Diversity and habitat use by snakes and lizards in coastal environments of southernmost Brazil

Authors

  • Maurício Beux dos Santos Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Ecologia de Vertebrados Terrestres
  • Mauro Cesar Lamim Martins de Oliveira Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Instituto de Oceanografia, Laboratório de Ictiologia
  • Alexandro Marques Tozetti Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos

Keywords:

diversity, lizards, restinga, sand dunes, snakes

Abstract

This study examined species composition differences among snake and lizard assemblages from coastal dunes and restinga habitats in southernmost Brazil. Animals were collected between April 2009 and March 2010 using pitfall traps, artificial shelters, and time-constrained searches in grasslands areas susceptible to flooding. Species richness was higher in the restinga, but lower than the observed in other Brazilian biomes, possibly associated with more unstable microclimate conditions and low habitat complexity (vertical and horizontal distribution of the vegetation) in this habitat. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the most abundant species of both snakes and lizards have fossorial habits. The assemblage of snakes is apparently mainly determined by abiotic characteristics of the habitat, while the assemblage of lizards, by vegetation cover.

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Published

2012-09-01

How to Cite

Santos, M. B. dos, Oliveira, M. C. L. M. de, & Tozetti, A. M. (2012). Diversity and habitat use by snakes and lizards in coastal environments of southernmost Brazil. Biota Neotropica, 12(3). Retrieved from //www.biotaneotropica.org.br/BN/article/view/991

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