Analisamos alguns aspectos reprodutivos de 16 populações costeiras, pertencentes a cinco espécies de lagarto (A. ocellifera, A. abaetensis, A. nativo, A. littoralis e A. lacertoides) de diferentes habitats de restinga ao longo da costa leste da Brasil. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar em que extensão os aspectos reprodutivos variam geograficamente e entre as espécies. Para cada fêmea, registramos número de folículos vitelogênicos, tamanho e cor do maior folículo, presença e tamanho do corpo lúteo, e número e tamanho dos ovos no oviduto. O tamanho da ninhada de quase todas as populações/espécies costeiras de Ameivula teve pouca variação e a maioria das ninhadas era composta de dois ovos. Houve uma relação significativa entre o tamanho da fêmea e o tamanho médio da ninhada quando as fêmeas de diferentes espécies foram agrupadas. O volume médio dos ovos, entre as espécies, variou 420 a 655 mm3. A massa relativa da ninhada variou de 0,129 a 0,159 e não diferiu significativamente entre as espécies. Concluímos que as cinco espécies estudadas (quatro bissexuais e uma partenogenética) têm características reprodutivas semelhantes. A maioria apresentou ninhadas múltiplas, baixo tamanho da ninhada e baixa massa relativa da ninhada, semelhante a outras espécies do gênero e espécies unissexuais e bissexuais da família Teiidae.

We analyzed some reproductive aspects of 16 coastal populations, belonging to five lizard species (A. ocellifera, A. abaetensis, A. nativo, A. littoralis and C. lacertoides) from different restinga habitats along the eastern coast of Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate to what extent the reproductive aspects vary geographically and among species. For each female, we recorded the number of vitellogenic follicles, size and color of the largest follicle, presence and size of corpora lutea, and number and size of oviductal eggs. Clutch size of almost all coastal populations/species of Ameivula had little variation and most clutches were composed of two eggs. There was a significant relationship between female size and the mean clutch size when females from different species were pooled. Mean egg volume, among species, varied from 420 to 655 mm3. Relative clutch mass varied from 0.129 to 0.159 and did not differ significantly among species. We concluded that the five coastal species studied (four bisexuals and one parthenogenetic) had similar reproductive characteristics. Most of them presented multiple clutches, low clutch size and low relative clutch mass, similar to other species in the genus and to unisexual and bisexual species of the Teiidae family.

The ecology of the active forager lizard Cnemidophorus ocellifer (Spix, 1825) was studied to analyze food habits, thermal ecology and habitat use, in the Morro do Chapéu municipality (11º29'S, 41º07'W), state of Bahia, Brazil. Lizards (N = 34) were collected with rubber bands or with an air rifle and, for each individual, we recorded cloacal temperature (Tc), air temperature (Ta) (1 cm above the substrate) and substrate temperature (Ts) (to nearest 0.2ºC). We registered the microhabitat used by each animal at the moment of first sight and measured its morphological variables (nearest 0.1 mm). In the laboratory, we registered the number of items of each prey category to the taxonomic level of Order, its dimensions and frequencies. Data showed that, numerically, the category most consumed was Isoptera (84.4%). Volumetrically, the diet was composed predominantly by Orthoptera (27.5%) and Isoptera (21.5%). Prey items that occur aggregated in the environment (termites) were important in the diet of C. ocellifer, a characteristic of active foragers. Males and females did not differ in the types of prey consumed. Cnemidophorus ocellifer had a mean Tc in activity of 37.6 ± 1.6ºC and the relationship between Tc and ambient temperatures (Ts and Ta) was positive and significant (F2,28 = 4.814; R² = 0.256; p < 0.05). Most lizards were first sighted on leaf litter inside shrubs (45.5%) and on leaf litter at shrub edge (42.4%). Cnemidophorus ocellifer had a relatively high mean Tc during activity, with Ts explaining most of the variation in lizard Tc.

Ischnocnema (Brachycephalidae) includes many species that are important members of the leaf litter frog communities in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil. Ischnocnema parva (Girard, 1853) is endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest biome and is restricted to the forests of southeastern Brazil. Currently, the available information about the ecology of I. parva is scarce. We studied the diet, the habitat use, reproduction and density of I. parva in an area of Atlantic Rainforest at the Concórdia mountain range, Rio de Janeiro. Individuals of I. parva were captured in April 2005 using different sampling methods: time constrained search (transects), plots of 5 x 5 m (25 m²) on the litter, and pitfall traps with drift fences. We found 240 frogs; 35 females and 205 males. Females (mean SVL = 19.1 mm) were significantly larger (F1,238 = 143.016, R² = 0.375, p < 0.001) than males (13.2 mm). The species preyed mainly on arthropods, with ants and isopods being the most important items, both showing high values of importance index (Ix = 50.0 and 26.7, respectively). Ischnocnema parva is a terrestrial species whose preferential microhabitat at the Serra da Concórdia was the litter of the forest floor (78.7%). The activity was predominantly crepuscular-nocturnal and the estimated density of I. parva was 24.9 ind/100 m². For the eight ovigerous females captured, the mean number of mature oocytes per female was 25 (range: 22-30) and the oocyte mean diameter was 1.11 mm (N = 40 oocytes). Oocyte number increased with female body size (R² = 0.504, F1,6 = 6.107, p < 0.05, N = 8), indicating that as females increase in size they produce larger clutches. Some ecological aspects such as diet and microhabitat use were similar to that observed for an insular population of I. parva, whereas reproductive traits differed. Thus, long term studies are necessary to understand the extent to which these differences are explained by environmental factors.