species' range, except in the Carpathians. This suggests that the Carpathians was a refugium during the Last Glacial Maximum. The northern crested newt then expanded its range north-, east- and westwards when the climate rewarmed. Threats and conservation The northern crested newt is listed as species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, but populations are declining. It is rare in some parts of its range and listed in several national red lists. The major reason for decline is habitat destruction through urban and agricultural development, affecting the aquatic breeding sites as well as the land habitats. Their limited dispersal makes the newts especially vulnerable to fragmentation, i.e. the loss of connections for exchange between suitable habitats. Other threats include the introduction of fish and crayfish into breeding ponds, collection for the pet trade in its eastern range, warmer and wetter winters due to global warming, genetic pollution through hybridisation with other, introduced crested newt species, the use of road salt, and potentially the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans. The northern crested newt is listed in Berne Convention Appendix II as "strictly protected". It is also included in Annex II (species requiring designation of special areas of conservation) and IV (species in need of strict protection) of the EU habitats and species directive, as a European Protected Species. As required by these frameworks, its capture, disturbance, killing or trade, as well as the destruction of its habitats, are prohibited in most European countries. The EU habitats directive is also the basis for the Natura 2000 protected areas, several of which have been designated specifically to protect the northern crested newt. Preservation of natural water bodies, reduction of fertiliser and pesticide use, control or eradication of introduced predatory fish, and the connection of habitats through sufficiently wide corridors of uncultivated land are seen as effective conservation actions. A network of aquatic habitats in proximity is important to sustain populations, and the creation of new breeding ponds is in general very effective as they are rapidly colonised when other habitats are nearby. In some cases, entire populations have been moved when threatened by development projects, but such translocations need to be carefully planned to be successful. Strict protection of the northern crested newt in the United Kingdom has created conflicts with local development projects, but the species is also seen as a flagship species, whose conservation also benefits a range of other