Anurans of a threatened savanna area in western Brazil

• Published in: Biota neotropica Vol. 14; no. 1
• Main Authors: Sugai, José Luiz Massao Moreira, Terra, Juliana de Souza, Ferreira, Vanda Lúcia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Instituto Virtual da Biodiversidade | BIOTA - FAPESP 01-03-2014
• Subjects: BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION; Upper Taquari River sub-basin; degradação ambiental; Amphibia; veredas; sub-bacia do Alto Taquari; biological inventories; inventários biológicos; environmental degradation
• ISSN: 1676-0611; 1676-0611
• DOI: 10.1590/S1676-06034058

The Upper Paraguay River Basin is located in the center of South America and harbors one of the largest wetland in the world, known as Pantanal. This floodplain is surrounded by uplands, which presently have most of their area converted into pastures or monocultures, besides being poorly known scientifically. Also, most of these upland areas are considered conservation priorities. Here we present a list of anuran species from a savanna-like area (municipality of Camapuã, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil) inserted in the uplands surrounding the Pantanal floodplain, in the Upper Taquari River sub-basin, and evaluate the effectiveness of the sampling effort. Data were obtained through active searches in 22 plots in aquatic habitats, during the rainy season (from December 2009 to April 2010). We found 26 species, in four families. Although sampling effort was found to sufficiently represent the local anuran assemblage, future inventories in this region should ideally include samplings during the dry and early rainy seasons, and include both active and passive capturing methods.