Feeding ecology of endemic frogs of the Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil.

Our objective was to describe and compare the diet of endemic anurans of the Atlantic Forest, as well as to evaluate the influence of biotic factors on the trophic ecology of the species. We conducted the study in Mananciais da Serra (Piraquara-PR), a transition region between mixed and dense ombrophilous forest, between January 2019 and February 2020. In this work, we describe the diet of eight species: Aplastodiscus albosignatus, Boana semiguttata, Bokermannohyla circumdata, Ischnocnema henselii, Leptodactylus notoaktites, Proceratophrys boiei, Rhinella abei and Scythrophrys sawayae. Coleoptera were important prey in the diet of most species, except for B. circumdata and L. notoaktites. All species showed potential selection for some category of prey. We observed a correlation between the size of the individuals and the volume of consumed prey in I. henselii. In general, the niche overlap between species was low, and most species had a broad trophic niche.

Reptile diversity of Sinos River Basin / Diversidade de répteis da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio dos Sinos

Abstract This work aimed to catalog the species of reptiles of the Sinos River Basin based on records from scientific collections and data collected in the field. We recorded 65 species, including 46 snakes, nine lizards, five turtles, four amphisbaenians and one caiman. Snakes composed most of the recorded specimens (91.3%), and the three most representative are venomous and of medical importance. The most urban region of the basin (Lowland) has the highest number of records. This fact may be a reflection of the high human population density in this region, which would have favored the encounter of specimens and their sending to scientific collections and research centers. It is worth highlighting that most species with few specimens in the collections are also rarely observed in the wild, such as Clelia hussani and Urostrophus vautieri. This observation makes it feasible that these populations are small or that they are declining.

Resumo Este trabalho teve como objetivo catalogar as espécies de répteis da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Sinos com base em registros de coleções científicas e dados coletados em campo. Registramos 65 espécies, incluindo 46 serpentes, nove lagartos, cinco tartarugas, quatro anfisbenas e um jacaré. As serpentes compuseram a maioria dos espécimes registrados (91,3%), e as três espécies mais representativas são peçonhentas e de importância médica. A região mais urbana da bacia (planície) possui o maior número de registros. Este fato pode ser um reflexo da alta densidade populacional humana nesta região, o que teria favorecido o encontro de espécimes e seu envio para coleções científicas e centros de pesquisa. Vale ressaltar que a maioria das espécies com poucos exemplares nas coleções também são raramente observadas na natureza, como Clelia hussani e Urostrophus vautieri. Esta observação torna viável que essas populações sejam pequenas ou que estejam em declínio.