Diversity and abundance of litter frogs at altitudinal sites at Serra do Japi, southeastern Brazil

Giaretta, Ariovaldo Antonio; Sawaya, Ricardo J.; Machado, Glauco; Araújo, Márcio S.; Facure, Kátia G.; Medeiros, Hermes F. de; Nunes, Renato

doi:10.1590/S0101-81751997000200008

Abstract

It was sampled the litter frogs at altitudinal sites of a semideciduous mesophytic forest located at Sena do Japi (Jundiaí, São Paulo, 23º17'S, 47º00'W, 800-1300m altitude, 1500mm rain/year). Forty two plots of 8x8m were sampled in the dry/cold season of 1995: 21 at a Higher Site (HS) (1000m) and 21 at a Lower Site (LS) (850m). The plots were evenly located near, mid-distance, and far from the stream-bed. It was found a total of five species, three at each site. Eleutherodactylus guentheri comprised 83% of the individuals at HS and E. juipoca 67% at LS. The density of individuals was higher at HS and near the stream. The greater density at HS may be due to greater humidity there, provided by mist. The frogs may aggregate in wetter places (stream edges) in the dry/cold season. The studied sites represent harsh and early successional environments and both these factors may be acting together to produce the low observed diversity.

Brachycephalus; Eleutherodactylus; Hyla; litter frogs; diversity; Southeastern Brazil

Diversity and abundance of litter frogs at altitudinal sites at Serra do Japi, southeastern Brazil

Ariovaldo Antonio Giaretta; Ricardo J. Sawaya; Glauco Machado; Márcio S. Araújo; Kátia G. Facure; Hermes F. de Medeiros; Renato Nunes

Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Caixa Postal 6109, 13083-970 Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil

ABSTRACT

It was sampled the litter frogs at altitudinal sites of a semideciduous mesophytic forest located at Sena do Japi (Jundiaí, São Paulo, 23º17'S, 47º00'W, 800-1300m altitude, 1500mm rain/year). Forty two plots of 8x8m were sampled in the dry/cold season of 1995: 21 at a Higher Site (HS) (1000m) and 21 at a Lower Site (LS) (850m). The plots were evenly located near, mid-distance, and far from the stream-bed. It was found a total of five species, three at each site. Eleutherodactylus guentheri comprised 83% of the individuals at HS and E. juipoca 67% at LS. The density of individuals was higher at HS and near the stream. The greater density at HS may be due to greater humidity there, provided by mist. The frogs may aggregate in wetter places (stream edges) in the dry/cold season. The studied sites represent harsh and early successional environments and both these factors may be acting together to produce the low observed diversity.

Key words:Brachycephalus, Eleutherodactylus, Hyla, litter frogs, diversity, Southeastern Brazil

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. We thank the Prefeitura Municipal de Jundiaí for logistical support; M.A. Costa helped in the field work; C.F. da Rocha, I. Sazima, R.W. Heyer and A.J. Cardoso critically read the draft. Two anonymous reviewers made useful comments. Grants by CNPq (AAG) and CAPES (KGF and MSA).

Recebido em 20.XII.1995; aceito em 10.VI.1997.

Giller, P.S. 1984. Community Structure and Niche. London, Chapman and Hall, 175 p.
Haddad, C.F.B. & I. Sazima. 1992. Anfíbios anuros da Serra do Japí, p. 188-211. In: L.P.C. Morellato (Ed.). História Natural da Serra do Japí: Ecologia e Preservação de Uma Área Florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Campinas, Editora Unicamp, Fapesp, 321 p.
Heinen, J.T. 1992. Comparisons of the leaf-litter herpetofauna in abandoned cacao plantations and primary rain forest in Costa Rica: some implications for faunal restoration. Biotropica 24:431-439.
Jaeger, R.G. & R.F. Inger. 1994. Standard techniques for inventory and monitoring: Quadrat Sampling, p. 97-102. In: W.R. Heyer; M.A. Donnelly; R.W. McDiarmid; L.C. Hayek & M.S. Foster (Eds). Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity. Standard Methods for Amphibians. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 364 p.
Leitão-Filho, H.F. & L.P.C. Morellato. 1997. Semideciduous Forests of Southeastern Brazil, Serra do Japi. In: S.D. Davis; G.H. Heywood & A.C. Hamilton (Eds). Centers of plant diversity: a guide and strategy for their conservation. 3. The Americas. Cambridge, WWF/IUCN.
Lieberman, S.S. 1986. Ecology of the leaf litter herpetofauna of a Neotropical Rain Forest: La Selva, Costa Rica. Acta Zool. MEx., New Series, 15:1-71.
Magurran, A.E. 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. London, Groon Helm, 179 p.
Morellato, L.P.C. 1992. Nutrient cycling in two south-east Brazilian forests. I Litterfall and litter standing crop. Jour. Trop. Ecol. 8:205-215.
Rodrigues, R.R. & G.H. Shepherd. 1992. Análise da variação estrutural e fisionômica da vegetação e características edáficas, num gradiente altitudinal na Serra do Japí, p. 164-197. In: L.P.C. Morellato (Ed.). História Natural da Serra do Japí: Ecologia e PreservaÇão de Uma Área Florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Campinas, Editora da Unicamp, Fapesp, 321 p.
Scott, N.J. 1976. The abundance and diversity of herpetofaunas of tropical forest litter. Biotropica 8:41-58.
Toft, C.A. 1980. Seasonal variation in populations of Panamanian litter frogs and their prey: A comparison of wetter and drier sites. Oecologia, Berlin, 47:34-38.
Zar, J.H. 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 718 p.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
13 July 2009
Date of issue
1997

History

Accepted
10 June 1997
Received
20 Dec 1995

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] Giller, P.S. 1984. Community Structure and Niche. London, Chapman and Hall, 175 p.

[2] Haddad, C.F.B. & I. Sazima. 1992. Anfíbios anuros da Serra do Japí, p. 188-211. In: L.P.C. Morellato (Ed.). História Natural da Serra do Japí: Ecologia e Preservação de Uma Área Florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Campinas, Editora Unicamp, Fapesp, 321 p.

[3] Heinen, J.T. 1992. Comparisons of the leaf-litter herpetofauna in abandoned cacao plantations and primary rain forest in Costa Rica: some implications for faunal restoration. Biotropica 24:431-439.

[4] Jaeger, R.G. & R.F. Inger. 1994. Standard techniques for inventory and monitoring: Quadrat Sampling, p. 97-102. In: W.R. Heyer; M.A. Donnelly; R.W. McDiarmid; L.C. Hayek & M.S. Foster (Eds). Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity. Standard Methods for Amphibians. Washington, Smithsonian Institution Press, 364 p.

[5] Leitão-Filho, H.F. & L.P.C. Morellato. 1997. Semideciduous Forests of Southeastern Brazil, Serra do Japi. In: S.D. Davis; G.H. Heywood & A.C. Hamilton (Eds). Centers of plant diversity: a guide and strategy for their conservation. 3. The Americas. Cambridge, WWF/IUCN.

[6] Lieberman, S.S. 1986. Ecology of the leaf litter herpetofauna of a Neotropical Rain Forest: La Selva, Costa Rica. Acta Zool. MEx., New Series, 15:1-71.

[7] Magurran, A.E. 1988. Ecological Diversity and its Measurement. London, Groon Helm, 179 p.

[8] Morellato, L.P.C. 1992. Nutrient cycling in two south-east Brazilian forests. I Litterfall and litter standing crop. Jour. Trop. Ecol. 8:205-215.

[9] Rodrigues, R.R. & G.H. Shepherd. 1992. Análise da variação estrutural e fisionômica da vegetação e características edáficas, num gradiente altitudinal na Serra do Japí, p. 164-197. In: L.P.C. Morellato (Ed.). História Natural da Serra do Japí: Ecologia e PreservaÇão de Uma Área Florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Campinas, Editora da Unicamp, Fapesp, 321 p.

[10] Scott, N.J. 1976. The abundance and diversity of herpetofaunas of tropical forest litter. Biotropica 8:41-58.

[11] Toft, C.A. 1980. Seasonal variation in populations of Panamanian litter frogs and their prey: A comparison of wetter and drier sites. Oecologia, Berlin, 47:34-38.

[12] Zar, J.H. 1974. Biostatistical Analysis. New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 718 p.