Abstract
There are few studies on the composition and diversity of species in the Brazilian semi-arid region, especially regarding the Anura biodiversity. Within this context, we aimed to characterize the composition of the anuran community of Cajueiro Farm, Paraiba semi-arid. The field samplings were conducted monthly between November 2013 and June 2014 for two consecutive days. The species were localized through visual and auditory active search limited by time. Using the Pearson regression analysis, the relation between the number of species and vocalization vs. rainfall was tested. The sample-based species accumulation curve indicated the adequacy of the anuran capture methodology. A total of 324 individuals, distributed in 17 species, 11 genera and four families, namely Leptodactylidae (n = 9), Hylidae (n = 5), Bufonidae (n = 2), Odontophrynidae (n = 1), were recorded. Among the recorded species, 13 presented reproductive activity (vocalization) during the study period. The number of species recorded, as well as the number of species in vocalization, was not related to rainfall. Keywords: biodiversity, caatinga, conservation.
Highlights
Studies on the biology and distribution of amphibians can generate important information about the quality of the environment itself, mainly in natural areas, working as a basis for the elaboration of effective management and conservation measures (Pereira et al, 2015)
Mostly of the Caatinga amphibian inventories published to date have been conducted within protected areas and/or in humid areas of high altitude, being areas that are better characterized as Rain Forest and/or Cerrado enclaves (Santana et al, 2015)
A total of 19 species registered at the Cajueiro Farm are considered typical of occurrence in the Caatinga (Rodrigues, 2003), including a species recently described (Pseudopaludicola pocoto) (Magalhães et al, 2014)
Summary
Studies on the biology and distribution of amphibians can generate important information about the quality of the environment itself, mainly in natural areas, working as a basis for the elaboration of effective management and conservation measures (Pereira et al, 2015). The Neotropical region comprises the largest diversity of anuran amphibians, with approximately one-third of the species known in the world (Duellman, 1999). The Brazilian territory comprises 1080 known species of amphibians (Segalla et al, 2016), and this high diversity may be explained by the extensive domain of the landscape, formed by very heterogeneous ecosystems. The knowledge about amphibian diversity in Brazilian biomes is scarce (Vieira, 2007), and this animal group has one of the highest rates of decline in several places in the world (Stuart et al, 2004). The main reasons for these declines are the increasing climate change, the intense destruction of their natural habitats, infectious diseases from the high degrees of pollution, invasive species, ultraviolet radiation and illegal trade (Young et al, 2004)
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