Squamate reptiles as indicators in fragments of Brazilian cerrado

ABSTRACTThe data on the reptilian fauna of the state of Goiás are one-off and reveal a lack of information about this group. The aim of the research was to know the composition of the reptile fauna within the area of the Anglo American mining company, evaluating the relationship of the species with the years, the types of environments and the presence of indicator species. Fieldwork was carried out during seven years, from 2007 to 2013. Sampling was performed through active search, pitfall traps, occasional encounters, and third-party records. We recorded 36 reptile species: 15 lizards and 21 snakes. The most common lizards were Anolis meridionalis, Cnemidophorus sp, and the most abundant snakes were Apostolepis cerradoensis and Bothrops moojeni. There was no relationship between the species and the years. On the other hand, there was relationship between the species and the environments or between the species and the types of habitats. The lizard Ameivula ocellifera was found as an indicator species of Cerrado areas, as well as the snake Leptotyphlops dulcis We have seen that lizards are specific to their habitat, making it essential to preserve open and forested areas for the conservation of the species that live there.KEYWORDS: Squamatahabitatvegetationindicator species AcknowledgmentsThe Anglo American company, for logistical and financial support. FUNAPE-UFG for project management. RP Bastos thanks CNPq for the productivity grant. This study benefited from resources provided from the environmental compensation funds deposited by Vale S.A., and administered by the National Research Center for Cave Conservation (Cecav/ICMBio) and Brazilian Society for the Study of Chiroptera – SBEQ, as part of the DD program – The Least Know Species of Brazil, and resources from the Speleological Compensation Agreement – TCCE VALE 1/2018, Edital Ferruginosas 01/2021, administered by the Brazilian Institute for Sustainable Development – IABS, K.D. Silva thanks CNPq for the PDJ scholarship and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES) - Finance Code 001, concede to RJRA.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationFundingThe work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior [001].