BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2015 Composition and Ecological Aspects of a Snake Assemblage on the Savanna Enclave of the Atlantic Forest of the Guaribas Biological Reserve in Northeastern Brazil
Jefter Barbosa Rodrigues, Samara Cíntia Alves Gama, Gentil Alves Pereira Filho, Frederico Gustavo Rodrigues França
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

We studied the composition, richness, abundance, and influence of abiotic factors on the seasonal activity of a snake assemblage at a fragment of savanna enclave (tabuleiro forest) of the Atlantic Forest in northeastern Brazil. The sampling methods used were pitfall traps with drift fences, timed visual encounter survey, donations from local collectors, incidental encounters, and road sampling. We obtained a total of 164 individuals distributed across 29 snake species and six families over 2 years of study. The most frequently encountered species were the two blindsnakes Amerotyphlops paucisquamus and A. brongersmianus and the two false coral snakes Tantilla melanocephala and Oxyrhopus trigeminus. Monthly snake captures were significantly correlated only with the lowest temperatures. Our results show that the study area has a rich diversity of snakes of similar composition to other Brazilian open areas with a dominance of fossorial and cryptozoic species.

© 2015 Brazilian Society of Herpetology
Jefter Barbosa Rodrigues, Samara Cíntia Alves Gama, Gentil Alves Pereira Filho, and Frederico Gustavo Rodrigues França "Composition and Ecological Aspects of a Snake Assemblage on the Savanna Enclave of the Atlantic Forest of the Guaribas Biological Reserve in Northeastern Brazil," South American Journal of Herpetology 10(3), 157-164, (1 December 2015). https://doi.org/10.2994/SAJH-D-15-00016.1
Received: 16 May 2015; Accepted: 1 October 2015; Published: 1 December 2015
KEYWORDS
abundance
activity patterns
ecology
natural history
reptile
richness
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top