Reptile Diversity in the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, Espírito Santo, Southeastern Brazil
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ARTICLE Reptile diversity in the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil Jonathan Silva Cozer¹³; Juliane Pereira-Ribeiro²⁴; Thais Meirelles Linause¹⁵; Atilla Colombo Ferreguetti²⁶; Helena de Godoy Bergallo²⁷ & Carlos Frederico Duarte da Rocha²⁸ ¹ Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES), Departamento de Biologia. Vitória, ES, Brasil. ² Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Instituto de Biologia Roberto Alcântara Gomes (IBRAG), Departamento de Ecologia (DECOL). Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. ³ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4558-9990. E-mail: [email protected] ⁴ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0762-337X. E-mail: [email protected] (corresponding author) ⁵ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8186-0464. E-mail: [email protected] ⁶ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5139-8835. E-mail: [email protected] ⁷ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9771-965X. E-mail: [email protected] ⁸ ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3000-1242. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. The lack of information on the occurrence of species in a region limits the understanding of the composition and structure of the local community and, consequently, restricts the proposition of effective measures for species conservation. In this study, we researched the reptiles in the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve (DBBR), Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the parameters of the local community, such as richness, composition, and abundance of species. We conducted samplings from August 2017 to January 2019, through active search. We performed the samplings in nine standard plots of 250 meters in length. All individuals located in the plots or occasionally on the trails were registered. To evaluate sample effort to characterize the reptile community, we performed an accumulation curve of species, and to update the DBBR reptile list, we used as secondary data specimens deposited in collections and previously published studies. Considering primary and secondary data, we recorded 38 species, one chelonia, 13 lizards, and 24 snakes. Our study showed a richness of 15 additional species to the previous list of reptiles, increasing by about 40% the known richness to the area. We concluded that the DBBR holds a high richness of reptile species, representing 12% of the richness of reptiles of the Atlantic Forest and with a considerable number of endemic species in this biome. This suggests that the DBBR is an important forest fragment constituting a reservoir of the biodiversity of the reptiles of the Atlantic Forest. Keywords. Atlantic Forest; Abundance; Reptilia; Richness; Rainforest. INTRODUCTION 2014; Sinervo et al., 2010). Knowledge about spe- cies diversity across landscapes in different bi- Reptiles are widely distributed and occur in omes is an important step for conservation, assist- different habitats, being present in all continents ing in monitoring wildlife, especially in protected except for Antarctica (Di-Bernardo et al., 2003). areas, and providing important information to Currently, approximately 11,000 reptile species understand the species diversity and distribution are known in the world. Among these, 10,671 pattern (Zaher et al., 2011). species are from squamate reptiles (Uetz & Hošek, The lack of detailed information on reptile 2019). In a study aiming to categorize the conser- groups limits fine-scale understanding of the vation status of 1,500 reptile species distributed composition and structure of the local commu- across the globe, about 20% of the species were nity and, consequently, restricts the proposition categorized as endangered, with a high number of effective measures for the conservation of the of species currently under population decline oc- species of the group (Rocha et al., 2004). A recent curring in tropical forests (Marques et al., 2010). study revealed that the patterns of richness and Habitat fragmentation, overexploitation (veg- distribution of tetrapods might not characterize etable, mineral, and animal), and poaching, com- the patterns of the group of reptiles, especially bined with the risks of global climate change and lizards (Roll et al., 2017). In this study, Roll et al., regional changes in precipitation have promoted used data from global reptile distribution to an- a significant erosion of biodiversity (Joly et al., alyze reptile diversity patterns, and they iden- Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2020; v.60: e20206040 ISSN On-Line: 1807-0205 http://doi.org/10.11606/1807-0205/2020.60.40 ISSN Printed: 0031-1049 http://www.revistas.usp.br/paz ISNI: 0000-0004-0384-1825 http://www.scielo.br/paz Edited by: Pedro Murilo Sales Nunes Received: 03/10/2019 Accepted: 02/06/2020 Published: 28/08/2020 Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2020; v.60: e20206040 Cozer, J.S. et al.: Reptile diversity in the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve 2/9 tified priority areas for the conservation of this group future strategies and additional conservation actions for (e.g., the world’s arid, grassland, and savannah habitats). reptiles in the DBBR and surroundings remnants. Also, the study pointed out that the unique patterns of reptile diversity have important implications for their conservation (Roll et al., 2017). Thus, the proposition of MATERIAL AND METHODS specific strategies and actions for reptiles in a given re- gion depends on prior knowledge of the parameters of Study area communities in different areas, including understanding the distribution of reptile species in a larger geographical Duas Bocas Biological Reserve (DBBR) is in the area (Rocha et al., 2009; Roll et al., 2017). municipality of Cariacica (20°14 04 and 20°18 30 S, ′ ″ ′ ″ Duas Bocas Biological Reserve (DBBR) constitutes one 40°28 01 and 40°32 07 W) in the State of Espírito ′ ″ ′ ″ of the largest remnants of the Atlantic Forest of the State Santo, Southeastern Brazil (Fig. 1). The Reserve has an of Espírito Santo (ES). It houses the protective forests of area of 2,910 ha, with altitudes varying between 200 the water sources of the region of the municipality of and 738 m a.s.l., constituting one of the most import- Cariacica in ES (IEMA, 2018). DBBR has a high diversity of ant forest fragments of the Atlantic Forest of the state species, mainly due to the protection of the forests for of Espírito Santo, for harboring a rich and diverse fauna, the preservation of its springs and holding a consider- with rare and endangered species (IEMA, 2018). In the able number of species that are currently in danger of reserve, the humid tropical climate predominates with extinction (Tonini et al., 2010). Despite the socio-envi- relatively well-distributed rainfalls throughout the year. ronmental importance of the DBBR, there are currently The relative air humidity is higher than 70%, an average few studies available on the local fauna and flora, and, annual rainfall of approximately 1,500 mm, and an aver- particularly for the reptiles, the only information relies age annual temperature of 22°C (Feitoza, 1986). on a study that presented a previous list of non-volant The DBBR has two main trails denominated the tetrapods of the region (Tonini et al., 2010). In the present Represa Velha and Alto Alegre (Fig. 1). Represa Velha trail study, we sought to analyze the reptile local community is 3,500 m long and between 202 m and 213 m a.s.l. It parameters such as the richness, composition, and abun- is composed of secondary forest areas, where banana, dance and complement the list of reptiles species provid- coffee, and pasture crops are introduced, besides a pre- ed by Tonini et al. (2010) to provide subsidies to support dominance of jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) (Boni Figure 1. Location of Duas Bocas Biological Reserve, Cariacica, Espírito Santo, southeastern Brazil. Tracks and stars represent sampling areas of this study, with tracks representing the location of the trails and the stars representing the location of the plots. Cozer, J.S. et al.: Reptile diversity in the Duas Bocas Biological Reserve Pap. Avulsos Zool., 2020; v.60: e20206040 3/9 et al., 2009; Novelli, 2010). Alto Alegre trail is 4,000 m long we used the species recorded in the study that inven- and is 543 m a.s.l. It is composed of a forest with little ev- toried the Tetrapods in the area (Tonini et al., 2010) and idence of disturbance, with a high density of large trees data of specimens deposited in scientific collections and that provides a higher coverage of the leaf litter over the included in the “Species Link” (www.splink.cria.org.br). To soil (Boni et al., 2009; Novelli, 2010). define endemism, we used Tozetti et al. (2017) and Costa & Bérnils (2018). Data collection and analysis RESULTS We sampled the reptiles for 18 consecutive months, from August 2017 to January 2019, with monthly cam- In this study, we recorded 29 reptile species being paigns of three to four days, through active search one species of turtle, ten lizards, and 18 snakes (Table 1, during the daytime periods (08:00-14:00 hours), twi- Figs. 2 and 3). Among the lizards, species of the fam- light (17:00-18:00 hours), and nighttime (18:00-23:00 ily Gymnophthalmidae (two species) were predom- hours). Samplings were carried out in nine plots estab- inant and, among the snakes, species of the families lished along the forest and standardized with 250 me- Dipsadidae (seven species) and Colubridae (four species) ters in length, with a distance of at least 250 meters be- predominated. Our sampling efforts added 15 species to tween adjacent plots. The active search of the reptiles the DBBR list of reptiles, two lizards, and 13 snakes. was conducted by two observers (who remained the The estimated rarefaction curve of the species did not same throughout the study), who throughout each plot, obtain asymptote, and the Bootstrap richness estimator sought individuals on the trees, on the leaf litter, on the showed the lowest standard deviation in relation to the trunks, or under tree bark, on logs fallen, on the edge observed richness.