Cave fauna monitoring and management at Ida Bay, Tasmania

Abstract

The Ida Bay karst in southern Tasmania contains a diverse and significant cave fauna. Conservation management of the cave fauna has involved: 1, legislative protection of rare and threatened species; 2, protection of sensitive habitats within caves by marking routes and sanctuary areas; and 3, educating cave users, including teaching of minimum impact caving techniques. Monitoring of cave fauna has been undertaken for the purposes of: 1, gathering baseline ecological information for research, visitor management, and interpretation; 2, measuring the ecological impacts of limestone quarrying and subsequent recovery during rehabilitation efforts.