Translocation of a large population of great crested newts

Abstract

The great crested newt, Triturus cristatus, is a European Protected Species. Its legal protection requires appropriate mitigation and compensation measures to be developed for populations threatened by built development in order to demonstrate no likely detriment to the maintenance of the favourable conservation status of the species in its natural range. A major regeneration project at a site near Neath Port Talbot in South Wales, United Kingdom, resulted in the destruction of the breeding sites and associated terrestrial habitats of a population of great crested newts. Capture and translocation of 9,500 newts of all life stages was undertaken between 2009 and 2016 to an adjacent receptor site with waterbodies and extensive terrestrial habitats. Eggs and larvae have been observed in waterbodies in the receptor site throughout the monitoring period from 2013 to 2017, and great crested newts are colonising new waterbodies. The translocated population was much larger than the population size predicted from the baseline surveys of waterbodies on the development site. The design, planning and licensing of mitigation and compensation schemes for great crested newts threatened by built development projects need to give full weight to the limitations of survey methods when estimating the size of a population.