document: Why we must make the adder count More research into adder genetics may prevent small isolated colonies from dying out One of only six reptile species native to Britain , the adder is a fussy creature . Its restriction to specific habitats , and its frequent disturbance by human activity , well-meaning and otherwise , have made its populations isolated and prone to the effects of inbreeding . The Institute of Zoology , Natural England and Oxford University is undertaking a survey of adders -LRB- also known as vipers -RRB- to identify whether their population in the UK is suffering from a lack of genetic diversity . This is encouraging , and I fully support further research into adder genetics . Two of the other reptile species in Britain , the sand lizard and smooth snake , have always had limited natural ranges here . Because of this , they have strict legal protection and have been the subject of conservation programmes to protect and manage the few sites where they occur , and to reintroduce them to places from where they have disappeared . The adder is one of the remaining four species that we call '' `` widespread '' '' because they have much larger natural ranges in Britain . The adder can be found from the very south-west of England all the way north to Scotland . This does not mean that Britain is brimming with them or any other reptile species : within their apparently large ranges , they are restricted to certain types of habitat . The adder prefers grassland , scrub and woodland edge , primarily on sandy soils . There are also other factors that make it a particularly vulnerable species . Back in 2004 , English Nature -LRB- now Natural England -RRB- contacted naturalists around the country who had good knowledge of adder populations and asked them to evaluate the health of '' `` their '' '' adders , with some interesting results . In their opinion , '' `` disturbance '' '' was the greatest threat . But analysis of the data revealed some other trends . A third of the adder populations were small -LRB- estimated as fewer than 10 adult snakes -RRB- , and more than a third of the populations were isolated . Population declines tended to be more frequent among these small or isolated populations , as is to be expected due to chance fluctuations , but also as you would expect from inbreeding . Amphibian and Reptile Conservation co-ordinates Make the Adder Count , a project encouraging local adder conservation and long-term monitoring of populations , pooling information from a small but dedicated band of adder-watchers around the country . They , too , have consistently reported that the greatest threat to adders is disturbance . On further questioning , it become apparent that disturbance can have different causes . In some cases it refers to destruction of habitat - something that can happen even on protected sites , unintentionally , through '' `` habitat management '' '' . Adders are also still being killed by humans , through overly heavy-handed management of some of the areas they inhabit . Sometimes disturbance can also result from people visiting well-known adder sites . So , can the general public help at all ? Certainly . They can visit the Sliding Scales campaign website , a project for recording current or recent distributions of any snakes , as well as visiting the Add an Adder site - which aims to collect '' `` records from the past '' '' -LRB- both from personal experience and anecdotes from friends and relatives -RRB- to get a better idea of not only where adders are , but also where they used to be . If people find shed skins -LRB- or '' `` sloughs '' '' -RRB- of adders , they can also be sent to the ARC Trust - those will be used in a research project to better understand adder genetics . The animals we love face a range of threats . We herpetologists wait with interest to learn more about the genetics of our adder populations .
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