J. Bio. Env. Sci. 2016 Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES) ISSN: 2220-6663 (Print) 2222-3045 (Online) Vol. 8, No. 2, p. 74-86, 2016 http://www.innspub.net RESEARCH PAPER
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Diversity and distribution of anuran in two islands of Parnaíba River Delta, Northeastern Brazil Etielle Barroso de Andrade1,2,3*, José Roberto Souza Almeida Leite2, Gilda Vasconcelos de Andrade1 ¹Postgraduate Program in Biodiversity and Conservation, Department of Biology,Federal University of Maranhão, Maranhão, Brazil 2
Research Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, Federal University of Piauí, Piauí, Brazil
3
Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Piauí, Piauí, Brazil Article published on February 11, 2016
Key words: Anuran fauna, Biogeography, Communities ecology, Conservation, Parnaíba River.
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. *Corresponding
Author: Etielle Barroso de Andrade etlandrade@hotmail.com
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