Anurans in an open cerrado area in the municipality of Borebi, São Paulo state, Southeastern Brazil: habitat use, abundance and seasonal variation

Abstract

Cerrado biome is mischaracterized and less than three percent of its original areas are legally protected. The anuran fauna of this biome is not very rich when compared with others biomes, but there are a large number of endemic species. Here we present a list of anuran species recorded in a pond in an open cerrado area in the municipality of Borebi, middle-western region of the São Paulo state, Southeastern Brazil. For 24 months (2008 and 2009), we characterized the distribution of species on the studied pond and seasonal variation of species occurrence. We recorded 27 species from six families: Bufonidae (two species), Cycloramphidae (one species), Hylidae (13 species), Leiuperidae (four species), Leptodactylidae (five species), and Microhylidae (two species). Species richness and abundance were related to rainfall. Dendropsophus minutus vocalized through the year, while Rhinella ornata and Odontophrynus americanus were restricted to the dry and cold period (April - August). The other species had their period of higher activity during the warm and rainy months (September - March). The distribution of species within the pond was related to the type of vegetation and to the variation on water volume of the pond, principally during dry periods. Anurans richness and abundance at the pond can be a result of the absence of predatory fish, the different types of available microhabitats and the absence of other water bodies nearby.