Ecologia e conservação dos testudines, Nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

Studies that aimed investigating the ecology and genetic diversity of populations of Testudines are essential to evaluate the response of aquatic communities of Testudines to human impacts and changes in the habitats of these animals. Research on this subject are few in the ecosystem of Caatinga and Atlantic Forest. Thus, in order to fill a gap in knowledge about these species, the present study aimed to investigate the conservation status of the Testudines populations located in the area of morphoclimatic Caatingas, Environmental Protection Area in the Araripe, Semi Arid region, Ceará, Northeast Brazil, regarding their population structure and genetic heterogeneity, and compile scientific actions related to the subject Testudines in northeastern Brazil. We used two traps convergence specific to clade Testudine called Covo (trap with bait), six days a month, for one year (August 2011 to July 2012). Each specimen captured was marked, sexed, had registered their biometric data and biological samples were collected for genetic analysis. For comparison of the genetic variability of populations of P. geoffroanus were used samples of Testudines collected at two points domain morphoclimatic Atlantic Forest, the Forest of Privê in Camaragibe and the Forest of Rio Paratibe in Paulista. Were captured in the area of Caatinga 63 individuals representing three species, 44 of Phrynops geoffroanus, nine of Kinosternon scorpioides and ten of Mesoclemmys tuberculata. Population size estimated by the Jolly-Seber method was 49.28±11 for K. scorpioides, 56±16.3 for M. tuberculata and 301.5 ± 67.09 for P. geoffroanus.The index of sexual dimorphism calculated the mean carapace of males and females was 1.06 (diverted for females) for P. geoffroanus and 1.04 (deflected males) for K. scopioides. We could not infer about sexual dimorphism and sex ratio for the species M. tuberculata, because only females were captured. Analysis of genetic diversity showed that the population of Caatinga showed similar genetic diversity of the populations of Atlantic forest, with genetic distance no significantly different between groups (Caatinga and Atlantic Forest), which may be the result probably of a population explosion or intense flow gene, demonstrating that despite the adverse conditions of the semi arid, the population studied in this environment presents similar adaptive capacity that populations of Atlantic Forest.