Anurans from the Serra da Bocaina National Park and surrounding buffer area, southeastern Brazil

Abstract

Here, we review the species of anuran amphibian from the Serra da Bocaina National Park and its buffer area, in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil, comparing the data from a recent survey with museum records. We surveyed adult and larval anurans in ponds, marshes, and streams discontinuously from May 2008 to January 2011. In total, 63 anuran species were previously known to occur at the Park and its surrounding buffer area. In our survey, we recorded 46 species, of which five represented new records, and 22 appeared only in the historical list. Seven topotypic populations were not found in the present study. We suggest that conservation strategies for anurans in the Serra da Bocaina should also consider the surrounding areas that are subjected to anthropogenic pressure, due to the high diversity recorded, high altitudinal variation in species distribution, and various vegetation formations.

Amphibians of the Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba, a sandy coastal environment in southeastern Brazil

“…The family Hylidae is the most representative, corresponding to 60% of the total anuran species recorded for the PNRJ (21 of 35). The greater representativeness of this family reinforces the pattern found in all ecosystems studied within the Atlantic Forest Biome (e.g., Heyer et al 1990;Duellman 1999;Canelas & Bertoluci 2007;Dias et al 2014;Garey et al 2014).…”

Metacommunity phylogenteic structure along environmental gradients

“…Ponds were sampled within a 1-week period each month. For more details on study site see Garey et al (2014). I recorded variables of pond morphology during the rainy season: surface area (m 2 ), maximum depth (m), besides floating aquatic vegetation (%), and pond canopy cover (%).…”

Species Composition, Conservation Status, and Sources of Threat of Anurans in Mosaics of Highland Grasslands of Southern and Southeastern Brazil

“…These data show that fire is a real threat to anurans in those Parks. For example, some endemic and threatened species could potentially be impacted by fire, such as Physalaemus barrioi, which is endemic to highland grasslands of the Serra da Bocaina (Provete et al 2012, Garey et al 2014, Melanophryniscus moreirae, Holoaden bradei and Paratelmatobius lutzii of the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, and Thoropa petropolitana of the Parque Nacional da Serra dos Órgãos e Área de Proteção Ambiental de Petrópolis (Aximoff 2011). Therefore, fire suppression in these environments should be a priority action to conserve flora and fauna (Aximoff 2011).…”

“…However, our data suffer from a number of shortcomings that prevented us from analyzing it in a more comprehensive way, mainly the lack of systematic surveys in some areas, such as Araras Biological Reserve, Pico do Paraná State Park, Pico do Marumbi State Park, Guaratuba Environmental Protection Area, Saint-Hilaire Lange National Park, Graciosa State Park, Guaraqueçaba Environmental Protection Area, Serra do Papagaio State Park, Caparaó National Park, and Mantiqueira Environmental Protection Area. Long-term field surveys (e.g., Garey et al 2014) should be encouraged if a broad understanding of anuran species distribution in the Atlantic Forest is to be gained.…”

“…Both past climatic and geologic factors seem to have played a larger role in driving this richness pattern (da , Thomé et al 2014. However, the processes determining the distribution of the anuran fauna of specific environments, such as highland grasslands remain poorly known, since the information on species distribution in those environments is anecdotal and fragmentary at best (e.g., Garey et al 2014). Specially, studies evaluating population trends and threats as well as their correlates are lacking.…”