases, including the relational database package "Platypus", and the "Census of Australian Vertebrate Species".

http://www.nt.gov.au/paw/parks/charlesdarwinpom.pdf
You will be conducting your fieldwork at the Charles Darwin National Park (CDNP). The Draft Plan of Management of the CDNP is available on the web in Adobe PDF. This document contains both flora and fauna lists as Appendices. Other appendices include a vegetation map, land units map and a listing of cultural sites.You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document.
NB. this document is currently located within the Parks and Wildlife Commission NT web site. This department has since been incorporated in the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment, and so this web address is expected to change.

Internet Sites in the UK

http://www.ceh.ac.uk/data/brc.htm
The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology is the home of the Biological Records Centre. The database comprises distributions of biological species in the British Isles (over 6 million records)

NB. A search of "biological records" uncovered a multitude of sites with site specific information on flora, fauna and environmental attributes, in the UK.

Internet Sites in the USA

http://www.botany.net/IDB/botany.html
This is a list of Internet addresses for Botany in the USA. The list is very extensive.

http://hardyplants.com/statelist.htm
Links for plant resources by state.

Conservation Status
Endangered plants and animals are categorised according to their rarity.

• In Australia the rating system is as follows: Extinct; Extinct (in the wild); Endangered; Vulnerable; Poorly known; Rare.
• In the USA the categories are: Extinct; at High Risk; at Moderate Risk; of Special Concern; Secure.

The greater the number of Rare or Endangered species in a survey area, the greater the conservation value of that area, and the greater the management effort that is required. Environment Australia have developed a process to assess the conservation status of threatened species, and have published 'Action Plans' for most Australian faunal groups. These action plans are also available via the Environment Australia web site.

http://www.environment.gov.au/bg/plants/threaten/plans/

In biodiversity surveys, additional effort is spent on surveying for rare and endangered biota if records suggest that they may be present at the site under investigation.

Other Site Information
Other information about the site, such as soil type and landform, can be gained from various sources prior to conducting the survey. The Internet now provides a wealth of information on site characteristics. This is increasing as Government departments continue to publish their reports on websites, or provide guides to where information can be accessed. Some examples are listed below.

McDonald, R.C., Isbell, R.F., Speight, J.G., Walter, J. and Hopkins, M.S. (1990) Australian soil and land survey. Field Handbook. 2nd Edition. Melbourne: Inkata Press - commonly referred to as the 'yellow book'.

This book outlines a systematic way to describe and catalogue soils in the field.

http://www.lpe.nt.gov.au/PlanBuild/default.htm
Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Environment Northern Territory.
Links to maps and databases of land & water information.

http://www.auslig.gov.au/about.htm
The Australian Mapping Division (formerly AUSLIG) operates within the Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) and is the Commonwealth Government of Australia's primary source of advice on land information matters. This site provides access to, for example, maps and aerial photos, digital data and GPS, and satellite images.

http://www.environment.gov.au/marine/
coastal_atlas/index.html
This site provides information about Australia's coast.

4.1 Please consider the following hypothetical, but we would like you to do it while standing out in your garden. Yes, go outside after reading the following: You are going to participate in the Birds Australia (formerly RAOU) Bird Atlas project by surveying your home garden for birds. What are your survey objectives and what data do you require? What method will you use to survey the avifauna in your garden (you may want to jump ahead to the survey methods section and look at bird survey techniques). Describe your sampling strategy. If you also wanted to determine what factors attracted birds to your garden, what additional data would you collect? Let's presume you are coordinating 'birdos' in your suburb or district who are participating in the exercise. Design a survey data sheet to be used by everyone. You will be required to send your thoughts to your lecturer so that you can receive feedback about whether or not you are on the right track. Your thoughts and the feedback will then form the basis of your next online tutorial.