Influência ambiental sobre a abundância e composição de girinos em áreas de altitude do Estado do Ceará

Abstract

The heterogeneity of habitat can be a determining factor in species diversity, as more groups can coexist when there is an increase in the availability of resources, where they can explore different features or different items of the same features. Brazil has the greatest diversity of amphibians with 1026 species, most of the being frogs with 988 species. Frogs are among the most affected by diversity of crises due to some of their characteristics and their aquatic larval stage. Tadpoles have been used as a model to study ecological processes, as they remain longer in the breeding site in comparison to the adults, assisting in the pursuit of this understanding. The present study aimed to investigate which environmental factors have more influence on the abundance of tadpoles in areas of humid mountain range, the so-called “brejos de altitude" in the state of Ceará and if there are structural and composition differences among the studied areas. The sampling took place in the months of April and May in the years 2012 and 2013 in Ubajara and Guaramiranga in the state of Ceará. The tadpoles were collected by hand net (30 cm diameter) with a wire mesh of 3 mm². A complete sweep was realized throughout the entire body of water. The captured specimens were anesthetized in benzocaine solution, preserved in 10% formalin and subsequently identified. In the 19 water bodies in the two locations 1304 specimens were sampled, totaling 16 species. Scinax x-signatus had the highest abundance with 489 individuals. Despite the high structural similarity in both locations a significant difference in the species composition was recorded.