Resumo: Entre as espécies de anfíbios de áreas de altas altitudes da Mata Atlântica brasileira há uma elevada porcentagem de espécies ameaçadas e endêmicas, mas ainda há relativa escassez de inventários locais desses organismos. Aqui, apresentamos dados sobre a composição de espécies, abundância relativa e densidade estimada para anfíbios anuros de serapilheira de área de Mata Atlântica na APA Serra da Mantiqueira, estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, com base em resultados de estudo de curto prazo realizado a altitudes de 1.350-1.750 m, em novembro de 2005 (incluindo registros adicionais de coletas feitas em 2010 e 2011). Três métodos de amostragem foram utilizados na campanha de 2005: amostragem em parcelas, encontros visuais (realizados durante o dia, no crepúsculo e à noite) e armadilhas de queda; apenas procuras visuais não padronizadas foram usadas nas coletas de 2010 e 2011. Foram registradas 24 espécies, sendo a mais abundante Ischnocnema sp. (gr. lactea), uma forma com desenvolvimento direto. A maioria dos anuros (90% de todos os indivíduos) amostrados pelo método de encontros visuais foi capturada durante os períodos crepuscular e noturno. A densidade estimada para anuros de serapilheira com base nas amostragens em parcelas foi de 18,4 ind/100 m2, um dos valores mais altos registrados até o momento para áreas de Mata Atlântica. Este é o primeiro estudo que analisa a composição da fauna de anuros de área de Mata Atlântica da APA Serra da Mantiqueira e contribui para o conhecimento da fauna da região sul do estado do Rio de Janeiro.

Abstract: Among amphibian species from high elevation areas in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest there is a high percentage of threatened and endemic species, but there is still a relative scarcity of local inventories for these organisms. Here, we present data on anuran composition, relative abundance and estimated densities for leaf-litter frogs from an Atlantic Forest area within the APA Serra da Mantiqueira, in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, based on results of a short-term survey carried out at altitudes of 1,350-1,750 m, in November 2005 (with additional records from surveys made in 2010 and 2011). Three sampling methods were used during the 2005 survey: plot sampling, visual encounter surveys (VES; performed during the day, at the dusk, and at night), and pitfall traps with drift fences; only non-standardized visual searches were employed during the 2010 and 2011 surveys. We recorded 24 species, with the direct-developer Ischnocnema sp. (gr. lactea) being the most abundant. Most anurans (90% of all individuals) sampled by VES were captured during the crepuscular and nocturnal periods. The estimated density of the local leaf-litter frog assemblage based on plot sampling was 18.4 ind/100 m2, which is one of the highest values currently reported for Atlantic Rainforest areas. This is the first study analyzing the anuran fauna composition of an Atlantic Forest area within the APA Serra da Mantiqueira and adds to the body of knowledge on the fauna of the southern region of Rio de Janeiro state.

Resumo: O estado do Paraná, localizado no sul do Brasil, originalmente possuía praticamente toda sua área coberta pelo bioma Mata Atlântica com algumas porções do bioma Cerrado. Atualmente, pouco resta das formações destes biomas, sendo a maior parte remanescentes florestais de Mata Atlântica, localizados na região costeira do Estado. Apesar de haver estudos sobre anuros no estado do Paraná, até então nenhum deles proveu uma lista dos anuros com ocorrência no Estado, o que pode dificultar o conhecimento sobre a potencial diversidade de anuros e restringir medidas de conservação. A partir dessa lacuna, elaboramos uma lista das espécies de anuros com registro para o Paraná, a partir de dados de estudos publicados. Registramos um total de 137 espécies de anuros, pertencentes a 13 famílias. Dentre estas, 19 espécies de anuros são endêmicas do estado do Paraná e cinco encontram-se relacionadas sob algum grau de ameaça de extinção na lista vermelha do estado do Paraná, do Brasil e/ou da lista global da IUCN. Duas espécies de anuros foram categorizadas como Quase Ameaçada pela IUCN e 27 espécies foram listadas como Dados Insuficientes nestas listas. De acordo com a IUCN, 49,6% das espécies de anuros registradas apresentaram tendências populacionais estáveis, 19% diminuíram, apenas 1,4% aumentaram e 20,4% apresentaram tendências de sua populações desconhecidas. Registramos também a ocorrência do anuro exótico e invasor Lithobates catesbeianus para diferentes áreas do estado do Paraná. Consideramos nossa lista de espécies uma estimativa relativamente confiável da diversidade de anuros do estado brasileiro do Paraná, embora sejam esperados novos registros de espécies, principalmente porque existem muitas regiões que ainda não foram amostradas.

Abstract: The state of Paraná, located in southern Brazil, was originally covered almost entirely by the Atlantic Forest biome, with some areas of Cerrado savanna. In the present day, little of this natural vegetation remains, mostly remnants of Atlantic Forest located in the coastal zone. While some data are available on the anurans of the state of Paraná, no complete list has yet been published, which may hamper the understanding of its potential anuran diversity and limit the development of adequate conservation measures. To rectify this situation, we elaborated a list of the anuran species that occur in state of Paraná, based on records obtained from published sources. We recorded a total of 137 anuran species, distributed in 13 families. Nineteen of these species are endemic to the state of Paraná and five are included in the red lists of the state of Paraná, Brazil and/or the IUCN. Two anuran species were categorized as Near Threatened by the IUCN and 27 species were listed as Data Deficient in one or more lists. According to IUCN 49.6% of the anuran species recorded had their population trends stable, 19% in declined, only 1.4% is increased and 20.4% had your population trends unknown. We also recorded the occurrence in Paraná of the exotic invader anuran Lithobates catesbeianus. We consider our list of species to be a relatively reliable estimate of the anuran diversity of the Brazilian state of Paraná, although new species records are expected, mainly because there are many regions that have not yet been sampled.

Despite a recent increase of information on leaf litter frog communities from Atlantic rainforests, few studies have analyzed the relationship between environmental parameters and community structure of these animals. We analyzed the effects of some environmental factors on a leaf litter frog community at an Atlantic Rainforest area in southeastern Brazil. Data collection lasted ten consecutive days in January 2010, at elevations ranging between 300 and 520 m above sea level. We established 50 quadrats of 5 x 5 m on the forest floor, totaling 1,250 m² of sampled area, and recorded the mean leaf-litter depth and the number of trees within the plot, as well as altitude. We found 307 individuals belonging to ten frog species within the plots. The overall density of leaf-litter frogs estimated from the plots was 24.6 ind/100m², with Euparkerella brasiliensis (Parker, 1926), Ischnocnema guentheri (Steindachner, 1864), Ischnocnema parva (Girard, 1853) and Haddadus binotatus (Spix, 1824) presenting the highest estimated densities. Among the environmental variables analyzed, only altitude influenced the parameters of anuran community. Our results indicate that the study area has a very high density of forest floor leaf litter frogs at altitudes of 300-500 m. Future estimates of litter frog density might benefit from taking the local altitudinal variation into consideration. Neglecting such variation might result in underestimated/overestimated values if they are extrapolated to the whole area.

In this study we review the records regarding occurrence of Hemidactylus mabouia Moreau De Jonnès, 1818 in Brazil, looking for records of the species in natural habitats, in order to assess the present status of this gecko as an exotic or invasive alien species in the country. We surveyed the available records of H. mabouia living in natural conditions, considering secondary data obtained from the literature, supplemented with original field records obtained by the authors during fieldwork. We found a total of 36 records in the literature and/or field records reporting the occurrence of H. mabouia in natural habitats in 36 different localities in 13 Brazilian states. The states presenting a higher number of records were Rio de Janeiro (seven), Bahia, São Paulo (six), and Espírito Santo (five different areas). We show that the invasion of Brazilian natural habitats by H. mabouia has taken place for some decades. Presently we have consistent records that it has invaded natural habitats in 13 Brazilian states. This suggests thatit is important to start monitoring H. mabouia in order to measure the rate and effectiveness of its establishment in natural habitats in Brazil and also to evaluate the potential negative effects of this invasion on sympatric species.

In this study we analyzed the diet of the gymnophthalmid lizard Ecpleopus gaudichaudii Duméril & Bibron, 1839, a typical inhabitant of the forest-floor leaf litter, in an Atlantic Forest area in the state of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. The 26 individuals sampled during the study had a mean snout-vent length (SVL) of 36.2 ± 4.2 mm and a mean jaw width (JW) of 4.1 ± 0.5 mm. We did not find differences in SVL between males and females, though the sexes differed in JW when the effect of body size was factored out, with females presenting higher values. The diet of the lizards was composed exclusively of arthropods, especially isopods and orthopterans. The similarity in trophic niches among seasons (volumetric and numerical proportions of prey categories consumed) were 0.096 and to 0.43, respectively. There were also no detectable seasonal differences in mean number and mean volume of prey ingested, as well as no significant influence of lizard SVL on prey number and of lizard JW on mean prey volume, which may reflect the tendency of E. gaudichaudii to feed on few, relatively large prey.

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.

We studied the structural habitat use and the thermal ecology of Gonatodes humeralis (Guichenot, 1855) in São Luís, Maranhão, Brazil, to examine intersexual differences in the use of perch features and to simultaneously analyze reciprocal differences on thermal ecology between the sexes. Gonatodes humeralis body temperature was strongly correlated with environmental temperatures (air and substrate), but air temperature had an additional effect on the males' body temperatures after removing the effect of the substrate temperature. Males and females differed significantly in perch height use above ground (males perched higher) but the sexes did not differ in the trunk perimeter used. Gonatodes humeralis tended to use the larger tree trunks available in its environment and selected trunks with deeper leaf litter at the base. It is hypothesized that choosing tree trunks with deeper leaf litter is a defensive behavior against predation.

Hemidactylus mabouia Moreau de Jonnés, 1818 é uma espécie exótica, com tamanho fixo de ninhada e bem estabelecida no Brasil. Neste estudo foram investigadas algumas estratégias reprodutivas adotadas no sentido de minimizar os custos do tamanho fixo de ninhada nesta população que vive em uma região onde há uma marcada sazonalidade climática. O estudo foi realizado entre abril de 2002 e março de 2003 em Valinhos (22°56’S; 46°55’W; sudeste do Brasil). Os resultados indicaram que as fêmeas atingem a maturidade sexual com 47,9mm enquanto que os machos com 46,9mm. As fêmeas maiores tendem a produzir ovos maiores. A reprodução ocorre ao longo do ano todo, mas somente durante a estação úmida as fêmeas aumentam a freqüência reprodutiva. O tamanho médio dos testículos sofre uma variação ao longo do ano e as maiores médias foram registradas entre os meses de agosto e dezembro. Investimento maternal no tamanho do ovo, aumento na freqüência reprodutiva e aumento sazonal no volume médio dos testículos podem representar uma importante estratégia reprodutiva desta espécie invasora que habita um campo ruderal com sazonalidade climática marcada (estação fria e seca bem definida).

Hemidactylus mabouia Moreau de Jonnés, 1818 is a "fixed" clutch size exotic species well established in Brazil. In this paper we investigate some reproductive strategies adopted to minimize the costs of invariant clutch size to this invader species living in an environment with marked climatic seasonality in Southeastern Brazil (22°56’S; 46°55’W). The study was carried out from April 2002 to March 2003. Females and males attain maturity at 47.9mm and 46.9mm SVL, respectively. Larger females tended to produce larger eggs. The reproduction occurred throughout the year, but only at the wet season the females increase the clutch frequency. There was a significant variation in mean testis volume among the months throughout the year and the largest means were recorded between August and December. Maternal investment on egg size, increase on clutch frequency and seasonal increase on testis volume can represent important reproductive strategies of this invader species living in an non-urban habitat whit climatic seasonality (dry and cold weather season).

Nematode assemblages associated to three species of lizards of the genus Mabuya Fitzinger, 1826 [M. agilis (Raddi, 1823), M. caissara Rebouças-spieker, 1974 and M. macrorhyncha Hoge, 1946] from three mainland sites and three island sites along the eastern Brazilian coast were analyzed. A total of six nematode species were recorded, with total nematode richness varying from one to four and overall nematode prevalences varying from 6.7% to 90.5% among host populations. Number of nematode species per host individual (including all hosts, infected and uninfected) varied among host populations from 0.07 to 1.05, but most infected lizards in all six host populations harbored a single nematode species. Both insular and continental populations of Mabuya spp. exhibited generally poor nematode assemblages, and no clear tendency for insular host populations to have more depauperate nematode faunas and/or lower infection rates compared to mainland ones (or vice versa) was evident on the basis of the present data.

A new species of oxyurid, Skrjabinodon spinosulus, is described, on the basis of samples recovered from Mabuya dorsivittala Cope, 1862 in Brazil. Skrjabinodon spinosulus sp. n. is included in the group in which the males are provided with a spicule. The new species proposed herein, differs from those of the group, by the large number of spines (70-80) on the tail of the females when compared to those (3-48) in the other species. The number of spines is a character of great taxonomic importance in the specific diagnosis of these nematodes. This is the second report of the genus Skrjabinodon Inglis, 1968 in South America.

Nas restingas, devido aos microhábitats favoráveis, como as moitas, não ocorrerem de forma homogênea, mas em manchas, e devido à elevada taxa de reprodução vegetativa em bromélias, testa-se a hipótese de que o padrão de distribuição espacial das bromélias em uma restinga seria agregado. Utiliza-se como área para o teste de hipótese a restinga do Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba. Analisa-se o padrão de distribuição espacial de cada espécie encontrada através do índice de dispersão de Morisita (Id). Encontra-se 10 espécies de bromélias, com 10179 indivíduos em 0,98 ha amostrados. Na área estudada, nove espécies possuíram um padrão de distribuição agregado (Id > 1). Sugerimos que o padrão de distribuição agregado de bromélias em restinga pode ser explicado pela taxa de reprodução vegetativa, distribuição de condições abióticas favoráveis e substratos disponíveis nas moitas, as quais ocorrem em manchas na restinga estudada, favorecendo a ocorrência de bromélias.

In "restingas", because favorable microhábitats have patchy distribution, and due to the high vegetative reproduction rate in bromeliads, we tested the hypothesis that the pattern of spatial distribution of bromeliads in a "restinga" habitat would be aggregated. We used the "restinga" of the Parque Nacional da Restinga de Jurubatiba as our hypothesis test area. We analyzed the spatial distribution pattern of each studied species using Morisita dispersion Index (Id). We found 10 bromeliad species, with 10179 individuals in the 0,98 ha sampled. In the study area, nine species had an aggregated distribution pattern (Id > 1). We suggest that the aggregated distribution pattern of bromeliads may be explained by the rate of vegetative reproduction, distribution of the favorable abiotic conditions and availability substrates in clumps, which occur in patches in the study area, favoring the bromeliads occurrence.