A University of London professor is visiting the Island to help conduct a study on the status of Bermuda's own endemic, terrestrial reptile, the skink.

The study, under the direction of John Davenport, is being funded by the Ministry of Works and Engineering, Housing and Parks, in collaboration with the Aquarium to discover what is causing the dwindling numbers of skinks on the Island.

Following a recommendation from Government Conservation Officer David Wingate and local conservationist James Conyers, the skink was listed as "critically endangered'' by the World Conservation Union last year.

Little is known about the skink. But it has become very rare throughout the main island chain and is now mostly found on the outer islands.

The low numbers of the skink population can be attributed to predation by mice, rats and cats along with their vulnerability to "death traps'' such as discarded beer bottles and soda cans where they get trapped and are unable to escape.

The current study, which is one of the first field elements of the Aquarium's recently launched Biodiversity Project, will attempt to determine how many skinks inhabit the Castle Harbour Nature Reserves.

The second phase of the project will be a public awareness programme, as the factors putting the skinks at risk are largely "human-induced''.

More information on the initial results of the study will be available this week.