Abstract
Surveys of the threatened golden sun-moth, Synemon plana (Walker), on an extensive grassland habitat in Victoria demonstrate some of the challenges for evaluating its population sizes and distributions, and developing its flagship values for ranking grassland sites for priority conservation significance. A more effective sampling protocol is suggested, which takes into account the unusual biological features of this species.
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Acknowledgements
This project was undertaken with the aid of volunteers and staff of the Merri Creek Management Committee and the Friends of Merri Creek. We thank, particularly, Brian Bainbridge and Wendy Moore for their enthusiastic support. The study was authorised through Parks Victoria, under Flora and Fauna permit no. 10003414, and we thank the Rangers in charge of Craigieburn Grasslands, Fiona Smith and Katrina Lovett for facilitating this. We greatly appreciate comments on a draft of this paper from Fabian Douglas and Dr Beverley Van Praagh.
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Gibson, L., New, T.R. Problems in studying populations of the golden sun-moth, Synemon plana (Lepidoptera: Castniidae), in south eastern Australia. J Insect Conserv 11, 309–313 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-006-9037-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-006-9037-6