National Amphibian and Reptile
Recording Scheme – NARRS
Amphibian Surveys
Survey Methods
•
•
•
•
•
•
Egg searching
Netting
Aquatic habitat
Torching
Bottle trapping
Refuge searching
Pitfall trapping
Egg Searching
Submerged
vegetation
Great crested newt
Smooth/palmate newt
• Focus on newly-laid eggs
• Harder to identify once larva takes shape
Egg Searching
Advantages
Disadvantages
Quick method
Little value for determining
population size
Great crested newt eggs are
distinctive
No equipment is needed
Low level disturbance
Netting
A good net with a rigid frame and a mesh of
approximately 2-3mm costs around £50-60 including
delivery
Netting Effort
• Work around the pond perimeter
• Net along two-metre lengths of shoreline
• Agitate the net through aquatic vegetation in twometre arc
• Netting open water is less effective than netting in
vegetation
Great crested newt larva
Smooth newt larva
Overwintering larva
Netting
Advantages
Disadvantages
Useful for catching great crested
newt larvae and general sampling.
Needs a sturdy net.
Allows accurate identification.
Often ineffective for adult great
crested newts.
Long ‘season’ (March-October).
Disturbance to pond.
Can be carried out during the
daytime.
Risk of transfer of pest plants and
possibly diseases.
Torching
•
Newts primarily nocturnal
•
Detects presence and allows a count
•
Best time March-May
• Warm, still evenings
(Avoid wind, rain, or low temperatures)
•
Larvae detected late summer, early autumn
Torching
• Two- metre sections
• The torch should be moved away from the bank
and back, to cover the area of the pond in the
two- metre segment
• Repeat for all the accessible areas of the pond
• Record the percentage of the perimeter surveyed
• Daytime survey work should occur prior to
torching, so that any potential hazards can be
identified in the daylight
Torching
• Size difference of
GCN obvious, and
male tail flash
• Count total newts
seen
Torching
Brighter generally better. (e.g.
500,000 to 1,000,000
candlepower)
Good torch can cost £40-120
e.g. Clubman CB1 or CB2
Torching
Advantages
Disadvantages
Minimal disturbance to pond and
newts
Has to be done after dark (safety
& access issues)
Quick survey method
Unsuitable in rainy and windy
weather
Identification of species can be
difficult from a distance
Difficult in murky and turbid
ponds (e.g. after netting)
Bottle (or funnel) Trapping
• Typically used
where torching is
not possible
• Turbid water, too
much vegetation,
rain, wind
• More onerous and
potentially
dangerous than
torching, netting
etc.
Bottle Trapping – Welfare Issues
•
•
•
•
•
March-April:
May:
June:
July-August:
Sept- October:
12 hours
10 hours
8 hours
7 hours
8 hours
Bottle Trapping
Advantages
Disadvantages
Reliable method to detect adults
and larvae
Risk of killing adults and larvae
(and other species)
Useful technique in weedy or
turbid ponds
Risk of vandalism/interference
Allows accurate identification
Logistically onerous – You MUST
be trained and experienced to
use bottle trapping!
Keeps pond disturbance to a
minimum
Stakes can puncture pond liners
Refuge searching
• Looking under rocks, logs, discarded debris –
where moisture is retained
• March-October
• A bit hit and miss
• Supplementary technique only
Method
Bottle
J
F
M
J
J
A
+
☻ ☻ ☻ +
+
☻ ☻
Egg
+
A
M
S
O
L
L
+L
N
D
☻ ☻ ☻ +
Torch
+
☻ ☻ ☻ +
+
+L
Net
+
☻ ☻ ☻ +
+
☻ +L
L
Pitfall
Refuge
+
☻ ☻ ☻ +
+
+ = may be found/ less effective
+
+
☻ +
☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ ☻ +
☻ = optimal/ most effective
Fdsfgdgggdg
L = larvae present
NARRS – pond selection
•A
NARRS amphibian survey is conducted on a
pond in a randomly-chosen square, usually
within 5 km of the surveyor’s post code
• Important to have representative sample
Home
Locating the pond within your square
• Starting
at the
south-west corner of
the square, find the
nearest pond
•Can locate on map,
but need to confirm
in the field
Gaining access permission
Unless there are public rights of way, you must
get permission from the landowner to visit the
site and carry out the survey. You need to check
that your mapped pond is still present, and that
there are no other ponds closer to the south-west
corner of the square.
• Knock on doors and ask locally
• Use access request letter (see
www.narrs.org.uk)
Pond access
If there are no ponds within the survey square
then move to one of the immediately neighbouring
squares – start with the square to the north, then
move clockwise
If a landowner is unwilling to grant permission for
you to access the site, either move to a
neighbouring square as above or request another
square from ARC
Definition of ‘pond’
Water body between one square metre
and two hectares, which holds water for
at least four months of the year
How to carry out the pond survey
Your contact with the landowner is a good
opportunity to find out some information about
the pond, for example:
Has it been stocked with fish?
How often does it dry out?
Are there any safety issues, e.g. steep or
slippery banks?
Is it known to support amphibians?
!Remember to prepare your risk assessment!
How to carry out the pond survey
NARRS amphibian surveys are conducted
using the same methods we have practiced,
but note also:
Breeding frogs and toads can be detected
most easily during their peak spawning time
Frog- or toadspawn can be found
Techniques used for newts can also spot frog
and toad tadpoles
Licensing
• Most widespread amphibians do NOT require a
licence in order to carry out a survey - the exception
is the great crested newt (and other EPS)
• If you are in an area where you’re likely to find
GCNs, you should be licenced or accredited
• As a guide, if you find GCNs and are not licensed or
accredited, you should stop surveying that pond and
gain accreditation
• ARC can accredit people trained by ARC staff and/or
if recommended by trusted trainers
• You must submit licence returns/results.
Filling in the Survey Form
The survey form has been kept as simple as
possible – while allowing key information to be
recorded
Most information requested is self-explanatory
e.g.
• Pond details
• Your details
• Landowner details
Habitat suitability factors
Developed for the Habitat Suitability
Index (HSI) for the great crested
newt….
-the NARRS survey form contains
space to record a simplified version of
the HSI (see separate presentation).
For each survey technique, record numbers of
amphibians seen (indicate presence only for larvae and
newt eggs).
Visual search
Common frog
Adu
Imm
Larva
1
0

Egg
Common toad
Great crested newt
Palmate newt
?
Smooth newt
?
Other species
Crassula
grass snake
Eggs of smaller newt species are not identifiable to
species – so indicate with question mark if not sure which
one you have
Survey conditions
There are boxes to record the conditions under which
the survey was conducted
Date
Time
:
to
:
Air temperature oC
Water temperature oC
Water clarity (score 1-3)
Rain (score 0, 1, 2, 3)
Wind disturbing water (tick)
Bright moonlight (tick)
% Shoreline surveyed
%
Number of traps used
(IF APPROPRIATE/LICENSED ONLY!)
Scoring for water clarity and rain given on survey form.
How many times to visit the pond?
Ideally, four survey visits – but in practice, as many
as a surveyor can make, up to four
The survey form provides space to record
information from up to four survey visits and the
method/s used at each visit
When to survey the pond?
Ideally, an early survey in March and the rest midApril to May (but later is still OK)
REMEMBER – your results are valuable
and important to us however many
methods you use or survey visits you are
able to make!
Even NEGATIVE results (i.e. where you
don’t find any species) are important!
www.narrs.org.uk
Photographs
• Photographs used in this presentation are by Ben
Driver, Chris Gleed-Owen, Fred Holmes, Phyl
King, Will Watson, Steve Bolwell and John
Robinson
• Copyright of all photographs remains with the
photographers and ARC
• These photographs should not be used for
purposes other than NARRS training without the
permission of the photographers.