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Suffolk
Natural History, Vol. 24
native h e r p e t o f a u n a although their occurrence can cause a great deal of confusion amongst naturalists! Conservation and Protection T h e recent surge of interest in amphibians and reptiles has raised concern over their status. T h e rarest and most restricted British species, the Natterjack T o a d , Sand Lizard and Smooth Snake have declined the most drastically, due mainly to habitat alteration and destruction. T o a lesser degree the same thing is happening to the other species which have been traditionally m o r e a b u n d a n t and widespread. Our herpetofauna is dependent on comparatively stable and unchanging types of ecosystems, and these are becoming scarce in a country dominated by intensive agriculture and encroaching urbanisation and road systems. For some amphibians adaptability to suburban conditions, aided by the popularity of the artificial garden pond, have provided an alternative habitat. These species may still be losing ground in the open countryside (particularly in the predominantly arable lowlands such as Suffolk) but they are rapidly increasing in towns and cities. Reptiles have been less successful in adapting to urban conditions, although both species of lizard found in the County are widespread on railway cuttings and e m b a n k m e n t s and sometimes occur well into suburbs in these artificial habitats. Generally speaking, the only way to conserve viable populations of the reptiles and the rarer, more specialised species of amphibians, such as the G r e a t Crested Newt and Natterjack Toad, is to preserve and maintain the habitats upon which they depend for survival. Much research work has been carried out on the Natterjack T o a d since the early 1970s, notably by D r . Trevor Beebee. This has resulted in successful m a n a g e m e n t of existing sites and has also paved the way for introductions to sites f r o m which it has become extinct, and to new sites which have been m a d e suitable. In 1985, following successful introductions of the Natterjack to sites in Bedfordshire and north-west Norfolk, a site on the Sandlings was chosen f r o m a short-list of possible Suffolk sites, for re-introduction of the species to the County. Approximately 900 well-grown tadpoles, raised f r o m a captivebreeding colony kept by the author were released on the site, which is regularly monitored by arrangement with the Conservation Committee of the British Herpetological Society, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (on whose land the site is) and the Nature Conservancy Council. A t the time of writing (April 1988) well-grown Natterjacks are regularlyseen at the site and, during the previous winter, two large concrete 'slacks' or scrapes were constructed to supplement the naturally occurring, rather unpredictable pools a r o u n d the locality. In the coming years, if this introduction proves successful, it is to be hoped that further projects of this sort will be carried out in the County to re-establish the species. T h e f u t u r e of the reptiles and the G r e a t Crested Newt in Suffolk seem to be particularly uncertain. A r e a s where these creatures still occur are gradually being reduced in area and changed; witness the destruction of heathlands
Trans. Suffolk
Nat. Soc. 24