Structure of snakes Community in Etá Farm Region

Author(s)

Bruno Ferreto Fiorillo

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São José do Rio Preto. 2016-04-14.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências Letras e Ciências Exatas. São José do Rio Preto
• Defense date: 2016-02-29
• Advisor: Otavio Augusto Vuolo Marques

Abstract

The processes that regulate the richness and species composition in different communities have been increasingly addressed in the last decades and presently, thanks to a reasonable number of studies on ecology and natural history of snake communities available in the literature, it became easier to formulate hypotheses about how these processes shaped the communities of this group. In this study, the Etá Farm (24,30264° S, 47,96106° W), located in the municipality of Sete Barras, São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, was sampled frm April 2013 to March 2014, where we performed two-week samplings every month, using different methodologies that differed greatly in efficiency. We found 17 species of snakes in the study area (4 families, 14 genera) and found a record of an additional one in the literature. Based on specimens deposited in scientific collections and records in the literature, seven additional species occur in the region. The information obtained in the field made possible a comparison of the different vegetation types regarding species composition, richness and abundance and of the use of resources by species. We also compared the community of Etá Farm with other snake communities from the Atlantic Forest regarding species composition and richness. The studied community showed the typical composition and richness of snake communities from the coastal lowlands of southeastern Brazil, with differences in the relative abundances in the different vegetation types. Beyond a clear influence of vegetation cover on species richness, climatic variables, especially minimum temperatures, had a marked influence on snake activity. Comparing the biological features of the species that make up the community, it became clear that most of them are phylogenetically conserved and, as observed in other Neotropical communities, there is a great overlap in resource use between species. The comparison of communities from throughout the Atlantic Forest (southern to northeastern Brazil) revealed in general a high beta diversity and a clear division into four regions. The results of this study have a great potential to help our understanding of the factors responsible for the structuring of Neotropical snake communities. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 14/11855-0 - Ecology and natural history of snakes of Atlantic Forest at Sete Barras, south of São Paulo
• Grantee: Bruno Ferreto Fiorillo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master