Herpetofauna of protected areas in the Caatinga V: Seridó Ecological Station (Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil)

Francis Luiz Santos Caldas,Taís Borges Costa,Daniel Orsi Laranjeiras,Daniel Oliveira Mesquita,Adrian Antonio Garda

doi:10.15560/12.4.1929

Abstract

We provide a list of lizards, snakes, chelonians, and amphibians collected during a 30-day expedition to the Seridó Ecological Station (ESEC Seridó), Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil. We sampled species using thirty-seven pitfall trap stations composed of four buckets each, along with glue traps and active searches. We recorded 13 species of lizards, eight snakes, 19 amphibians, and one chelonian. Rarefaction curves suggest local biodiversity is still underestimated. Sampling during rainy season was crucial to stabilize rarefaction curve for amphibians. Comparisons of our results with data from literature show we did not capture some arboreal and semifossorial lizards known for the area. Seridó Ecological Station fauna is characterized mainly by generalist species common to lowland Caatinga sites. Still, several Caatinga endemics species are found, which underscore the importance of this small but representative protected area.

Highlights

The Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome (Tabarelli and Silva 2005) located at northeastern portion of the country and occupying about 800,000 km2
We provide a list of lizards, snakes, chelonians, and amphibians collected during a 30-day expedition to the Seridó Ecological Station (ESEC Seridó), Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil
We present a list of amphibians and reptiles collected during a 30-day field expedition to Seridó Ecological Station (ESEC Seridó) located in Serra Negra municipality, Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil

Summary

Introduction

The Caatinga is an exclusively Brazilian biome (Tabarelli and Silva 2005) located at northeastern portion of the country and occupying about 800,000 km. For a long time Caatinga has been considered poorly studied and under poorly protected (less than 2% of its area) (Leal et al 2005a) This scarce knowledge and low levels of protection come from the long-held historical view that arid regions have low productivity and diversity (Albuquerque and Andrade 2002). This view has been reversed in recent years with the increase in inventories and long-term research (Albuquerque et al 2012; Barbosa et al 2013) and in the number of protected areas, about 7.5% of Caatinga territory (MMA 2016). Goats have been released into natural areas and consume large amounts of plants, which may cause long-term changes in the landscape (Leal et al 2005b)

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Conclusion