Our fully licensed Great Crested Newt specialists are able to undertake surveys throughout Somerset, including Mendips, the Quantocks, Exmoor, the Somerset Levels, Langport, Taunton, Glastonbury, Wells, Shepton Mallet, Yeovil, Bridgwater, Frome, Wedmore, Chard, and Minehead. We are experienced in surveying, European Protected Species licensing, as well as mitigation design and implementation.
We are also able to serve the surrounding counties of Devon, Dorset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Monmouthshire, and Bristol.
Great crested newts (GCN) are fully protected under the UK and European law and are frequently encountered on development sites. It is an offence to kill, capture, or disturb them, or to damage or destroy their ponds. This protection extends to the habitats which support great crested newt and it is generally assumed that the species might be present in terrestrial habitats up to 500m of a breeding pond, depending on habitat quality, connectivity, and population size.
Acer Ecology’s fully licensed ecologists recently undertook a GCN survey at a site in the Somerset Levels. We used eDNA to record the presence/ absence of this species in eight ponds across the site. eDNA can provide a rapid assessment of the presence of newts within a site. Once this information is known, nets can either be scoped out of further development considerations, or further targeted surveys can be undertaken to identify the size of the resident population.
Identifying the presence of GCN on a site an early stage can help your project progress smoothly through the planning process, without potentially costly and timely delays.
Surveys for GCN are seasonally constrained to the period mid-March to mid-June when great crested newts are present in their breeding ponds. Outside of this season terrestrial surveys using drift fencing and pitfall traps can be undertaken to determine their presence in terrestrial habitats. It is, therefore, crucial to identify the presence of GCN at an early stage in the planning process, in order to avoid timely and costly delays
For more information about great crested newt surveys, or any of our other ecological services, please call us on 02920 650331, or email us at enquiries@acerecology.co.uk.
Further information about great crested newts can be found in our articles Get The “Newt” Know How On Great Crested Newt Surveys, Great Crested Newts – How We Can Help You and A Year in the Life of a Great Crested Newt.
