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GCN and eutrophic ponds: |
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Katia Bresso Member Joined: 23 Nov 2005 No. of posts: 11  View other posts by Katia Bresso |
Posted: 23 Nov 2005 Dear All, I have come accross a GCN survey report where they described a farm pond as being hyper-eutrophic and consequently unsuitable for amphibians owing to farm-yard effluent discharge. They therefore only did 1 night bottle trapping and 1 torchlight survey. I went on site and to me, it looks like ideal GCN pond. Could you please let me know if/where I can find info on effluent pollution and absence of GCN? My gut feeling is that more surveys should be done. I would be interested to know what you think. Cheers
Katia Bresso - self employed consultant http://www.kbecology.co.uk/ |
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herpetologic2 Senior Member Joined: 15 Jun 2004 No. of posts: 1369  View other posts by herpetologic2 |
Posted: 23 Nov 2005
Well I know of a flood pound in Essex which has plenty of run off from the local roads and the estate - it is 60m by 60m and it has the largest population of newts in Essex - in 2000 215 newts were recorded on one night torching - when did they do the bottle trapping and torching - if it was in february/march then they may miss the newts - though in warmer weather the conditions may become unsuitable for newts? Regards
JC Vice Chair of ARG UK - self employed consultant - visit ARG UK & Alresford Wildlife |
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calumma Senior Member Joined: 27 Jun 2003 No. of posts: 351  View other posts by calumma |
Posted: 23 Nov 2005 Katia, Poor water quality can certainly influence successful breeding. However, adults may still be present and attempt to breed if other suitable ponds are located nearby. If the pond is directly threatened it would be best to fully survey it. Effluent discharge is less of a problem if it becomes locked in the bottom sediment. Was the other assessment undertaken recently or several years ago? Local conditions may have changed over time. If you consider that the pond has potential I would definitely recommend that it is surveyed. Lee Lee Brady Kent Herpetofauna Recorder | Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Katia Bresso Member Joined: 23 Nov 2005 No. of posts: 11 View other posts by Katia Bresso |
Posted: 24 Nov 2005 Thanks for your comments. The single bottle trapping and the single torch survey were done in May 2003. The pond is not directly affected but is present within 100m of the proposed development. There is another larger pond further away from the scheme but this one has not been surveyed at all (outside 250m I think). Also there are some ditches, some where surveyed but others were said to be too dry or too overgrown to bottle trap so they were only torched. GCNs are however known to be present within 1km (if not closer, can't remember how close) but on the other side of a very busy road and busy railway line. There were no details of the pollution incident or whether it was an on-going problem but the pond looks ideal when I saw it although I did not probe the sediment to check whether polluted or not. I think I'll follow my instinct and Lee's advice and will get it surveyed once more in 06. Regards Katia Bresso - self employed consultant http://www.kbecology.co.uk/ |
- GCN and eutrophic ponds |