The great crested newt (Triturus cristatus)
is a dark lizard-like amphibian. The species
occurs mainly in northern and central Europe,
north of the Alps. It is absent from Ireland and
most of Scandinavia. Despite its relatively wide
distribution area, the numbers of the great
crested newt have fallen in the second half of
the 20th century and the species has become
rare in many countries, occurring dispersedly
in small and isolated populations. This makes
the great crested newt a species under strict
protection in Europe and it is included in both
Annex II and Annex IV of the Habitats Directive.
For the purpose of protecting rare and threatened
communities and species and their habitats,
the network of Natura 2000 areas has been set
up in the European Union. Nature conservation
actions in Natura areas are supported by the
European Union’s LIFE-Nature Programme.
PROTECTION OF THE GREAT CRESTED NEWT
IN THE EASTERN BALTIC REGION
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LIFE-Nature project 2004-2008 LIFE04NAT/EE/000070
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LIFE-Nature PROJECT
“Protection of great crested newt
in the Eastern Baltic Region”
LIFE04NAT/EE/000070
As the great crested newt is a rare and threatened
species in many countries around the Baltic
Sea, the Estonian, Finnish and Danish amphibian
researchers launched in 2002 cooperation efforts
to determine the status of the great crested
newt and the actions required for protecting
the species in these countries. In 2003, these
joint efforts resulted in the LIFE-Nature project
proposal titled “Protection of great crested
newt in the Eastern Baltic Region”. The project
was carried out in the years 2004–2008.
The project was coordinated by the Estonian
Ministry of the Environment. The partners were
the State Nature Conservation Centre and Haanja
and Rõuge rural municipalities in Estonia, the North
Karelia Regional Environment Centre in Finland
and the Environmental Centre of Århus (in the
years 2004–2006, Vejle County) in Denmark. Also
involved in the project were the environmental
departments of Võru and Põlva counties in
Estonia and Amphi Consult, an organisation
engaged in the protection of amphibians in
Denmark. The project also cooperated with
Latvian and Lithuanian herpetologists.
The project budget was 736,190 euros, half
of which was provided by the European
Union’s LIFE-Nature programme.
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PROJECT SITES
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NORTH-savo
COUNTY
Project actions took place in three countries at 19 sites included in the Natura 2000 network. Estonia
was represented with 12 sites with a total area of 40,262 ha, which contained more than 80% of the
great crested newt populations known by the beginning of the project. The largest project sites were
Haanja and Otepää nature parks. The five project sites in Finland contained 95% of the great crested
newt populations discovered in continental Finland by 2004. As a Natura area established for the
protection of the great crested newt in Finland usually includes only the water body and its immediate
surroundings, the total area of Finnish project sites was 59 ha. The two project sites in Denmark, with
a total area of 2,612 ha, represented three land cover types characteristic of the great crested newt:
mosaic landscapes with low-intensity agriculture, seminatural communities and forest landscape.
1 haanja nature park
2 otepää nature park
3 mustoja lANDSCAPE RESERVE
4 piusa NATURE RESERVE
5 sadrametsa
6 pähni
7 hauka
8 karste
9 kiksova
10 kõõru
11 kasakova
12 väikõ-nedsäjä
13 pisa-kypäräinen
14 huurunlampi-sammakkolampi-huurunrinne
15 heinävaara-kyykkä
16 kangasvaara-kenraalinkylä
17 värtsilän laakso
18 Mossø
19 Rørbæk Sø
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NORTH-KARELIA
COUNTY
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16
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2
valga COUNTY
põlva COUNTY
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4
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võru COUNTY
VEJLE COUNTY
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3
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GREAT CRESTED NEWT
The great crested newt is a black or dark grey coloured
amphibian of the order Caudata. It measures over 14 cm in
length and has scabrous skin resembling that of a toad.
The newt’s belly is bright yellow or bright orange, with
black spots. The animal has received its name after the
tall dentate crest that the male develops on its back during
breeding season, in April. The species’ Latin genus name
Triturus is derived from the words Triton and ura. Triton
is a Greek god, who has the upper body of a human being
and the lower body of a fish. Ura is also derived from Greek
and means “tail”. The species name cristatus is derived
from the Latin word crista, which means “crest”.
The great crested newt is an amphibian living in very close
contact with water. It prefers small stagnant water bodies:
ponds, beaver floodings and water bodies situated in quarries.
It makes rather high demands on the water bodies: it prefers
small water bodies with clean and clear water, at least
partially exposed to the sun, with short aquatic plants and
without fish. These water bodies should also be situated
in groups close to one another, with no more than 500
metres separating them, which is the usual distance that the
great crested newt is capable of crossing on dry land.
Besides water bodies, the great crested newt also needs
terrestrial habitats and suitable hibernation sites. In the
second half of the summer, great crested newts can be
spotted on dry land, where they spend their days hidden
under rocks, tree stubs or stumps or dug into moss.
They come out to feed only in the dark of night.
The great crested newt prefers to hibernate in various
dens, below stumps and stone piles, but it can
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WHAT ARE THE THREATS FACING THE GREAT CRESTED NEWT?
also often be found in cellars.
The main reason for the decrease in the great
crested newt’s numbers is the lack of small
water bodies suitable for breeding. While this
constitutes the primary threat in almost the
entire distribution area, the reasons for the
destruction of water bodies vary by country.
In Finland, great crested newt breeding
ponds are located primarily in forests,
and are threatened mainly by intensive
forest management. Logging results in the
destruction if suitable water bodies.
In Denmark, breeding ponds are often
situated in agricultural landscape. Thus, the
main threat there is intensive agriculture,
accompanied by extensive use of pesticides
and fertilizers. Both types of substances
have a direct poisonous impact on great
crested newts, while fertilizers bring about
rapid overgrowth of small water bodies.
Traditionally, all farms in Estonia have had
several ponds (cattle watering spots, sauna
ponds, flax soaking holes, etc.), which have been
populated also by great crested newts, alongside
other amphibians. Many small water bodies
have also been situated in natural landscape,
on meadows and pastures. Extensive socioeconomic changes in the second half of the
20th century, and particularly in its last decade,
resulted in the disappearance of traditional smallscale farming and the abandonment of farms. The
ponds, which were now no longer used, were
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invaded by scrub and eventually disappeared.
In addition, people have begun stocking the
existing ponds with fish, which destroy great
crested newt larvae. This has rendered even
many of the remaining ponds unsuitable
for the great crested newt. What is more,
intensive agriculture is picking up pace
in Estonia, thus becoming an increasingly
significant threat for amphibians.
At the beginning of the project, an inventory of
small water bodies was carried out in Haanja
and Otepää nature parks, in the course of which
the status of 405 water bodies was assessed
and the found amphibian species were identified.
The results of the inventory indicated that
only 22% of the water bodies were in good
condition, while most of the inventoried small
water bodies were populated by fish, overgrown
or had suffered scrub invasion (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Status of the 405 small water bodies
inven­toried at the beginning of the project
in Haanja and Otepää nature parks
5%
10 %
22 %
15 %
48 %
high quality
stocked with fish
overgrown
eutrophicated/silted up
totally shaded
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PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The objective of the project was to preserve
the small and isolated great crested newt
populations in Estonia and Finland and to ensure
the favourable status of the species, in other
words, to create the conditions necessary for
increasing the numbers of the great crested newt
and for the emergence of viable populations both
in the shorter and longer term in Estonia and
Finland and at selected project sites in Denmark.
As the great crested newt occurs in
Estonia often in the same water bodies
as the common spadefoot toad (Pelobates
fuscus), an amphibian species threatened
in Europe, the common spadefoot toad was
chosen as the other target species for the
project, besides the great crested newt.
Great crested newt breeding ponds are often
situated on private land in immediate proximity to
human dwellings, and as the main threats to the
species are the destruction of breeding ponds
and stocking them with fish, it was important
to inform local people and landowners and to
involve them in project actions. After all, the
preservation of small water bodies suitable for
amphibians and, consequently, the performance
of the project and the great crested newt’s future
status largely depend on precisely these people.
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PROJECT ACTIONS
Breeding ponds suitable for the great crested newt
The restoration of great crested newt breeding ponds was preceded by
determining what kind of water bodies are most suitable for the species to breed
in, i.e. making sure that the restored breeding ponds would end up populated
by the great crested newt. To that end, more than 200 breeding ponds were
inventoried in Denmark in the first years of the project, and the gathered data
were then analysed to determine the great crested newt’s habitat requirements,
which formed the basis for restoring and creating breeding ponds.
Common methodology for the monitoring of the great crested newt
Researchers in Denmark, Estonia and Finland used different monitoring methods,
none of which gave a complete overview of the population’s status, and the results
were thus difficult to compare. Consequently, a common monitoring methodology was
elaborated in the course of the project, and it can be applied in other countries as well.
Assessment of the favourable conservation
status of the great crested newt
Here, we determined the criteria for the favourable conservation status of the great
crested newt, which allow assessing a population’s status – whether it is viable or not.
Great crested newt action plans for Estonia, Finland and Denmark
In Estonia and Finland, action plans were elaborated, discussing the species’ status
and providing measures for the emergence and survival of viable populations. In
Denmark, an action plan concerning the former Vejle County was compiled.
The reports and action plans are available on the project’s website at www.envir.ee/harivesilik
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Restoration of breeding ponds
In Estonia, the project restored 31 pond clusters containing 240 ponds, for the use of
the project’s target species, the great crested newt and the common spadefoot toad. In
addition, in 2008, the State Nature Conservation Centre began implementing the action plan
elaborated within the project, and another 21 ponds were restored at project sites.
In order to clean the ponds and their surroundings of scrub, three work camps
were organised. In many cases, the landowners themselves cut the scrub.
A tractor with mowing equipment was purchased for managing terrestrial habitats.
In Finland, two new breeding ponds were restored and the surroundings of 16 breeding ponds
were cleaned of scrub in an overall area of 4.3 ha. Some ponds were also deepened.
In Denmark, 12 breeding ponds for the great crested newt were dug in the course of the project. In
addition, the Danish Forest and Nature Agency dug another four breeding ponds at a project site.
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International workshops and final seminar
In the course of the project, two international workshops and the final seminar
were organised in Estonia, with a total of 124 people from 12 countries (Estonia,
Finland, Denmark, Latvia, Netherlands, Belarus, Spain, United Kingdom, Ukraine,
Germany, France, Slovenia) participating. The workshops and seminar consisted
in presentations, discussions and visits to project sites accompanied by practical
fieldwork. The events constituted a very significant form of international cooperation
for herpetologists from various countries. Exchanging experiences, acknowledging
problems and searching for solutions, learning about the actions and results of the
LIFE-Nature project on the great crested newt, cooperation among various countries
– all this equipped the participants with valuable knowledge and experiences.
Study tours
Three study tours to Denmark and Finland took place. The participants were the project’s
experts, nature conservation specialists and university students from Estonia, Denmark
and Finland. The aim was to introduce project actions, gather experiences and generally
broaden the mind. After all, it is the task of local nature conservationists and later the
students of today to preserve the project’s achievements and to protect amphibians.
Guided tours
The project included more than 20 guided tours, with over 500 pupils, teachers
and landowners participating. The landowners learned about the invertebrates and
amphibians living in their home ponds and their eyes were opened to the diversity of
the pond ecosystem, largely inconspicuous at first glance. The teachers and pupils
were provided with study tools elaborated on the basis of the school curriculum.
During a guided tour, the trainers first gave an overview of the animal groups living
in ponds and the relations among them, and then demonstrated the main fieldwork
techniques. Then it was the children’s turn to try their hand. They identified the
caught invertebrates and amphibians and filled in task sheets. Catching the small
animals with their own hands generated a lot of excitement and thrill among the
children, and certainly was a significant complement to studying the school books.
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Publications and website
When the project started, the great crested newt was a relatively little-known amphibian, both among local
people and nature conservation specialists. Moreover, as great crested newt breeding ponds are situated
primarily on private land, an important and even a key issue in terms of the future was educating landowners
and nature conservation workers. To this end, numerous publications were issued, articles were published
in national and local periodicals and updated information on the project and its actions was made available
on the project’s website (all publications are available also on the website www.envir.ee/harivesilik).
The publications were diverse-looking and had diverse aims. The Estonian-language poster on the great
crested newt, primarily aimed at schools, introduced the species, while the poster on the pond ecosystem
provided information on the various animal groups in small water bodies. The folder on the great crested
newt (published in the Estonian, Finnish, Danish, Russian and English languages) provided the landowners
and nature conservationists an overview of the species and its threats as well as specific instructions on
what the pond owners themselves can do to protect the great crested newt. The folder on pond creation
instructed those who planned to restore or create ponds near their homes on how to make them suitable for
amphibians. The Finnish-language poster on the great crested newt introduced the species. In addition to the
information mentioned above, the publications also provided an overview of the LIFE project and its actions.
A separate poster introducing the project was published for project site visitors and local people, and it was
exhibited on information boards at project sites as well as in libraries, cafeterias, nature conservation centres.
The project and its actions were publicised both in local (rural municipality and county level) as well
as nation-wide newspapers, natural science magazines (“Eesti Loodus” in Estonia and “Luonto”
in Finland), on the radio and television and in Internet news portals. The project’s experts gave
presentations at many international events, such as the 2005 international seminar ‘Protection
of Ponds, Puddles and Pools’ in Trieste, Italy; the 2006 IX Nordic Herpetological Symposium in
Värska, Estonia; the 2007 Congress of the International Association of Landscape Ecology (IALE)
in Wageningen, the Netherlands, and XIV European Congress of Herpetology in Porto, Portugal.
Exhibition
In Estonia, in the State Nature Conservation Centre’s regional centre at Otepää, a permanent
exhibition introducing the local nature park was opened. The exhibition stands introduce the
nature park’s history, geology and nature. Separate stands are dedicated to small water bodies,
amphibians, the LIFE project on the great crested newt and the LIFE-Nature programme.
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Information boards
Project sites in Estonia, Finland and
Denmark were equipped with information
boards introducing the project, the LIFE
programme and the project’s target species
– the great crested newt and the common
spadefoot toad. As the project sites were
very different – sand pits, populated
communities, cultivated landscapes,
forested areas –, each information
board featured a general part (the LIFE
programme, introduction to the project and
the species) and a site-specific section.
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Nature trail
In Estonia, in Haanja Nature Park, a nature trail
was developed in the framework of the project.
It runs through diverse landscape and finally
leads up to the great crested newt breeding
ponds restored by the project. The nature trail
starts off with an arboretum created by a local
resident, where ca 250 tree and bush species
are on display. Past the arboretum, the trail
descends into the valley, where beavers have set
up their “kingdom”. Next, the trail makes its way
through several forest types and finally reaches
Härämäe, where we are offered a view of the
great crested newt breeding ponds. The trail is
equipped with information boards introducing
each area. Both at the beginning and at the
end of the trail, at Härämäe, we can find larger
stands, providing overviews of the LIFE project.
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Performance of the project in terms of the great crested newt
and the common spadefoot toad
ESTONIA
In order to record the initial situation and to gain reference material for the future assessment of the project’s
performance, 405 existing small water bodies were inventoried in Estonia at the beginning of the project.
The researchers described the condition of the ponds and recorded all found amphibian species. In the
course of the project, all ponds dug and restored in the previous year/years were inventoried each year.
Suitability of restored ponds for the great crested newt and the common spadefoot toad
The restoration of small water bodies was based on the project’s two target species – the
great crested newt and the common spadefoot toad – and their habitat requirements, which
had been previously determined on the basis of the studies conducted in the course of the
project. The accuracy of the research and the performance of the project in improving the
status of these two species is vividly illustrated by the fact that the new breeding ponds turned
out to be most suitable for the great crested newt and the common spadefoot toad, whose
occurrence in water bodies increased 2.8 and 7.8 times, respectively. In addition, the restoration
of breeding ponds had a remarkably positive effect on all other amphibians as well.
Table 1. Occurrence of amphibians in small water bodies in Estonia in 2005 and 2008
species
tadpole of common spadefoot toad
before pond construction 2005
after pond construction 2008
larva of great crested newt
Figure 2. Occurrence of all amphibians in the existing
ponds (2005) and constructed ponds (2008)
Existing ponds
During the inventory of small water bodies conducted in Haanja and Otepää nature parks in 2005,
great crested newt eggs or larvae were found in 24% of all inventoried water bodies, while common
spadefoot toad tadpoles were found in only 2% of the water bodies. Of all amphibian species
occurring in the area, only the “green frogs” were found in more than half of the water bodies,
while the occurrence percentage of all other species was significantly lower (Figure 2).
Ponds restored during the project
By the end of the project in 2008, great crested newts had populated 69%, and common spadefoot
toads 16% of the water bodies restored and created in the course of the project. Out of 31 clusters of
small water bodies, great crested newts were found in 74% and common spadefoot toads in 55%.
Thus, the project succeeded in preserving all small and isolated great crested newt and common spadefoot
toad populations at the project sites and in creating the conditions for increasing their numbers
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and expanding their distribution area in Estonia. In addition to the project’s target species, the
restoration of water bodies also impacted positively on all other amphibians in the area (Figure 2).
occurence in pre existing
ponds % inventory of 2005
occurence in restored
ponds % inventory of 2008
fold difference
p. fuscus
2,0
15.6
7,8
t. cristatus
24,2
68.7
2,84
r. arvalis
15,3
40.0
2,61
t. vulgaris
36,8
82.6
2,24
b. bufo
21,2
42.6
2,01
r. temporaria
22,2
43.5
1,96
“green frogs”
58,3
82.6
1,42
Finland
In Finland, the main emphasis was on pond maintenance. Unlike in Estonia and Denmark,
great crested newt breeding ponds in Finland are mainly situated in the forest, and introducing
new breeding ponds is generally impossible. Great crested newt breeding success remained
stable in Finland during the project. The number of ponds containing larvae fluctuated
between 20 and 22. Out of the 16 managed ponds, breeding success had increased by
2008 (compared to 2004) in nine ponds, remained the same in four, and decreased in three
ponds. We can deduce that management actions have had a positive impact in Finland.
Denmark
In Denmark, 16 new great crested newt breeding ponds were dug at project sites. By the end
of the project, 15 of these ponds were populated by the newt, which is a very good result.
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eu life nature fund
ec.europa.eu/environment/life
ESTONIAN MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT
www.envir.ee
North Karelia Regional Environment Centre
www.ymparisto.fi
environment centre Århus
aar.blst.dk
state nature conservation centre
www.lk.ee
rõuge PARISH
www.rauge.ee
haanja PARISH
www.haanja.ee
environmental investment centre
www.kik.ee
project website:
www.envir.ee/harivesilik
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TEXT
Voldemar Rannap
Riinu Rannap
Ville Vuorio
PHOTOS
Ville Vuorio
Merike Linnamägi
Arne Ader
Maris Kivistik
Riinu Rannap
Voldemar Rannap
LAYOUT
Merike Tamm
PRINT
Iloprint 2008
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