Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos: the highest Amphibian diversity within an Atlantic Forest protected area

Sergio Potsch De Carvalho-E-Silva,Oswaldo Luiz Peixoto,Ana Maria Paulino Telles De Carvalho-E-Silva,Cyro De Luna-Dias,Marcia Dos Reis Gomes,Andressa De Mello Bezerra,Manuella Folly,Eugenio Izecksohn,Joana Caram

doi:10.1590/1676-0611-bn-2020-1033

Abstract

Abstract: We studied the amphibian community of the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos (PARNASO) for over thirty years. The area of 20,024 hectares has a steep altitudinal gradient (200-2,263 m a.s.l.), and it is located in the municipalities of Guapimirim, Magé, Petrópolis and Teresópolis, middle of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Most data were obtained from sampling sites in the municipality of Teresópolis, with additional data from zoological collections and bibliography. We recorded 83 amphibian species distributed in two orders, Anura, 13 families: Aromobatidae (1), Brachycephalidae (11), Bufonidae (5), Centrolenidae (2), Craugastoridae (2), Cycloramphidae (8), Hemiphractidae (7), Hylidae (28), Hylodidae (6), Leptodactylidae (5), Microhylidae (1), Odontophrynidae (3), Phyllomedusidae (3) and Gymnophiona, one family: Siphonopidae (1). In addition, we present six species that occurs in the buffer zone. Ten of these species are endemic of the park, 18 have PARNASO as its type locality, and five the type locality is at the buffer zone.

Highlights

The Atlantic Rain Forest is a hotspot of biodiversity that harbors a large number of endemic species of vertebrates (Myers et al 2000)
The Atlantic Forest is one of the ecosystems mostly threatened by human activities around the world (Myers et al 2000), and it is reduced to a few fragments with only 12% of its original area (Ribeiro et al 2009)
The main goal of this study is to present an updated checklist of the species occurring in the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos (PARNASO) area, encouraging researches on the species that lives there, as their taxonomy, behavior and natural history; and to help drive the management of the amphibian biodiversity in this conservation area

Summary

Introduction

The Atlantic Rain Forest is a hotspot of biodiversity that harbors a large number of endemic species of vertebrates (Myers et al 2000). The Atlantic Forest is one of the ecosystems mostly threatened by human activities around the world (Myers et al 2000), and it is reduced to a few fragments with only 12% of its original area (Ribeiro et al 2009). Covered an area of 10,653 hectares in the municipalities of Petrópolis, Guapimirim, Magé and Teresópolis, state of Rio de Janeiro (Cronemberger & Castro 2007). The Serra dos Órgãos National Park represents one of the few remaining spots of biodiversity in the state of Rio de Janeiro and stands out by protecting important water sources that feed two main watersheds, the Paraíba do Sul and Baía de Guanabara (Cronemberger & Castro 2007)

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Conclusion