Diversity and distribution of anuran in two islands of Parnaíba River Delta, Northeastern Brazil
By: Etielle Barroso de Andrade, José Roberto Souza Almeida Leite, Gilda Vasconcelos de Andrade
Key Words: Anuran fauna, Biogeography, Communities ecology, Conservation, Parnaíba River.
J. Bio. Env. Sci. 8(2), 74-86, February 2016.
[Generate Certificate]Abstract
The distribution and composition of communities are influenced by factors that determine the environmental characteristics in a particular region. In order to obtain more information regarding the fauna of frogs in the region of the Parnaíba River Delta, Northeastern Brazil, we performed a quantitative ecological study to compare the composition and distribution of the amphibian communities. The study was conducted in the two largest islands of Deltafrom September 2008 to August 2009. Fifteen ponds were selected and slowly covered in search of males in calling activity. We recorded 21 frog species, distributed in five families and 11 genera. Ilha Grande de Santa Isabel(21 spp.) had higher species richness than the Ilha das Canárias (11 spp.). Although most species are considered to be common in open areas, they were highly influenced by the structural complexity of the vegetation. The highest richness was observed in environments with greatest availability of microhabitats for reproduction. The preservation of different environments found in the two islands, associated with the maintenance of suitable habitats for reproduction of each species, will contribute to the conservation of amphibian communities of the Parnaiba Delta River.
