Poster Presentation 11th Australian Stream Management Conference 2024

Soil moisture monitoring of Giant Gippsland Earthworm Megascolides australis streamside habitat – Don’t dry out our patch ! (#200)

Michael J Aberton 1 2 , David Sutton 3 , Michael Green 4 , Cassie Wright 5 , Alison Oates 6 , David Bateman 7 , Joel Geoghegan 7 , Amaryll Perlesz 3 , Beverley Van Praagh 8 , Bertrand Salmi 2
  1. Water Technology, Armidale, NSW, Australia
  2. Waterways and Ecology, Water Technology, Notting Hill, VIC, Australia
  3. Gippsland Threatened Species Action Group Inc., Bass, VIC, Australia
  4. Drift Media, Gippsland, VIC, Australia
  5. South Gippsland Landcare Network, Leongatha, VIC, Australia
  6. Oates Environmental Consulting Pty. Ltd, Gippsland, VIC, Australia
  7. Bass Coast Landcare Network, Bass, VIC, Australia
  8. Invert-Eco – Terrestrial Invertebrate Consulting, Craigieburn, VIC, Australia
  • The Giant Gippsland Earthworm (GGE) is listed as Vulnerable (EPBC Act 1999) and Endangered (FFG Act 1988) and remains an enigma despite research over the past 30 years. It spends its entire life underground in niche habitat areas within a small range in South and West Gippsland, Victoria. The only indication of its presence is a gurgling sound when its moving through wet tunnels in the clay soils on hillslopes with terracettes and creek banks. They are known to occur in the one location for their entire lifetime as movement between habitats is unlikely due to the non-contiguous nature of suitable habitat. While soil moisture is known to play a critical role in the distribution and survival of GGE, the specific hydrological parameters have not been identified and therefore the tolerance to hydrological change remains unknown. This information is critical for the conservation of the species given the hydrological alterations occurring within the range of the species.
  • Our team is collaborating to monitor known habitats, building on the existing streamside re-vegetation research to determine soil moisture conditions both in their habitat, between habitats and at adjacent habitats in this pilot study. We will insert soil moisture monitoring probes measuring to a depth of 0.8 metres to measure soil parameters including moisture, temperature and oxygen levels.
  • It’s early days so we plan to present our monitoring program and preliminary results.
  • We hope to unravel the hydrological secrets of the Giant Gippsland Earthworm, and better understand the soil moisture conditions required to protect healthy but threatened populations.
Download Full Paper