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"A revolution in newt surveying"

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Mark_b View Drop Down
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    Posted: 06 May 2012 at 8:08pm

Dewsbury Newt Trap


£29.95 each?

http://www.nhbs.com/title.php?bkfno=196605&ad_id=1330

Discuss.
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GemmaJF View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote GemmaJF Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2012 at 8:37pm
If it really catches as many newts as it appears to, sounds good. I have to own up I can't actually figure out how it works. Is it heated or something? How do they get in?

I pondered a few years back when I lifted some cardboard out of a pond that had been warmed by the sun and it was full of newts if artificially heated traps might be a new survey/capture method worth investigation.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote sussexecology Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 May 2012 at 11:10pm

Actually, that sounds a very good idea.

it was only the other day that my colleagues and I were discussing how to design bottle traps for ponds which are lined. My colleagues recently undertook a newt survey but they couldn't do bottle traps because every pond was lined. This sounds the simple solution in those cases, but like Gemma said, I don't see how they could work.

Not really applicable to me as unlikely to be used for reptiles, but will forward this info to my colleagues, so thanks for sharing.

Regards
HW, SE Reptile Ecologist

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote herpetologic2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 May 2012 at 7:22am
Now it doesn't take long to work out that this trap is possibly less effective than bottle traps and funnel traps. Take the number of newts and the time to catch those newts. This is over 24 hours rather than a far shorter time with other traps including bottle funnel traps. Bottle or funnel trapping can also be set up during the day. A recent survey in Basildon over 6 hours captured 91 great crested newts. We used funnel traps (n =30) instead of funnel traps made from drinks bottles. The survey was set up in 6 ponds at 18.30. We retrieved the traps when we came back for a torch count at 23.00. 

Bottle traps can be deployed in lined, concrete ponds by attaching them to lengths of string and then tied to the bank on sticks or other suitable tethers. 

The drewsbury trap has not be adequately tested in comparison to other funnel traps including bottle traps. Leaving the traps for such a long time is possibly ill advised in certain situations. 

I would love to get hold of a few and pair them with funnel traps over a 6 hour period. It is definitely not a revolution in newt surveying as stated. 

Thinking about it though I think you are meant to deploy around two traps to a pond instead of bottle traps every 2 metres. If you captured 12 per trap a total of 24 newts what does that tell you about the newt population? is the population a good population or is it only useful for detecting presence? 

If you divide the newts by the time spent in the water that's 1 newt an hour. Look at the recent funnel trapping in Basildon the traps captured 15 newts an hour. Am I missing something here? 

Now the real revolution in newt surveying to me is the requirement to submit amphibian records. Please discuss. 



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Noodles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 May 2012 at 5:25pm
In a mitigation licence scenario, would the relevant SNCO even accept population data obtained at lower shoreline trap densities? I doubt it unless comparative data were available.  

The market is awash with wunder products at the moment in all fields of ecology; it seems to be big business, and at £29.95 a pop i'll be sticking with my bottles thanks. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mampam Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 May 2012 at 10:19am
I presumed that the figures given in the description on the NHBS site were from a formal study that compared this trap with traditional traps, but I can't find any other mention of this trap in internet searches. Am I  missing something?  Without it the claims are meaningless. If it is heated its efficiency will vary with water temperatures. Whatever the manufacturers claim,  I wouldn't leave any animal trap unchecked for 24 hours. Too risky. 

Edited by herpetologic2 - 13 May 2012 at 10:50am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Batmancaver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2012 at 11:25am
We have aquired one of these for trial purposes.
 
Essentially the trap is a plastic tupperware type box with lead attached to the base. A slot is cut in the side and the inside has a mesh entrance tunnel. (Essentially think along the lines of a crab/lobster trap. The newts can get in BUT cannot find their way out again.)
On top of the box is attached a bin loner with a foam float at the top and an air tube.
 
The trap is set up and thrown out into the pond whereby it then sinks. It won't sink completely below the water because of the air in the bag and the float at the top. The trap is attached to a line which is tied to the bank.
 
The trap looks good and is easy to place without entering the pond, a H&S issue with conventional bottle traps.
 
So far we have caught only a single smooth newt, HOWEVER, we have trialled it on only a few nights later in the season. We will be testing it more substantially next season and I can let people know how we get on.
 
Currently NE have stated that these are NOT covered under standard bottle trap licences (http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/EPS-July-2012-News_tcm6-33251.pdf) and their use needs to be applied for as a box trap. CCW and SNH probably will be of the same opinion, but adding their use onto an existing licence is probably no trouble.
 
As for leaving them for 24 hours? NO CHANCE! I have dealt with it as like it is any other sort of trap and checked it more frequently then just once a day. I hope the SNCO's regulate the use in the same manner. Maybe any newts caught would be perfectly alright for that length of time, however, morally I think we are obliged to check more frequently. As far as I am concerned one dead animal is too much and all should be done to prevent any deaths happening.
 
 
Just a question to Herpetologic2:
How do you utilise bottle traps in a concrete lined pond? I'm confused by your description of: "
Bottle traps can be deployed in lined, concrete ponds by attaching them to lengths of string and then tied to the bank on sticks or other suitable tethers."
 
The bottle traps I utilise are skewered on bamboo canes which are then pushed into the pond substrate and the bottle traps are then pushed down below the water so that the bottle rests ontop of the substrate. How do you do your bottle trapping?
 
Cheers,
 
Karl
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Noodles Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Oct 2012 at 9:48am
There is a description of the tethering technique in the Herp Workers Manual. Personally i have used   a weight on the bottom lip of the bottle to good effect. The weight is attached to create the correct diagonal upward tilt, this then rests on the hard bottom and is pole tethered/tied to vegetation on the bank.

I was always worried about a free tethered trap being affected by waterfowl or other types of turbulence impact, resulting in the loss of the air bubble. But then i've never used one....  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote herpetologic2 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 30 Oct 2012 at 10:15am
Very easy to utilise bottle traps in a concrete pond or a butyl liner pond. In the same way you would use the Drewsbury - tethered. 

I have used tethered bottle traps on many ponds or water bodies - derelict swimming pools, concrete water storage containers. 

With deep water in the early part of the year the issue of not having a air bubble is not an issue if you check the bottle traps regularly.  I tend to use funnel traps which capture plenty of newts compared to bottle traps.

#

My dad uses crayfish traps to good effect as well


We tend to only leave them for a few hours up to a maximum of 5 hours for each survey. The bottle traps in the photo were checked every 4 hours over several days including during the day where we also captured newts.
Report your sightings to the Record Pool http://arguk.org/recording
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