Modify gully pots and kerbs

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 1
Share Tweet Email

View assessment score

How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

80%
Certainty

40%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Gully pots along roadside kerbs form effective traps for amphibians. Animals crossing roads reach the kerb and often move along its base, until they fall into a gully pot. Once in the gully pot amphibians cannot climb out. A study found that 63% of 636 gully pots in two areas in Scotland contained wildlife, of which 91% were amphibians (1,087 animals; Muir 2012).

There are a number of ways in which the impact on amphibians could be reduced, such as moving gully pots, modifying the design of their grills, providing escape ladders or changing the shape of kerb stones (angled or indented).

Muir D. (2012) Amphibians in drains project report summary. Biodiversity News, 59, 16–18.

Study locations

Key messages

One before-and-after study in the UK found that moving gully pots 10 cm away from the kerb decreased the number of great crested newts that fell in by 80%.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A before-and-after study in 2005–2006 of gullypots along roads in South Wales, UK (Muir 2012) found that moving the gullypot 10 cm away from the kerb resulted in 80% fewer great crested newts Triturus cristatus falling into the gullypots. Only 65 newts were found in the drains compared to 318 before gullypots were moved. Gullypots were moved in 2005.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Muir D. (2012) Amphibians in drains project report summary. Biodiversity News, 59, 16-18.

Please cite as:

Smith, R.K., Meredith, H. & Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Amphibian Conservation. Pages 9-64 in: W.J. Sutherland, L.V. Dicks, S.O. Petrovan & R.K. Smith (eds) What Works in Conservation 2020. Open Book Publishers, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Amphibian Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Install barrier fencing along roads Action Link	Trade-off between benefit and harms	10	Synopsis Link
Use humans to assist migrating amphibians across roads Action Link	Unlikely to be beneficial	6	Synopsis Link
Modify gully pots and kerbs Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	1	Synopsis Link