Uncovering the rich amphibian fauna of two semideciduous forest fragments in southwestern Bahia, Brazil

Abstract

Fauna inventories reduce biodiversity knowledge gaps by providing comprehensive data on species distribution, richness, and abundance. Furthermore, they identify undocumented species and enhance understanding of ecosystem dynamics and conservation needs. The richness and abundance of amphibian species were studied in two Semideciduous Seasonal Forest areas in the municipalities of Potiraguá (Serra Azul) and Itarantim (Serra do Mandim) in southwestern Bahia, Brazil. Active visual and acoustic surveys were conducted in 24 forest interior transects, two stream transects, and two permanent ponds investigated in the study area. Opportunistic encounters during team movements were also recorded. The richness was 46 amphibian species distributed in 14 families and 26 genera. Approximately half of the species were shared between the two areas, while 11 species were exclusive to Serra Azul and another nine were found only in Serra do Mandim. Cluster analysis for 42 locations in Atlantic Forest, Caatinga, and Cerrado, in a presence/absence matrix with 216 species, revealed that the composition of the amphibians found in Serra do Mandim and Serra Azul is similar to other sampled locations in the northeastern region of Minas Gerais, close to the study site, which are considered transitional between the Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga. Our results demonstrate that the remaining forest fragments in the region, although small and isolated, still sustain a high richness of amphibians with species restricted to the Atlantic Forest and Bahia, such as Bahius bilineatus, Ololygon strigilata, Aplastodiscus weygoldti and Vitreorana eurygnatha, and others considered typical of the Caatinga, such as Leptodactylus troglodytes and Physalaemus cicada. Additionally, we sampled potential new species, filled occurrence gaps, and expanded the geographical range of Pseudis fusca.