Although savannas are fire-adapted ecosystems, prescribing fire for biodiversity conservation remains controversial at least in some regions where savannas occur. Faced with uncertainty, many decision makers and even scientists are still reluctant to prescribe fire for conservation purposes in fire-prone ecosystems, invoking the precautionary principle. Knowledge gaps on the ideal fire regime, such as how and when to burn, and especially the fear of biodiversity losses, are among the main arguments against fire management applied to remnants of native savanna vegetation. To inform this debate, we assessed the impact of prescribed fires on diversity of plants (different growth forms), ants, frogs, lizards, birds, and small mammals, in savannas and grasslands of the Brazilian Cerrado. We assessed the existing species richness, composition, and abundance in areas subjected to long periods of fire suppression and compared to that observed over a short period after prescribed dry-season fires, within each group of plants and animals. Whenever possible, we carried out separate analyses for grassland and savanna. Burning did not significantly reduce species richness of any of the groups analyzed, but had a positive effect on richness of graminoids in grassland. When analyzed at the species level, abundance of most animal groups did not show consistent responses to fire, except for a decrease in some frog populations in grasslands. Forbs, graminoids, and subshrubs increased in abundance after fire in grassland areas, though in savanna areas, abundance of forbs, and subshrubs tended to decline after fire. Species composition changed little in response to fire as indicated by low levels of dissimilarity between burned and unburned areas. These results confirm the high resilience of Cerrado biota to fire, as expected for savanna ecosystems in general. Besides, we demonstrate here that the risk of biodiversity losses cannot justify the objections to the use of prescribed fire for conservation purposes in the Cerrado.

The Amazonian brown brocket Mazama nemorivaga (Cuvier, 1817) is a small to medium-sized deer from the Amazon rainforest and ecotones. The first karyotype described was 2n=67 to 69 + 2-7 B and FN= 69-72, in which all chromosomes were acrocentric and the X chromosome was the only submetacentric chromosome. However, important aspects of the species chromosome evolution were not resolved because of the lack of information on chromosome banding. The G-banding pattern of Mazama nemorivaga karyotype showed the presence of an XX/XY1Y2 sex chromosome system as a product of an X-autosome tandem fusion, which results in a basic 2n=68, FN=70 in females and 2n= 69, FN=70 in males. The fact that this karyotype only differs from that of Capreolus capreolus pygargus (Pallas, 1771; 2n=70, FN=72+B) by X-autosome tandem fusion may corroborate the basal condition of Mazama nemorivaga and its proximity to the ancestral karyotype of the American Odocoileini. A derived karyotype 2n=67, XY1Y2, FN=70 + 3B from the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (the western Amazon) may be evidence of differentiation between western and eastern populations.

Approximately 140 snake species are known to occur in the Atlantic Forest with nearly half being endemic to this ecoregion. However, the Atlantic forest is one of the most threatened tropical ecoregions, with only 16% of its original area remaining as forest. This extensive habitat loss must have had a negative effect on its snake fauna. Indeed, 53% of the threatened snakes of Brazil occur in the Atlantic forest. Therefore, basic natural history information that can potentially contribute to the conservation of Atlantic forest snakes are urgently needed. Here the natural history of a snake assemblage at Etá Farm region, Sete Barras municipality, south-eastern Brazil is described, and a visual guide and an identification key provided that can be used by researchers and local people to identify snakes from this region. Most of the species found in the field use both open areas and forests, are primarily terrestrial, present diurnal activity, and include frogs in their diet. A higher number of enlarged follicles, eggs, and/or embryos were recorded during the warm and rainy season. Seventeen different types of defensive tactics were recorded in the species found in the field. This study provides useful information for understanding the structure of snake assemblages of the Atlantic Forest and is potentially useful for conservation assessments and for designing conservation plans.

The natural history of a cerrado snake community in a protected area in southeastern Brazil (Santa Bárbara Ecological Station; SBES) is described. A visual guide and an identification key are also provided to assist researchers and local people in identifying snakes in that region. Sampling was performed through pitfall traps, time-constrained search, accidental encounters, and observations by local people for two years, which corresponded to 240 days of sampling. Among the 388 individuals found in the field, 33 snake species belonging to 21 genera of seven families were recorded. Most species were restricted or found at least once in non-forest vegetation types (campo sujo, campo cerrado, and cerrado sensu stricto) and a few were restricted to forest habitats (cerradão). Our results show that most species (1) occupy open areas; (2) present both diurnal and nocturnal activity; (3) are primarily terrestrial; (4) include lizards, mammals and/or anurans in the diet; (5) present seasonal reproductive activity; and (6) use mainly visually oriented defensive tactics. Despite its small size (3,154 ha), the SBES harbours preserved habitats and a rich and typical Cerrado snake fauna, including threatened species. Furthermore, most of the SBES snakes occur in non-forest environments (54%) and some species are sensitive to habitat disturbance.

We provide information on the diversity of anurans from agroforestry systems in the Colombian Amazon. This area is inserted at the tropical rainforest ecosystem and consists mainly of secondary forest remnants surrounded by crops, grasslands, and agroforestry systems. From February to May 2015, we sampled anurans mainly with visual and auditory surveys. We recorded a total of 1096 individuals of 20 species of anurans from six families at the study area. The relictual forest was the richest environment, followed by Achapo and Cacao agroforestry systems. The Achapo system showed great similarity in species composition with relictual forest, however, the latter presented the highest number of exclusive species, whereas the first presented only two and Cacao system didn't have any exclusive species. Our results show that the richness can vary between the different types of agroforestry systems and highlight their importance as management tool for anurans conservation in the Colombian Amazon.