A caatinga dos lagartos anões: uso de espécies arbóreas como habitat por Lygodactylus klugei (Gekkonidae;Squamata)

Abstract

Lizards are the most diverse group among reptiles. This diversity results in the presence of these animals in the most varied habitat types, which are used as shelter, pro tection against predators and as a food source. The arboreal habitat is distinguished from the others by its high complexity, reflecting a wide variety of physical attributes presented by different plant species. However, the sharing of these attributes ma y be related to the contribution of the number of individuals present per area. Among the arboreal lizards is Lygodactylus klugei , an endemic Caatinga gecko, which has adhesive lamellae on its fingers and tail, ensuring better adhesion to the woody substra te. The association of these individuals with Caatinga tree plant species may be the cause of their adaptive success. In this work, we investigated the diversity of plant species used by L. klugei as habitat, verifying if morphological characteristics expr essed by these plant species are related to the greater abundance of individuals by trees. The research was conducted from July 2018 to July 2019, with collections in 12 municipalities: Aiuaba, Crateús, Potiretama and Quixadá, in Ceará; Caetés, Carnaubeira da Penha and Petrolina, in Pernambuco; João Câmara and Mossor ó, in Rio Grande do Norte; Patos in Paraíba and; São Raimundo Nonato, in Piauí. Active searches were performed, and immediately after capture or visualization, some characteristics of the tree u sed as perch by the lizards were noted, such as: species, number of branches, presence of thorns and trunk texture (smooth or rough). A total of 262 individuals were visualized in 157 trees of 27 species, distributed in 12 botanical families, mainly Cenost igma sp .., Mimosa tenuiflora , Libidibia ferrea and Prosopis juliflora It was observed that tree characteristics are not related to a higher occurrence of individuals per tree. Differences between populations may reflect the composition of woody species pre sent in each location where individuals demonstrate to use more abundant species. The lizard Lygodactylus klugei has been shown to have a generalist nature in terms of habitat use. Being present also in places modified by anthropic actions.