The Herpetological Journal

pp.99-110

Authors: J. W. Arntzen And S. F. M. Teunis

Abstract: The population dynamics of the crested newt, Triturus cristatus. in a newly created aquatic habitat in a dune area in northwestem France was studied over a six year period. After a rapid colonization of the pond in year I, and a fast initial increase to reach 335 newts in year 5, the adult population size dropped dramatically to 16 in year 7. Variation in the adult population among years was largely due to variation in juvenile recruitment. In the longer term. the population stabilized at about 40 newts. Since the population has survived for five times the minimum generation time of the species, the colonization was judged to be a success. An estimated 50% of the juveniles joined the breeding population at age 2; those that did not breed by then spent the third year on land. The average annual survival rate for the juveniles was 0.22. For the adults survival was 0.49 and showed almost no fluctuations over time or with age. Given a short distance to disperse, the crested newt can be an opportunistic species.