Anthropic effects on anuran populations in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado

Abstract

Amphibian declines and extinctions have been recorded since the late 1980s and the main causes are modification and fragmentation of habitats, infectious diseases, invasive species, chemical pollution and climate change. All these factors are caused directly or indirectly by man. Brazil has the largest diversity of amphibians in the world and it is still necessary to understand how these causes affect different species. The Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest are global hotspots of diversity and have different climatic conditions and anthropogenic pressures. This project aims to monitor the presence and abundance of individuals of species with a restricted distribution in the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest and to investigate the effects of anthropic disturbances on these populations. Specifically, it is intended to: 1) understand if the human visitation in Alcatrazes island influences the presence and prevalence of chytridiomycoses and causes stress in critically endangered species Cycloramphus faustoi and Ololygon alcatraz, 2) Determine the mortality rate for Dendropsophus minutus after exposure of different concentrations of Imidacloprid Nortox and Fipronil Nortox and generic pesticides, 3) Compare genotoxic, mutagenic and histopathological damage in D. minutus exposed to Imidacloprid and Fipronil and generic pesticides, 4) Generate ecological niche models for species of anurans that have restricted distribution and assess the impact of climate change on distributions. Monitoring and estimation of the number of vocalizing males will be done by remote systems for Allobates goianus, Boana goiana, Ololygon centralis and Proceratophrys dibernardoi in the Cerrado and C. faustoi, O. alcatraz, O. faivovichi and Aparasphenodon dove in the Atlantic Forest. (AU)