Herpetofauna from an urban Pampa fragment in southern Brazil: composition, structure and conservation

Abstract

Faunistic inventories regarding natural history of amphibians and reptiles are considered scarce and very little is known about their assemblages in urban areas; the Pampas morphoclimatic domain, also known as Uruguayan Savannah or Southern Grasslands, is also poorly known regarding their faunal composition.  Herein, we present a checklist of 16 amphibian and 20 reptile species recorded over a course of four years in the Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciências e Tecnologia, Câmpus Pelotas-Visconde da Graça, in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. We also present data on natural history and discuss conservation efforts to be undertaken in the area, in one of the least preserved and known Brazilian morphoclimatic domains, providing insights into urban herpetofaunal diversity patterns and showing the importance of modified areas in its conservation.