A comunidade de anuros em uma área de floresta ombrófila densa montana do Parque Estadual dos Três Picos, sudeste do Brasil

Abstract

The data about the amphibian fauna in areas of high altitude (> 1000 meters) of the Atlantic Rainforest of southeastern Brazil is still insufficient. The Três Picos State Park (PETP), in the state of Rio de Janeiro, is one of the largest remnants of Atlantic Rainforest in the state to enter into a conservation unit. The limits of the PETP cover a wide altitudinal gradient, reaching over 2000 meters elevation, and protect areas of five municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro. In this study, I present data from three years of sampling and research (2008-2010) on the composition and abundance of amphibian species in an area located between an altitude of 1100 and 1400 meters in PETP, Theodoro de Oliveira district, municipality of Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. The total sampling effort consisted of 360 hours of active searches, standardized to 180 hours of searching in each of the seasons (wet and dry). There were registered 32 species of frogs during the study, 18 of which represented new records for the Park and three new species not yet known to science were discovered (Holoaden pholeter recently described, was one of them). The most abundant species were the anuran of direct development Ischnocnema parva and I. erythromera. Nine of the 32 endemic species found are considered from the state of Rio de Janeiro: Brachycephalus sp., B.didactylus, B. garbeanus, Ischnocnema cf. Holt, I. erythromera, Bokermannohyla carvalhoi, Scinax albicans, H. pholeter and Hylodes charadranaetes. There were differences in some parameters of community among seasons and among the bands of altitude sampled, with greater richness and abundance of anurans during the wet than in the dry season, and change in species composition between seasons. Although none of the species registered during the study appears in the list of endangered species, H. pholeter may be a candidate for inclusion in the category "vulnerable" List of Endangered Species, IUCN, due to its known geographical distribution restricted to the type locality (Theodore de Oliveira) and its apparently low population density. The high diversity of amphibians, including the endemic species of the state, and the occurrence of rare species attest the biological relevance of the areas studied in PETP.