Abundância, riqueza e atividade sazonal de uma taxocenose de serpentes em um fragmento de Floresta Atlântica no Nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

We analyzed the abundance, richness and seasonal activity of an assemblage of snakes from a fragment of Atlantic Forest in the northern coast of Paraíba state, northeastern Brazil, during two years of study. We found a total of 264 individuals distributed into 37 snake species belonging to 25 genera and six families. The most frequent species were Typhlops paucisquamus, Typhlops brongermianus, Tantilla melanocephala and Oxyrhopus trigeminus. The monthly incidence of capture of the snakes had significant correlation only with the minimum temperature. The results indicate that the study area has a large diversity of snakes, compared with other areas of Atlantic Forest, and this may be related to habitat heterogeneity. The minimum temperature may be reducing the metabolic rate of snakes or their activity may be due to biotic factors, such as food availability.