Composition and use of habitat from the herpetofauna in a swamp forest of the Coastal Plain of Rio Grande do Sul state, extreme south of Brazil

Abstract

The herpetofauna from the Coastal Plain from the state of Rio Grande do Sul although it is relatively well known presents a gap of information about their areas of restinga forests. To cover this deficiency of information data of composition and use of habitat from amphibians and reptiles found in a fragment of swamp forest in the municipality of Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul are presented. We present a list of amphibians and reptiles found in a swamp forest fragment in the Rio Grande municipality, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Ecological spatial data about the herpetofauna are also presented. Through visual search, manual capture and traps (pit fall, artificial shelter, arboreal and waters collectors), there were 12 amphibian and 12 reptile species registered. Four distinct sites of occupation were identified and sampled in the interior and border of the studied fragment, being observed differences in the species composition in each site. Physalaemus gracilis (Anura: Leiuperidae) was the most abundant amphibian in the samples and it was present in all studied sites. Liophis jaegeri (Squamata: Dipsadidae) was the reptile most collected. The found species are typical from open environments and showed have a strong influence of the open areas that are predominant in the landscape. The studied contributed for the knowledge of the herpetofauna of the swamp forests of southern Brazil which were studied in this level of detail for the first time.