Abstract
We studied the amphibian community of the Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) Serra Bonita, an area of 20 km2 with steep altitudinal gradients (200–950 m a.s.l.) located in the municipalities of Camacan and Pau-Brasil, southern Bahia State, Brazil. Data were obtained at 38 sampling sites (including ponds and transects within the forest and in streams), through active and visual and acoustic searches, pitfall traps, and opportunistic encounters. We recorded 80 amphibian species distributed in 15 families: Aromobatidae (1), Brachycephalidae (3), Bufonidae (4), Centrolenidae (2), Ceratophryidae (1), Craugastoridae (7), Eleutherodactylidae (2), Hemiphractidae (2), Hylidae (42), Hylodidae (1), Leptodactylidae (7), Microhylidae (3), Siphonopidae (1), Odontophrynidae (3) and Pipidae (1). Species richness was positively correlated with monthly rainfall. Near 36% of the species were found in strictly forest environments, 15% are endemic to Bahia State and 77.2% are endemic to the Atlantic Forest biome. The large species diversity of this small area, the high degree of endemism and the taxonomic and biogeographic significance turn the Serra Bonita mountain into a hotpoint for amphibians within Brazil’s Atlantic Forest hotspot.
Highlights
Among vertebrates, amphibians are considered the most threatened group on the planet (Hoffmann et al 2010)
Eighty amphibian species were found in the Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) Serra Bonita: a single species of Gymnophiona (Siphonops annulatus – Siphonopidae) and 79 species of anurans, allocated into 14 families (Table 1; Figures 3–6)
The species richness observed in the Serra Bonita mountain is the second highest recorded for the Atlantic Forest biome and almost doubles those found in other locations in the State of Bahia (Table 2)
Summary
Amphibians are considered the most threatened group on the planet (Hoffmann et al 2010). Despite Brazil showing the highest worldwide diversity of amphibians (Segalla et al 2012), it does not rank within the first positions in the number of endangered species. This is probably due to the lack of data regarding most Brazilian species, once the country is the world leader in species classified as Data Deficient (DD) – near 25% of the assessed species (IUCN 2008). Many of this species could be facing extinction but are not in the scope of conservation actions, since we cannot determine the major threats to their populations due to the absence of adequate sampling along the Brazilian territory (Trindade-Filho et al 2012, Verdade et al 2012, Campos et al 2013, Morais et al 2013)
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