The Herpetological Bulletin

https://doi.org/10.33256/hb177.112

AUTHORS: CATHERINE WHATLEY, ANGELA M. JULIAN, KEVIN PALMER, REBECCA TURNER, GEMMA HARDING & RICHARD A. GRIFFITHS

ABSTRACT: In September 2025, the fourth Vanishing Viper conference was held to maintain focus on the conservation of the northern viper or adder Vipera berus, a species subject to significant population declines and local extirpations in Britain. Compared to previous conferences in the series, Vanishing Viper 2025 considered a wider range of topics including: genomics, process-based modelling, habitat management, translocations, the role of volunteer work, and included the unveiling by Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust of a national strategy document that offers guidance on conservation translocations for viper recovery. The discussions following these many topics were wide-ranging and included some cautions that our current understanding of viper genetics is still inadequate to support the safe use of genetic rescue of populations considered to be inbred. There were also two workshops, one examining what defines disturbance for vipers and the other considering the role and challenges of conservation translocations, these are both presented in more detail in Supplementary Material. The rise in conservation actions for V. berus at the landscape-level gives cause for some optimism that conservation outcomes will be increasingly successful.