The reduction in the amount of fallow time in rice production has occurred in the last years to increase the grain production and to sustain the global market. Some studies have shown environmental problems with reduced fallow time and it could influence negatively the pond anuran diversity. The present study tested three hypotheses: (1) amphibian richness and abundance will be greater in natural areas than rice fields; (2) rice fields with a fallow period will have greater amphibian richness and abundance than fields without this period; and (3) changes in the species composition between natural ponds and rice fields with and without a fallow period will be determined by community nestedness over the agricultural intensification gradient-natural ponds (no impact), fields with fallow period (medium impact) and fields without fallow period (greatest impact). Anurans were sampled from six rice fields cultivated under different levels of agricultural intensification (three fields with and three fields without a fallow season), and three natural ponds in southern Brazil. Although richness did not vary significantly between fields with and without fallow periods, there was a strong tendency in the results for the anuran community in the fields with fallow to be richer than that in the fields without fallow. Additionally, it is important to emphasize that the species composition of the fields with fallow were richer than the species composition of fields without fallow. Therefore, allowing the land to rest could be an important practice for the amphibian community, and rice farmers should manage some parcels of land in the agricultural matrix with resting practices in order to minimize the negative effects of rice production expansion on aquatic biodiversity in natural wetlands.

Anurans are considered one of the most threatened animal groups in the world. Agricultural activities are related to water pollution and contamination, which affects biphasic organisms such as amphibians. Brazilian soybean cultivation covers about 36 million hectares and encompasses many remaining ponds used as breeding sites for amphibians. In this study, we evaluated richness, abundance and composition of the anuran communities in ponds with different levels of association with soybean cultivation. A total of 18 anuran species were recorded with an abundance of 421 collected tadpoles and 1230 adult males on average. Ponds presented in soybean plantations were distinct from those adjacent to plantations regarding water properties and tadpole richness and abundance, as well as composition of tadpoles and adults. Ponds inserted in plantations had communities with lower diversity and abundance. One explanation for these results is likely the detrimental effect of soybean management, which suggests that this decrease is a result of community changes. This serves as an alert about the importance of buffer areas around plantations and the use of adequate techniques for pesticide application.

Apresentamos o segundo registro do caburé-acanelado (Aegolius harrisii) para o Bioma Pampa no sul do Brasil. No dia 17 de janeiro de 2010, um macho adulto de A. harrisii foi encontrado morto no acostamento da rodovia BR-290, município de São Gabriel, centro-oeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. O indivíduo provavelmente colidiu com um veículo quando usava a rodovia como área de forrageamento. Esse registro indica que A. harrisii pode utilizar áreas abertas e degradadas.

Atividades antrópicas, tais como a construção e uso de rodovias, interferem na dinâmica ecológica da fauna silvestre. A presença de estradas condiciona três principais efeitos sobre os vertebrados silvestres: barreira, evitação e o atropelamento, sendo o último o mais perceptível. Nesse sentido, identificar os impactos das estradas sobre a fauna pode contribuir para o estabelecimento de ações que promovam a conservação. Este estudo teve por objetivo estimar a perda de fauna de vertebrados terrestres por atropelamentos em uma rodovia (BR-290) no município de São Gabriel-RS, no Pampa brasileiro; e identificar as características ecológicas das espécies mais frequentemente atropeladas. O estudo foi realizado num trecho de 12 km da rodovia BR-290, município de São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. A rodovia amostrada está situada nos domínios do bioma Pampa. As amostragens duraram seis meses, duas vezes por semana, de setembro de 2009 a fevereiro de 2010. A equipe percorreu o trecho de carro, com velocidade média de 50 km/hora. Embora 39 espécies tenham sido registradas no nosso estudo, os atropelamentos foram concentrados em poucas espécies dentro de cada grupo taxonômico. Aparentemente, as espécies ocorrentes no Pampa estão acostumadas a deslocar-se por áreas com cobertura vegetal rasteira, onde a estrada pode não representar um obstáculo. Se por um lado esta condição reduz o efeito barreira da estrada, por outro, aumenta a exposição dos indivíduos aos atropelamentos. Nossos resultados indicam que espécies de répteis e mamíferos com características como maior mobilidade e terrícolas estão