Nidderdale Adders – survey and genetics

Dr Kelly Harmar is Biodiversity Officer at Nidderdale National Landscape. Kelly will describe the NNL reptile project – a rolling programme of reptile surveys undertaken across the National Landscape since 2017.  The surveys have recorded over 30 individual adder hibernation sites, of which five are believed to have nationally significant populations while other sites are thought to only have small, isolated and vulnerable populations.  Kelly will describe why Nidderdale is important for adders, outline the steps taken to locate new adder sites and will give an overview of the local adder population at a landscape scale.

Dr Will Askew is a senior specialist in genetic technologies at Natural England.  Will is leading a Natural England funded project, working with Bangor University, that is examining DNA samples from adder populations in Nidderdale, the North Pennines, Norfolk and Suffolk.  The DNA sampling will provide insights into the genetic health of adder populations in Nidderdale, allowing the National Landscape Team to plan conservation actions to protect and better connect local adder populations.