Instructions: In this task, you are given a text of many news articles seperated by special token "|||||". Your task is to summarize them.
Input: Could snakes worldwide be going the same way as frogs and fish? A study of 11 snake species in locations across the UK, France, Italy, Nigeria, and Australia suggests that snake populations may be suffering a widespread decline. 
  
 Christopher Reading of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and an international team aggregated data on snake populations from past studies, including surveys that they carried out themselves. They found that 11 of the 17 populations of snakes studied plummeted between 1998 and 2002, and remained low until the studies ended in 2008 and 2009. Five populations were stable, with one increasing slightly. 
  
 The crash was seen in the UK, France, Italy and Nigeria, with females more seriously affected than males. The causes of these steep declines are unknown, but the team believes they reflect a change in the quality of habitats, such as a growing shortage of appropriate ground cover, or less abundant prey. Worryingly, half of the species in parks and reserves suffered sharp declines. 
  
 The number of regions for which the researchers have long-term data is limited, so they cannot yet prove that they are witnessing a global decline. "We want to flag up what we think may be happening so that other snake researchers can start looking at their data and see whether they've got similar patterns," says Reading. 
  
 Journal reference: Biology Letters, DOI: 10.1098/rsbl20100373 
  
 If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to. ||||| By Richard Black 
  
 Environment correspondent, BBC News 
  
 The Royal python is one of the species showing a big decline Snakes may be declining across the world, according to a global study. Researchers examined records for 17 snake populations covering eight species over the last few decades, and found most had declined markedly. For reasons that are not entirely clear, some populations shrank in number abruptly around 1998. Writing in the journal Biology Letters, the researchers describe the findings as "alarming" but say much more work is needed to understand the causes. "This is the first time that data has been analysed in this way, and what we've shown is that in different parts of the world we seem to have this steep decline in a short period," said project leader Chris Reading. "It surprised us when we realised what we were looking at," he told BBC News. "And we don't have a clue what it was about that period of time (around 1998)." Dr Reading's team at the UK's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology ran the study with institutions in Australia, France, Italy and Nigeria. Data deficiencies With so many populations in different places showing decline, it's more than co-incidence 
  
 Chris Reading The main problem for anyone wanting to conduct a global survey such as this is simply lack of data. Monitoring snake populations means marking the individuals in some way - typically by snipping a pattern into their scales, or implanting a microchip. Field seasons can last for many months, and have to be repeated annually. The researchers believe they amassed most, if not all, long-term datasets for this study - although "long-term" in this context means going back more than one decade, in some cases more than two. Nevertheless, within this relatively short timeframe, eight of the 17 populations were seen to fall markedly in size - some by more than 90% - with only one showing any sign of a rise. Species in decline include the asp and the smooth snake from Europe, the Gabon viper and rhinoceros viper of West Africa, and the royal python. Many of the studies involve tagging snakes so they can be followed Populations shrank even in protected areas, suggesting that the progressive loss of habitat for wild animals being seen all over the world is not the only cause. Similar steep declines observed in frogs and newts in an earlier period were eventually found to be caused by the fungal disease chytridiomycosis. The year when many of the snake declines began - 1998 - raises the question of whether climatic factors might be involved, as very strong El Nino conditions contributed to making it the hottest year recorded in modern times. Dr Reading's research group suggests many causes might be involved, and is appealing to other researchers to come forward with any more long-term datasets that might broaden the picture. "The purpose of this paper was to say 'this is what we've found', and to say to other herpetologists 'now go and look at your own data'," he said. "But I think that with so many populations in different places showing decline, it's more than co-incidence." Richard.Black-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk 
  
  
  
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Output:
After more than 150 million years on earth, snakes may be slithering toward extinction. A new study shows snake populations plummeting around the world, with an especially sharp and mysterious drop in 1998. Researchers who tracked 17 snake populations in Africa, Europe, and Australia were "alarmed" to find 11 had declined markedly since 1998—some by up to 90%, BBC reports. The scientists say they "don't have a clue" what could have happened to snakes in 1998. Female snakes were more affected than males, and snakes living in preserves and parks were especially hard-hit, New Scientist reports. Researchers think climate change, declining habitat quality, and less abundant prey may be factors in the troubling decline.