Departament of Biology

Snakes are sold in many markets and religious article stores in Brazil. Besides their use as food, snakes are exploited in a variety of ways, such as pets, or for use in traditional medicine and magic/religious rituals (especially in Afro-Brazilian religions). Despite widespread commercialization, there is a general lack of information about this snake trade, which makes it difficult to evaluate its magnitude and its impact on reptile populations. This work documents the commercialization and use of snakes in five cities in Northeastern (Sã o Luís, Teresina, Joã o Pessoa and Campina Grande) and Northern (Belé m) Brazil, through interviews with 119 merchants of biological products in outdoor markets and religious articles stores. The data was gathered through the use of semi-structured questionnaires, complemented by semidirected interviews. The products derived from 11 snake species were being commercialized for medicinal or magical/religious purposes. Boa constrictor, Crotalus durissus and Eunectes murinus were the species most commonly sold. The economic importance of snakes as sources of medicines and religious products demonstrates the need for the development of sustainable use programs for these species.

Background: Human communities consistently develop a detailed knowledge of the therapeutical and medicinal properties of the local flora and fauna, and these folk remedies often substitute medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry. Animals (and their derived products) are essential ingredients in the preparation of many traditional remedies. The present work prepared an inventory of the animals sold in public markets in the cities of Crato and Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará State, Brazil.

From a conservationist perspective, seahorses are threatened fishes. Concomitantly, from a socioeconomic perspective, they represent a source of income to many fishing communities in developing countries. An integration between these two views requires, among other things, the recognition that seahorse fishers have knowledge and abilities that can assist the implementation of conservation strategies and of management plans for seahorses and their habitats. This paper documents the knowledge held by Brazilian fishers on the biology and ecology of the longsnout seahorse Hippocampus reidi. Its aims were to explore collaborative approaches to seahorse conservation and management in Brazil; to assess fishers' perception of seahorse biology and ecology, in the context evaluating potential management options; to increase fishers' involvement with seahorse conservation in Brazil. Data were obtained through questionnaires and interviews made during field surveys conducted in fishing villages located in the States of Piauí, Ceará, Paraíba, Maranhão, Pernambuco and Pará. We consider the following aspects as positive for the conservation of seahorses and their habitats in Brazil: fishers were willing to dialogue with researchers; although captures and/or trade of brooding seahorses occurred, most interviewees recognized the importance of reproduction to the maintenance of seahorses in the wild (and therefore of their source of income), and expressed concern over population declines; fishers associated the presence of a ventral pouch with reproduction in seahorses (regardless of them knowing which sex bears the pouch), and this may facilitate the construction of collaborative management options designed to eliminate captures of brooding specimens; fishers recognized microhabitats of importance to the maintenance of seahorse wild populations; fishers who kept seahorses in captivity tended to recognize the condtions as poor, and as being a cause of seahorse mortality.

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is considered one of the hotspots for conservation, comprising remnants of rain forest along the eastern Brazilian coast. Its native inhabitants in the Southeastern coast include the Caiçaras (descendants from Amerindians and European colonizers), with a deep knowledge on the natural resources used for their livelihood.

Background: Several species from Insecta are used as remedies. Among these species, the termite Nasutitermes corniger is commonly used in traditional medicine in Northeast Brazil. The present work tests the modifying antibiotic activity of Nasutitermes corniger, a termite used in folk medicine in Northeastern region of Brazil.

The present work provides an overview of the global use of reptiles in traditional folk medicine and the implications for conservation. The results demonstrate that at least 165 reptile species belonging to 104 genera and 30 families are used in traditional folk medicine around the world. Some species are used as sources of drugs for modern medical science. Of the reptiles recorded, 53% are included on lists of endangered species, demonstrating the importance of understanding such medicinal uses in the context of reptile conservation as well as the need for considering socio-cultural factors when establishing management plans directed towards the sustainable use of these reptiles.