SNAKES FROM THE PONTAL DO TRIÂNGULO MINEIRO REGION, CERRADO DOMAIN, SOUTHEASTERN BRAZIL

Snakes have a great ecological importance, interacting to others species and feeding on some that are considered plagues and illness reservoirs. The present work aims to list the snake species present in the Ituiutaba Municipality. The data were collected through previously preserved specimens deposited in zoological collections, visual searches and occasional encounters. Fifty six snakes were analyzed, and classified in twenty three species, distributed in five families. The richness found is relatively high, considering the elevated degree of modification in the natural environment, where only 15% remain intact. Of analyzed individuals, several have substantial medical and pharmacological importance, mainly the genera Bothrops and Crotalus. The present study contribute with the knowledge about the Cerrado snake assemblage, and emphasizes the importance of knowing the local fauna, mostly in environments with anthropic action, where there evident habitat loss.Snakes play an important ecological role, interacting with other species and feeding on some that are considered pests and illness vectors. The present work aims to list the snake species present in the Municipality of Ituiutaba, southeastern Brazil. The data were obtained from preserved specimens deposited in zoological collections, visual surveys and occasional encounters. Fifty-seven individuals were analyzed, and we identified twenty-three species, distributed in five families. The number of species found is relatively high, considering the advanced degree of alterations in the natural environment, where only 15% remains intact. In our sample, we identified individuals of two viperid genera with medical and pharmacological importance. The present study contributes to the knowledge on snake assemblages in the Cerrado, and emphasizes the importance of inventories of the local fauna, mostly in environments with anthropic action, resulting in loss of habitats

Data from: Seasonal variation in foraging group size of crab-eating foxes and hoary foxes in the Cerrado biome, Central Brazil

In regions with a pronounced dry season, such as the Cerrado Biome (Brazilian savannah), climate seasonality may affect food availability for canid species and, consequently, their foraging behavior. We investigated seasonal variation in foraging group size of crab-eating foxes (Cerdocyon thous) and hoary foxes (Pseudalopex vetulus) in the Cerrado region for three consecutive years. Data were obtained by direct observations of foraging foxes during spotlight surveys. Both species were sighted foraging individually or in pairs with or without their juvenile offspring. However, crab-eating foxes foraged in pairs more frequently in the wet season and individually more frequently in the dry season whereas hoary foxes foraged mostly individually throughout the year. The higher frequency of solitary foragers in the dry season is possibly a response to the seasonal shortages in the availability of clumped and locally abundant food resources such as fruit and insects, important items in the diet of the crab-eating fox during the wet season. The absence of seasonal variation in foraging group size of the hoary fox may be related to its specialized food habits, since termites predominate in the diet of this species in both seasons

Lemos_foxes_Metadata_Limoeiro_2011

Lemos_foxes_Metadata_Limoeiro_201

Lemos_foxes_TransectsID_Limoeiro_2012Jun28

Lemos_foxes_TransectsID_Limoeiro_2012Jun2

Interference competition between the crab-eating fox and the hoary fox

<p>Poster presented at the I South American Mastozoology Congress on 2006 about a paper published by our research group on the interspecific competition between two sintopic canids of Brazilian Cerrado, the crab-eating fox and the hoary fox.</p> <p>The link for the complete work follows below and the paper is free.</p

Dinâmica da comunidade arbórea em uma floresta estacional semidecidual sob queimadas recorrentes

Os efeitos do fogo sobre a mortalidade de árvores podem alterar a composição e estrutura da vegetação, dependendo da intensidade, frequência e duração das queimadas. Monitoramos áreas de floresta sujeitas a diferentes frequências de fogo no Parque Estadual da Serra Azul, Barra do Garças, MT: 0,9 ha queimaram em 2007 (Q1) e 0,9 ha em 2005 e 2007 (Q2). A dinâmica foi referente ao intervalo médio de 2,02 anos, de forma que o primeiro levantamento (T1) ocorreu em outubro/2006-maio/2007 e o segundo levantamento (T2) em março/2009, considerando indivíduos com PAP > 15 cm. A diversidade (H') e a riqueza de espécies (estimada por Jackknife) foram maiores em Q2, nos dois levantamentos. Ocorreu a diminuição significativa na densidade em Q1 e Q2, mas a proporção de indivíduos mortos foi maior em Q1. Os parâmetros da dinâmica baseados no número de indivíduos e na área basal não diferiram entre Q1 e Q2. O aumento da diversidade na área sujeita a maior frequência de queimadas pode ser explicada pela hipótese de distúrbio intermediário. Entretanto, apesar da mortalidade e recrutamento não terem diferido entre Q1 e Q2, as altas taxas de mudança, independentes da frequência do fogo, sugerem futuras alterações florísticas e estruturais na floresta, caso as queimadas continuem ocorrendo na área