Protecting Pond Life
🦇 Species: Native Amphibians & Aquatic Invertebrates
📍 Location: Dudley, West Midlands, England
🔑 Key Partner: British & Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums, EAZA Wetlands for Life & Midlands Crayfish Partnership
🏆 The animals and plants found in our native ponds are small yet mighty. We’re championing pond-living invertebrates and amphibians through a range of different conservation initiatives.
Ponds are bodies of water that can vary in size, from 1 square metre to 2 hectares! Despite their small size, ponds play an important role for wildlife. Ponds are found on farmland, in woods, on grasslands and in towns and gardens. Two-thirds of all native freshwater species can be found in ponds, including frogs, newts, diving beetles, dragonfly larvae and leeches.
Ponds help us tackle many environmental issues, including climate change, flooding and pollution.
🚩 What is the problem?
In the UK, the number of ponds declined from approximately 800,000 in the 1800’s to 200,000 by the 1980s. 80% of our remaining ponds are considered to be in a poor state, due to poor management, pollution and invasive species.
Many organisations are working to reverse this decline. For example, ‘The Million Ponds Project’ – led by the Freshwater Habitats Trust – will create an extensive network of new ponds across the UK. Ultimately the aim is to reverse a century of pond loss, ensuring once again the UK has over one million countryside ponds.
🫶 How are we helping?
We support the conservation of ponds, and the species found within them through a variety of conservation projects. Alongside managing our own ponds here at Dudley Zoo & Castle, and promoting the creation of micro-ponds through our Micro-Pond Project initiative, we also support individual pond species projects such as…
Glutinous snail (Myxas glutinosa):
The glutinous snail is an aquatic snail which looks similar to the common wandering snail – however it is one of the most endangered animals in the UK. It is now found in just one lake in Wales, where is is threatened by nutrient enrichment and invasive species. We are working alongside BIAZA to create an ex-situ insurance population of glutinous snails in UK zoos and aquariums – helping to safeguard the species from extinction.
White-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes):
The white-clawed crayfish is the UK’s only native species of freshwater crayfish. It is facing significant declines in population across the country, due to habitat loss, pollution and competition from invasive species, primarily the signal crayfish. The signal crayfish is native to North America and carries crayfish plague – a disease that can cause 100% mortality in a native population. We are working alongside BIAZA and Buglife to alleviate these threats.
Great crested newt (Triturus cristatus):
The UK is home to three species of newt, the largest and rarest of which is the great crested newt. They are widely distributed throughout England and Wales, but this distribution is extremely patchy. They’re absent from Ireland and have disappeared from many sites across Europe – meaning that our native populations are an important stronghold. Dudley Zoo & Castle is proud to host a small population of great crested newts in the ponds alongside the castle wall.
🐸 EAZA Wetlands for Life Campaign
The EAZA “Wetlands for Life” campaign is a collaborative conservation initiative led by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), aimed at raising awareness of the vital importance of wetland ecosystems and promoting action to protect them. Wetlands support extraordinary biodiversity, play a critical role in climate regulation, and provide essential resources for both wildlife and people, yet they are among the most threatened habitats on Earth. As an EAZA member, we are proud to support this campaign and will be contributing through a range of initiatives over the next two years, including education programmes, conservation partnerships, and on-site activities designed to inspire our visitors to value and help safeguard these remarkable environments.
💗 How can you help?
Simply by visiting Dudley Zoo & Castle, you are supporting native species conservation. Support us further by…
