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Newts

Answer

The following table provides the latest estimates of UK populations for the bats and newt on the UK list of priority species and habitats. Population estimates have been divided into three components: an actual number of individuals (or populations in the case of the newt), the range which the species occupies within the UK and the population trend.

Species	UK population¹	Date	Range²	Date	Trend³	Date
Barbastelle bat	86 (10km sq.)	2008	80,939 km²	1980-2006	Unknown	2008
Bechstein's bat	36 (10km sq.)	2008	31,850 km²	1980-2006	Unknown	2008
Noctule	450,000 (individuals)	1995	158,299 km²	1980-2006	No statistically significant change	1997-2007
Soprano pipistrelle	51,500,000 (individuals)	1995	227,090 km²	1990-2006	Stable	1997-2007
Brown long-eared bat	6245,000 (individuals)	1995	234,142 km²	1980-2006	Stable	1997-2007
Greater horseshoe bat	75,689 (individuals)	2005	50,543 km²	1990-2006	Increase	1997-2007
Lesser horseshoe bat	850,000 (individuals)	2002	58,483 km²	1990-2006	Increase	1997-2007
Great crested newt	971,000 (local populations)	2006	157,749 km²	1980-2006	Declining (slowing)	2008
¹ Biodiversity Action Reporting System (2008)
² Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2007). The report detailing the UK approach can be found here:
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/pdf/FCS2007_ukapproach.pdf
³ Biodiversity Action Reporting System (2008). Where available, bat trends are provided by the National Bat Monitoring Programme (Bat Conservation Trust, 2008)
4 Based on Harris (1995)
5 Based on Harris (1995)
6 Based on Harris (1995)
7 Population estimate is 5,689 (adults counted at 21 breeding sites) * 2.2 = 12518 (Biodiversity Action Reporting System 2008)
8 Pers. comm. Schofield (2008). The rationale for this figure is based on an approximate doubling of the latest statistically valid figure for Wales (28,000; Matthews & Halliwell, 2008) due to the fact that the total area of the range in England and Wales being roughly equal. (Biodiversity Action Reporting System 2008)
9 JNCC (2007)

The trends are not measured against a baseline. Baseline information is not relevant to de-listing as the viability of the population would be considered rather than a baseline value to which current population levels would be compared.The criteria for delisting any species from the UK list of priority species is:"Long-term or underlying decline has been halted and sufficient recovery achieved. This represents compliance with the European 2010 target to halt the loss of biodiversity.""All criteria thresholds for selecting UK priority species have been exceeded.""Sufficient recovery has been undertaken to remove the risk of re-selection and immediate deterioration of state.""Some species are conservation dependant and will always require some conservation action even when desired state has been achieved. Where there is a realistic risk that removing a conservation dependant species from the UK list of priority species will result in the action or protection that the species is dependent upon coming to a halt, then the species will be identified as being 'BAP dependent' and will remain on the UK list of priority species until this is no longer the case, even if the other success criteria have been met."

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

494 c520-2W; 279198

Session

2008-09

Subjects

Bats Newts

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk