"Diversidade de anuros e lagartos em fisionomias de Cerrado na região de Itirapina, Sudeste do Brasil" / Diversity of anurans and lizards in Cerrado physiogmonies in the region of Itirapina, southeastern Brazil

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

2006

RESUMO

Several theories have been proposed to explain areas of high diversity worldwide. The Cerrado is the most diverse tropical savanna, with a diverse,endemic herpetofauna distributed in different types of vegetation. The cerrado vegetational types vary from forest to grasslands and represent distinct habitats for the herpetofauna. In the region of Itirapina, southeastern extent of the Cerrado domain, the diversity of frogs and lizards among these distinct physiognomies was compared to test the hypothesis that the richness of these animals is higher in more productive and more structurally complex habitats. Sampling occurred over two rainy seasons by pitfall trapping. Open formations were more diverse than closed ones. Literature information from other regions suggests that there is a tendency of open forms to be richer.The correlation between species composition and vegetation structure indicates that habitat plays an important role in determining species distributions. The distribution pattern of the most abundant species was corroborated by the literature from different regions, suggesting niche conservatism over long geographic distances. However, the hypothesis of higher richness in more productive and more structurally complex habitats was not corroborated. The proposed alternative hypothesis implies a regional effect caused by low availability of closed formations in relation to open ones. These results underscore the importance of historical and regional factors on Cerrado diversity patterns.

ASSUNTO(S)

herpetofauna cerrado cerrado herpetofauna

ACESSO AO ARTIGO

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