Diversidade e conservação da herpetofauna na ARIE da Matinha do Pici

Abstract

Especially in big cities, the population growth and productive demands have encouraged the creation of new spaces, which are fragmented and characterized by the loss of natural landscapes and biodiversity. In this context of crisis in ecosystems and biomes, reptiles and amphibians are at a high level of vulnerability and require special protection, either by their role as ecosystem services providers or by their potential for bioprospecting that some species have. This study aims to inventory the diversity of reptiles and amphibians found in Matinha do Pici, a fragment of forest inserted in the Campus do Pici Prof. Prisco Bezerra in the UFC that recently became an Area of Relevant Ecological Interest (AREI); investigate the relationship between the herpetofauna and the habitat; compare the diversity of the group with other sites and, in this sense, promote specific conservation strategies. The survey of the herpetofauna occurred between April and July of 2017 and consisted of manual collections in forest fragments. In the diversity data were included in addition to the species found by active search, occasional meetings, collections by third parties and data from NUROF-UFC and the Coleção Herpetológica da UFC (CHUFC). The Jaccard similarity index and the UPGMA grouping method were used in the statistical analyzes, which compared the Pici’s herpetofauna to that of others phytophysiognomies in the state of Ceará (Caatinga, Cerrado, Rainforest and Mata de Tabuleiro). A total of 13 species of anurans belonging to three families were found; 26 species of squamates, of 13 families and three species of chelonians of two families. A herpetofauna of the Pici showed more similarity average with a region of Mata de Tabuleiro from São Gonçalo do Amarante and less similarity with regions of Cerrado and Rainforest of Araripe and Ibiapaba. In general, the reptiles and amphibians pointed to the Pici are like general species of the Caatinga, Cerrado and Rainforest and this fact can reveal the effects that like environmental problems of the Matinha bring on a fauna and help us to characterize it with fragmented local and anthropized. It is still necessary to think of unsolicited solutions to increase the availability of habitats in ARIE do Pici and to make sustainable use of the site linked to environmental education.