Great crested newt

What action is going on for this species?

The following will give you information on what work has been taking place through the Species Action Framework:

• Updates on recent action 
• Action up to start of SAF, April 2007 

Species background

The great crested newt (Triturus cristatus) is the largest of the three British newt species with an adult length range of 90 -170 mm. The adult male has a jagged crest along his back which decreases in size outwith the breeding season. Both sexes are dark in colour with a vivid orange belly patterned with irregular black spots. The skin is granular giving the species its alternative common name of warty newt.

Why is this on the Species Action List?

It meets criterion 1a of the Species Action Framework as a species for conservation action.  Scotland and Britain as a whole is a European stronghold for this species and there has been evidence of serious decline across Europe. 

Ecological requirements are relatively well understood, and it responds well to proactive, specific management.  Volunteer conservation groups can make a significant difference in creating or restoring great crested newt breeding ponds and surrounding terrestrial habitat, so raising awareness of biodiversity issues more broadly.  Such habitat is also beneficial to a wide range of other species.

It is a UKBAP Priority Species and is on the Scottish Biodiversity List. The great crested newt is listed on Annexes II and IV of the EC Habitats Directive. It is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, as amended, and is identified as a European Protected Species on the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994, as amended

Habitat, distribution and abundance

The great crested newt spends the bulk of its life on land but is dependent on small to medium sized freshwater ponds to breed.  Naturally a creature of rough grassland, scrub and woodland, the species has long been associated with lowland farmland but has also found a niche in former (and current) mineral workings and other 'brownfield' habitats.

Terrestrial life is typically spent within 250 m of the breeding ponds but dispersal of up to 1000 m can occur.  It is crucial that these habitat components are appropriately linked by areas conducive to newt movement to permit migration between key areas.  Studies have shown that the density of ponds may be important to the long term survival of populations. 

The great crested newt is still quite widespread in Britain. The Scottish distribution is predominantly in Dumfries and Galloway, the Borders, across the central belt and around Inverness. A 1995-96 national survey located 85 ponds in Scotland with great crested newt populations. Subsequent work from local surveys and environmental assessments linked to development proposals has brought this number up to around 100. The species may be numerous locally in parts of lowland England and Wales but is absent or rare in Cornwall and Devon. It is absent from Northern Ireland.

General ecology

They are nocturnal predators on invertebrates, spending daytime in damp refuges, for example, under stones and logs.  Breeding takes place in ponds in spring to early summer, and is governed by temperature.  A female can lay around 300 eggs which are laid singly, attached to vegetation.  Larvae usually develop through their aquatic stages over a three month period before adopting the terrestrial habit.  However, metamorphosis is dependent on temperature and in cooler climates or nutrient poor (and hence invertebrate deficient) ponds, larvae can take much longer than three months to develop.  They take around three years to reach breeding maturity.

History of decline, contributory factors and current threats

The species has suffered a decline in recent years with studies in the 1980s indicating a rate of colony loss of approximately 2% over five years across Britain.  It is estimated that there are about 18,000 occupied ponds within Britain, although only about 3,000 of these have been identified.  The British population is amongst the largest in Europe, where it is threatened in several countries. 

The great crested newt is threatened by loss of breeding ponds through destruction or degradation of water quality due to development or changes in agricultural practice, but also through natural succession, neglect and mismanagement.  The introduction of fish to breeding ponds is almost always catastrophic.  Of equal importance is the loss and fragmentation of terrestrial habitat.

The 'Species Lead' at Scottish Natural Heritage

 John.McKinnell@snh.gov.uk Tel 01387 770275