short-range endemic invertebrates, commonly referred to ad SREs, are invertebrates with small distributions. Following from Harevey (2012) and Pinder (2012), these distributions are considered significant if less than 10, 000 square kilometres. Subsequent to these landmark contributions, many SREs have been found to have very patchy distributions and while their overall distribution is widespread (>10, 000²km) their area of occupancy is much smaller. Species restricted to riparian habitats or salt lake systems represent examples of this distribution pattern.

A Guidance Problem

Surveying for SREs requires use of multiple sampling techniques and detailed knowledge of seasonality and microhabitat preferences of various SRE invertebrates. In this regard the current guidance recommendations from the WA EPA (EPA 2016) are unsuitable and strict adherence to them is likely to lead to species being misinterpreted and/or mismanaged as SREs.

The current EPA guidance is dated 2016; however, other than the first three pages, this is a reprint of the 2009 guidance document and the first three pages contain no significant updates regarding survey methods or seasonality. So in practice, at the time of writing this page (2024), the ‘current guidance’ is infact more than 15 years old!

Alacran uses refined and novel survey methods to better target SRE invertebrates. I also trial new sampling techniques to help improve survey efficiency. Using these methods increases the likelihood of correctly determining the presence or absence of an SRE species at a survey site. The use of unrefined survey methods and unsuitably trained field staff is likely to result in incorrect interpretation of their distributions since.