Ecology of a snake assemblage in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil

Paulo A Hartmann,Marília T Hartmann,Marcio Martins

doi:10.1590/s0031-10492009002700001

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to examine the natural history and the ecology of the species that constitute a snake assemblage in the Atlantic Rainforest, at Núcleo Picinguaba, Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, located on the northern coast of the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil. The main aspects studied were: richness, relative abundance, daily and seasonal activity, and substrate use. We also provide additional information on natural history of the snakes. A total of 282 snakes, distributed over 24 species, belonging to 16 genera and four families, has been found within the area of the Núcleo Picinguaba. Species sampled more frequently were Bothrops jararaca and B. jararacussu. The methods that yielded the best results were time constrained search and opportunistic encounters. Among the abiotic factors analyzed, minimum temperature, followed by the mean temperature and the rainfall are apparently the most important in determining snake abundance. Most species presented a diet concentrated on one prey category or restricted to a few kinds of food items. The large number of species that feed on frogs points out the importance of this kind of prey as an important food resource for snakes in the Atlantic Rainforest. Our results indicate that the structure of the Picinguaba snake assemblage reflects mainly the phylogenetic constraints of each of its lineages.

Highlights

One of the objectives of the study of community ecology is to identify patterns of resource use and the mechanisms by which these patterns are achieved
We considered as Opportunistic encounters (OE) the snakes found in the preliminary data collection
We found 24 species of snakes, belonging to 16 genera and four families in the study site

Summary

Introduction

One of the objectives of the study of community ecology is to identify patterns of resource use and the mechanisms by which these patterns are achieved. Several factors operate simultaneously to structure natural communities (Begon et al, 1996). The study of vertebrate assemblages composed by species from the same lineage (taxocenes), and sharing at least part of their evolutionary history, may provide valuable information about the different ways by which distinct species respond to biotic and abiotic factors. South-American snake assemblages have been studied mainly in Amazonian forested areas 2. Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, Travessa 14, no 101, 05508‐090, Hartmann, P.A. et al.: Ecology of a snake assemblage in the Atlantic Forest

Objectives

Methods

Results