Title
Amphibians and reptiles of Parque nacional da Serra das Lontras: An important center of endemism within the Atlantic forest in southern Bahia, Brazil
Date Issued
01 January 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz
Publisher(s)
Pensoft Publishers
Abstract
Information gaps about species distribution hamper the evaluation of conservation status and decisions on biodiversity conservation, affecting to a greater extent, areas with high species richness and endemism. In this context, biological inventories are an important tool to fill these gaps by providing data on the composition, richness, and abundance of species in each locality. The Parque Nacional da Serra das Lontras (PNSL) protects various mountain range just up 1000 m. in altitude, and, together with other conservation units, forms an ecological corridor in the southern part of the state of Bahia, within the Atlantic Forest hotspot. We conducted systematic samplings on transects, and opportunistic records in ponds and streams, in order to record amphibian and reptile species in the PNSL. We complement the sampling with the information available in the literature and in scientific collections. A total of 100 species (49 amphibians and 51 reptiles) was recorded, 53 of them endemic to the Atlantic Forest, 13 to the state of Bahia, and two known only from the PNSL. Hylidae was the most diverse family of amphibians (22 spp.) and Colubridae of reptiles (33 spp.). New information on the distribution and natural history of these species is provided, many of which have not yet been assessed by the IUCN while others have already been categorized as at risk of extinction at the regional level. Results confirm the high species richness and rates of endemism in southern Bahia and highlight the importance of protecting high altitude areas for the preservation of evolutionary and ecological processes within the Atlantic Forest.
Start page
159
End page
185
Volume
2020
Issue
1002
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Ecología
Conservación de la Biodiversidad
Subjects
Publication version
Version of Record
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85097958423
Source
ZooKeys
ISSN of the container
1313-2989
DOI of the container
10.3897/zookeys.1002.53988
Sponsor(s)
First of all, we want to dedicate this work to the memory of Zezito; his kindness, hospitality, and advice were of great importance to the fieldwork and the successful completion of this work. We thank Caio V. de Mira-Mendes, Camila Cassano, Carol Barreto, Elaine Macêdo, Gabriel Novaes e Fagundes, Leildo Carilo, Ramon Dominato Renan Nunes Costa, Rudolf von May, Paulo Machado, Pedro Peloso, and Tadeu Medeiros for the support and suggestions in different stages of the work. Pablo Monan, Fernanda Natascha Pimentel Freitas, Laísa Santos, Marcos Vinicius Coutinho Ferreira, Marcelo Sena, Erick Leandro Santos, and Victor Zucchetti for their company during the field trips. To Nathalie Yonow, Pedro Calixto, Pedro Taucce, and Santiago Castroviejo-Fisher for comments on drafts of the manuscript. To Paula and Zirlene for their support and for sharing Zezito’s house with us after his unexpected departure. ORP thanks Programa de Alianzas para la Educación y la Capacitación de la Organización de Estados Americanos and the Grupo Coimbra de Universidades Brasileñas (PAEC OEA-GCUB) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) – Finance Code 001, to Idea Wild for donation of field equipment, and particularly to Ariadne Angulo and Meri Ushiñahua. MS acknowledges funding by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (304999/2015-6) and Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)/Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) for an experienced researcher grant (BEX 0585/16-5). VGDO thanks CNPq (Project numbers: 310467/2017-9 and 431772/2018-4). IRD is grateful for the scholarships provided by CNPq (Project: 406899/2017-7, Process: 167387/2017-0 and 155198/2018-1).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus