Ecology and diversity of a lizard community in the semiarid region of Brazil

Abstract

Ecology and diversity of a lizard community in the semiarid region of Brazil. Biota Neotrop. 13(3): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v13n3/en/ abstract?article+bn04013032013Abstract: Composition, species diversity and resource usage in terms of space and time were evaluated for the lizard community of the Ecological Station of the Seridó (ESEC Seridó), Rio Grande do Norte. An observation area of 150 m × 150 m (2.25 ha) was delimited and surveyed monthly in alternate turns (morning, afternoon and night) for three consecutive days from April to October 2011, covering dry and rainy seasons. Fourteen species belonging to eight families were recorded, being Tropidurus semitaeniatus the most abundant. Seasonality influenced species richness and abundance. Regarding habitat usage, Lygodactylus klugei was the most generalist species, while Phyllopezus periosus, P. pollicaris and T. semitaeniatus were specialists, showing affinity for rocky formations. About microhabitat usage, the most generalist species was T. hispidus and the most specialized was L. klugei . Ten of the recorded species have diurnal habits and four are nocturnal. The space and time usage profiles of the dominant species corroborated data obtained in previous autoecological studies conducted in the same area and suggest a pattern of resource usage by these species in the ESEC Seridó. Resumo: Neste trabalho foram avaliadas a composição, diversidade de espécies e a utilização dos recursos espaço e tempo na comunidade de lagartos da Estação Ecológica do Seridó (ESEC Seridó), Rio Grande do Norte. Para isso, uma área de observação de 150m × 150m (2,25 ha) foi delimitada e percorrida mensalmente em turnos alternados (manhã, tarde e noite) por três dias consecutivos nos meses de abril a outubro de 2011, cobrindo as estações seca e chuvosa. Foram registradas 14 espécies pertencentes a oito famílias, dentre as quais a mais abundante foi Tropidurus semitaeniatus. A sazonalidade influenciou a riqueza e abundância das espécies. Quanto ao uso do hábitat, Lygodactylus klugei foi a espécie mais generalista, enquanto Phylopezus periosus, P. pollicaris e T. semitaeniatus demonstraram especialidade às áreas de formações rochosas. Quanto ao uso de microhábitats, a espécie mais generalista foi T. hispidus e a mais especialista foi L. klugei. Dez das espécies registradas possuem hábito diurno e quatro são noturnas. Os perfis de uso do espaço e do tempo pelas espécies dominantes corroboram dados obtidos em estudos anteriores nesta mesma área e sugerem a existência de padrões na utilização desses recursos por estas espécies na ESEC Seridó. Palavras-chave: caatinga, período de atividade, uso do habitat, uso do micro-habitat, riqueza, sazonalidade. 200 Andrade, M.J.M. et al.

Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity of lizard assemblages across habitats and seasons in a Brazilian Cerrado area

“…In spite of differences in species composition, species richness was similar in habitats and seasons. A few studies have analysed effects of seasonality on taxonomic diversity in Neotropical lizard assemblages (Fitzgerald et al 1999;Andrade et al 2013;Muniz et al 2016;Passos et al 2016), with most of them finding a similar lack of an effect of seasonality on species richness. In contrast, in temperate latitudes where seasonal environmental changes do limit activity and reproduction in lizards (James & Shine 1985), species diversity tends to vary among seasons (Peña-Joya et al 2020).…”

Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Caatinga, northeastern Brazil: Detailed and updated overview

“…Hemidactylus brasilianus (Amaral, 1935) (Vanzolini et al 1980;Rodrigues 2003;Menezes et al 2013). It occurs in open and forested habitats along the Caatinga, where it is commonly associated with areas with rock formations and fallen trunks, dry cactuses, but also observed in bromeliads (Rocha and Rodrigues 2005;Andrade et al 2013;FRD pers. obs.).…”

Living among thorns: herpetofaunal community (Anura and Squamata) associated to the rupicolous bromeliad Encholirium spectabile (Pitcairnioideae) in the Brazilian semi-arid Caatinga

“…The four anurans registered in E. spectabile were tree frogs of the Hylidae (3 species) and Phyllomedusidae (1 species) families, which presented a richness of thirteen species in a Caatinga-Atlantic Forest ecotone site also in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Magalhães et al 2013). With respect to reptiles, we registered six of the ten lizard species of Gekkonidae, Phyllodactylidae, Tropiduridae and Mabuyidae, and six of the fifteen snake species of Boidae and Colubridae registered in all habitats of another Caatinga site of Rio Grande do Norte (Freire et al 2009, Andrade et al 2013. Our results, therefore, support the relevance of this non-phytotelmata rupicolous bromeliad as an important habitat for biological diversity in the Caatinga, as has been suggested for phytotelmata bromeliads in other ecosystems (Rocha et al 1997, 2004, Jorge et al 2018).…”

“…Despite the remarkable abundance of E. spectabile patches in the semi-arid Brazilian Caatinga, and their potential as microhabitat for the herpetofauna, they have constituted poorly sampled habitats in previous studies with herpetofauna in this region, despite the local occurrence of these bromeliads in the study sites (e.g. Freire et al 2009, Andrade et al 2013, Caldas et al 2016. In this perspective, this study sought to understand the ecological relevance of thorny bromeliads as a habitat to amphibians and reptiles in the Caatinga.…”