Abstract
Despite an increase in studies focusing on snake ecology and composition in the northeastern Atlantic Forest, several poorly studied sites and environments remain. The aim of this study was to assess species richness and natural history attributes of the snakes of an assemblage in the Restinga, Tabuleiro and Forest environments of the Atlantic Forest of the south coast of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. A total of 151 individuals of 27 species, 23 genera, and six families of snakes were found. The most effective sampling methods were time-constrained searches and incidental encounters. Species sampled most frequently were the blindsnake Epictiaborapeliotes, the Boa Constrictor Boaconstrictor, the Brown Vinesnake Oxybelisaeneus, and the Brazilian False Coral Snake Oxyrhopustrigeminus. The snake fauna is characterized mainly by terrestrial species found in open-area environments of Restinga and Tabuleiro, and with most species feeding on amphibians and small mammals. The rarefaction curve did not reach the asymptote and new species should be recorded for south coast of Paraíba in future studies. Despite the richness and composition of snakes of the south coast being similar to other areas in the state, there is a lack of some species typically linked to forests, and this is probably because of the high level of deforestation that the south area of the state has suffered.
Highlights
Biological surveys are the foundation for our knowledge on biodiversity
Since 1990, there has been an increase in surveys of Brazilian snakes, with information about richness and natural history published for different biomes, such as Amazonia (Martins and Oliveira 1998, Bernarde and Abe 2006), Southeast Atlantic Forest (Marques and Sazima 2004, Pontes et al 2009), Northeast Atlantic Forest (França et al 2012, Dias and Rocha 2014, Marques et al 2016, Roberto et al 2017), Caatinga (Vitt and Vangilder 1983, Mesquita et al 2013), Cerrado (França et al 2008, França and Braz 2013), Pantanal (Strussmann and Sazima 1993, Strüssmann et al 2011), and Pampas grasslands (Winck et al 2007)
The most common snake species were the blindsnake Epictia borapeliotes, the Boa Constrictor Boa constrictor, the Brown Vinesnake Oxybelis aeneus, the Brazilian False Coral Snake Oxyrhopus trigeminus, and the Patagonia Green Racer Philodryas patagoniensis representing more than 50% of all records (Table 1)
Summary
Biological surveys are the foundation for our knowledge on biodiversity. They provide the groundwork for ecological studies and provide an outline for implementing conservation strategies (Greene 1994, Sutherland 1997). Even though less than six percent of the original vegetation remains, the Atlantic Forest still harbors high levels of biodiversity with more than 8,000 endemic species of vascular plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals (Myers et al 2000). This degradation is even more evident in the portion of the Atlantic Forest located north of the São Francisco River, where an important endemism center in South America, the Pernambuco Endemism Center (hereafter PEC), is situated (Prance 1982, Tabarelli et al 2005). The high richness and extensive threat of Northeast Atlantic Forest’s loss underscore the urgency to Ecological diversity of a snake assemblage from the Atlantic Forest
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