First assessment of the avifauna of Araucaria forests and other habitats from extreme southern Minas Gerais, Serra da Mantiqueira, Brazil, with notes on biogeography and conservation

Abstract

The avifauna of the Araucaria forests in the higher reaches of the Serra da Mantiqueira massif is little known and poorly documented. This region is recognized as an important area of differentiation of birds in southeastern Brazil. Here, we present the first ornithological survey of the Araucaria forests and associated habitats in the mountains of extreme southern Minas Gerais state, near the southern tip of the Serra da Mantiqueira. The study area comprises the Serra do Juncal region and several adjacent sites, located in the municipalities of Gonçalves and Camanducaia. We recorded 206 bird species, of which 57 (27.7%) are endemic to the Atlantic forest. Several records represent the first specimens for Minas Gerais, in the hinterlands of Serra da Mantiqueira, proving that many Atlantic species also occur in the intern most slope of this mountain range. Examples are: Dysithamnus xanthopterus, Chamaeza ruficauda, Leptasthenura setaria, Heliobletus contaminatus, Hemitriccus obsoletus, Phylloscartes difficilis, Piprites pileata, Poospiza thoracica, and Cacicus chrysopterus. The region is also a previously unknown area of sympatry of other closely related species: Scytalopus notorius and S. speluncae, Lepidocolaptes squamatus and L. falcinellus, and Basileuterus culicivorus and B. hypoleucus. Both species of Lepidocolaptes and Basileuterus hybridize in the region. We also comment on the avifauna conservation, which have been threatened by eco-tourism, building of new styles of houses, domestic animals, forest fragmentation, and plantations.

The white-browed woodpecker Piculus aurulentus (Temminck, 1821) (Aves: Picidae) as a potential seed disperser of Myrsine umbellata Mart. (Myrsinaceae)

“…1). This seems to be the first specimen of P. aurulentus collected in Minas Gerais state (see Mattos et al, 1993;Vasconcelos & D'Angelo-Neto, 2009). We found 48 seeds of M. umbellata in its digestive tract (from crop to intestine), completely separated from their pulps.…”

História natural das serpentes das região de Munhoz, sul de Minas Gerais, Serra da Mantiqueira.

“…A altitude, a precipitação e a temperatura, são os principais fatores associados às variações florestais do sudeste do Brasil (OLIVEIRA-FILHO e FONTES, 2000). As variações na altitude, além de atuar sobre as formações vegetais, influenciam também na composição, abundância e distribuição das espécies animais (MEIRELES;SHEPHERD;KINOSHITA, 2008; VASCONCELOS e D'ANGELO NETO, 2009;MALLET-RODRIGUES et al, 2010). O sul de Minas Gerais apresenta interessantes variações fitofisionômicas decorrentes de condições diversas do clima, solos, altitude e relevo, mostrando uma floresta distinta, associada a climas mais frios e composta por espécies geograficamente restritas que cobrem as regiões elevadas da Mantiqueira e o maciço do Itatiaia (AZEVEDO, 1962;LEITÃO FILHO, 1982).…”