GREAT CRESTED NEWT PONDS IN SUFFOLK
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ON THE STATUS OF PONDS AND GREAT CRESTED NEWT TRITURUS CRISTATUS IN SUFFOLK TOM LANGTON, GEORGE MILLINS AND CATHERINE LANGTON Summary Suffolk pond numbers are re-evaluated, with the most recent (1999) estimate of over 22,635 ponds remaining found to be based upon data in which approaching 40% of pond grid reference locations appear to be erroneous. Applying adjustments provides a revised estimate of 11,500 ponds in 2007 plus or minus 1000 ponds. However, the number of ponds that still hold water for 4–7 months per year (or ‘wet ponds’) is estimated at around 9240. Recent Suffolk Wildlife Trust surveys found that over 80% of all ponds had low water volume, were heavily silted and in a highly degraded state, but there is a possible slowing of pond loss rate since 1990. By relating the percentage occupancy of ponds by the European protected amphibian species Great crested newt Triturus cristatus to the probable ‘wet’ pond numbers for Suffolk, 1000 breeding ponds plus or minus 250 ponds are judged to remain. The status of standing freshwater ponds and their aquatic wildlife in Suffolk is described as being in crisis, with little immediate prospect of significant funding to reverse the trend of continued decline. This is despite the clear and longstanding government obligations over 25 years to ensure conservation action is undertaken. Recommendations for action to conserve Suffolk ponds are given. Introduction The English counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, together with Cheshire and parts of its adjoining counties are the parts of England and Wales with highest pond densities (Rackham, 1986). While the building of large numbers of garden ponds in recent decades has offered a widespread additional habitat for many plant and animal species, the older, and sometimes ancient, ponds that typify much of the British lowlands remain the vital standing water network. A core component of this wildlife asset are the ponds of the East Anglian Claylands, within which many of the Suffolk ponds and particularly the South Norfolk and High Suffolk Claylands Character Area pond supercluster (sensu: Grayson, 1993) are located. Defining and categorising small water bodies from a historic and nature conservation perspective has proved difficult (Rackham, op. cit.). A working definition for ponds, used by the group Pond Action in the early 1990s was ‘water bodies between 1 square metre and two hectares surface area that hold water for up to four months per year’ (see Wood et al., 2003). While this categorisation includes most garden ponds, it does not include the smallest pre-cast, plastic-lined ponds or old porcelain sinks sunk in the ground, so absolute definitions are clearly difficult. The Lowland Ponds Survey (Williams et al., 1996) defined ponds for that study as those between 25 m2 and 2·0 ha surface area and holding water for at least four months of the year. Ordnance Survey maps do not include small modern garden ponds, built mainly with artificial liners over the last 40 or so years. Garden ponds have become increasingly numerous, especially in conurbations and there may be two million of them in the UK (Froglife, 1999). Many thousands of these are
Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 43 (2007)