LIMA, J. H. A.; http://lattes.cnpq.br/2998132289723872; LIMA, José Henrique de Andrade.
Resumo:
The Brejos de Altitude, located north of the São Francisco River, are remnants of the Atlantic
Forest biome that emerged in the Pleistocene, being surrounded by the Caatinga biome and
acting as refuges places for a fauna of reptiles and amphibians of ombrophilous characteristics,
maintaining great affinity with species that make up the fauna of neotropical forests and that
possibly includes some species of dry areas. However, most of the Brejos de Altitude have not
yet had their herpetofauna inventoried, resulting in insufficient knowledge about this group in
the Atlantic Forest of high altitude of the Northeast. Moreover, considering that abiotic factors
have great influence on communities, including lizards and snakes, the present study aimed to
inventory the taxocenosis of lizards and snakes of the Refugio de Vida Silvestre Matas do Siriji
(RVSMS), a Brejos de Altitude located in the State of Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil, as well
as analyzing the influence of local environmental variables on it. Three environments were
selected in the area and the methods used to record the animals were limited transects by time,
pitfall traps, occasional encounters and third-party reporting/registration. Environmental
variables (abiotic and vegetation) were collected through plots distributed in each environment.
Only those species recorded by time-limited transects, pitfall traps and occasional encounters
were used to analyse the influence of environmental variables. Thirteen lizard species and
twenty five snake species were recorded, but the collector curve did not reach the asytonate.
The number of sightings and the richness of the three environments did not differ significantly.
Rainfall was negatively related to the number of sightings (r= -0.556; p= 0.061) and richness
(r= -0.506; p= 0.093), but not significant. The set of variables that correlated with richness and
composition in each environment was different, and some of these variables differed
significantly between wetter and less rainy periods. Thus, rainfall directly and indirectly
affected some local environmental variables, and these, in turn, influenced the structure of
taxocenosis. The RVSMS has 35.51% of the lizard and snake species in the State of
Pernambuco, occupying the fourth place in number of species in the State. Taking into account
the category of extinction risk, the level of information and geographic distribution, ten species
deserve greater attention: S. torquatus, E. cephalomaculata, E. cephalostriata, B. bilineatus, L.
muta, D. atlantica, A. arenensis, M. lemniscatus, X. rhabdocephalus and D. variegata. The
RVSMT has a rich and still underestimated fauna that is threatened by agriculture and hunting,
activities that directly and indirectly affect local biodiversity, and it is urgent to apply
appropriate protection measures to conservation units, which have been neglected.