Papers by Vanda Lucia Ferreira
Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad, 2016
The gastrointestinal tract of 20 Argentine black and white tegu Salvator merianae, was examined i... more The gastrointestinal tract of 20 Argentine black and white tegu Salvator merianae, was examined in search of nematodes. The diaphanocephalid nematode Diaphanocephalus galeatus was identified with a prevalence of 80%. This work contributes to the knowledge of the host's helminth diversity, being the first record in southern Brazil, and presents unpublished photographic records of the species.
Datasets - Sistema SALVE - ICMBio
South American Journal of Herpetology, Apr 1, 2011
Journal of Mammalogy, Nov 15, 2018
Habitat quality and its availability affect the structure of communities at a variety of differen... more Habitat quality and its availability affect the structure of communities at a variety of different spatial and environmental scales, including habitat and landscape levels. Analyses conducted at multiple scales have demonstrated the importance of landscape patterns with regard to community structure. We used a multi-scale approach to better understand the composition of small mammal communities in central Brazil. We delimited 24 sampling units for the purpose of investigating the response of small mammal composition at the habitat, patch, and landscape scales, while evaluating quality and availability of habitat in each patch, as well as landscape configuration and landscape composition. We used a Mantel correlogram to check for spatial autocorrelation, and partial redundancy analysis to correlate the matrix of species composition with the matrix of environmental variables. Small mammal composition was spatially structured and correlated with variables at all environmental scales: vegetation structure (fallen logs, lianas, and canopy cover), habitat patch (normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI]), and landscape composition (total core area—a forest cover metric). Our findings show evidence of the limited dispersal capacity of small mammals and the importance of habitat quality at habitat and patch scales, and habitat availability at the landscape scale, for small mammal composition. This study highlights the importance of a multi-scale approach for understanding community structure in a human-altered landscape.
Datasets - Sistema SALVE - ICMBio
Nature Conservation, 2020
There are many gaps in our biodiversity knowledge, especially in highly diverse regions such as t... more There are many gaps in our biodiversity knowledge, especially in highly diverse regions such as the Neotropics. Basic information on species occurrence and traits are scattered throughout different literature sources, which makes it difficult to access data and ultimately delays advances in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. We provide species occurrence and trait data for amphibian species in the Upper Paraguay River Basin, central South America. The compiled information is made available through two different datasets that hold (i) 17K species occurrence records and (ii) 30 species-level traits for 113 amphibian species. The first dataset includes the species occurrence records and informs specimen id, collection of housing, locality, geographical coordinates, geographic accuracy, collection date, and collector name. The second dataset covers species-level attributes on morphometry, diet, activity, habitat, and breeding strategy. These datasets improve accessibility to spatial and trait data for amphibian species in the Pantanal ecoregion, one of the largest wetlands on Earth.
Herpetology Notes, Mar 29, 2021
Biotropica, May 22, 2019
Remote sensing provides valuable tools to represent environmental information at biologically rel... more Remote sensing provides valuable tools to represent environmental information at biologically relevant scales, allowing for the monitoring of populations and communities over multiple spatial and temporal resolutions and extents (Pettorelli, Owen & Duncan, 2016; Turner et al., 2015). Although the prospects of these tools have long been recognized to support biodiversity surveys and conservation initiatives (Turner et al., 2003), ecologists only recently started taking advantage of them (Pettorelli et al., 2014). Still, one of the main challenges for revealing the link between species diversity and remote-sensing products remains in properly quantifying ecologically meaningful variables that correspond to species environmental requirements (Sheeren, Bonthoux & Balent, 2014).
Richness of species and density of v Richness of species and density of v Richness of species and... more Richness of species and density of v Richness of species and density of v Richness of species and density of v Richness of species and density of v Richness of species and density of vocalization of an ocalization of an ocalization of an ocalization of an ocalization of anur ur ur ur urans in an urban ar ans in an urban ar ans in an urban ar ans in an urban ar ans in an urban area of cor ea of cor ea of cor ea of cor ea of corumba, mato grosso do sul, osso do sul, osso do sul, osso do sul, osso do sul, br br br br brazil. azil. azil. azil. The richness and intensity of vocalization of anurans in urban areas of Corumba, State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, were studied from February 2002 to January 2003 in a secondary forest and surroundings of a temporary pond. We used a transect with four stop sites on which the presence of species and the intensity of vocalization were recorded according to North American Amphibian Monitoring Population index. The turn when vocalization happened w...
The Cerrado harbors one of the most global richness biodiversity of Squamates. I the past years, ... more The Cerrado harbors one of the most global richness biodiversity of Squamates. I the past years, several new localities have been sampled, providing important data regarding the snake diversity within this domain. Few reptile and/or snake inventories have been performed in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, and none carried out in the municipality of Campo Grande. In this paper, we present the first list of snake species registered in the municipality of Campo Grande based on specimens housed in the Colecao Zoologica da Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul. We recorded 38 species distributed in the families Dipsadidae (21), Colubridae (6), Viperidae (5), Elapidae (2); and the families Anomalepididae, Boidae, Leptotyphlopidae and Typhlopidae were composed by solely on species each. The fauna of snakes registered in Campo Grande is characterized by species typical from domains of open formations, which some are Cerrado endemics (e.g. Trilepida koppesi , Chironius flavolineatus , C...
Herpetologica, 2021
The geographic distribution of a species is limited by many factors, including its ecological and... more The geographic distribution of a species is limited by many factors, including its ecological and evolutionary history. Species distribution modeling has been used to evaluate the effects of climate and other variables on geographic distribution and to measure the degree of niche similarity among co-occurring species. Our goal in this study was to compare the geographic distributions and ecological niches of four closely related species of lined ground snakes, Lygophis dilepis, L. flavifrenatus, L. meridionalis, and L. paucidens. These species are distributed along the South American Dry Diagonal. We found that the four species of Lygophis overlap somewhat along their distributions with a low degree of niche overlap. Lygophis dilepis shows a disjunct distribution with two isolated populations. The break in the distribution of L. dilepis in Central Brazil is filled by L. meridionalis, which is found mostly in the highlands of the Central Plateau. Because of the disjunct distribution of L. dilepis, we performed species distribution modeling on both populations separately. The environmental niches of the two populations of L. dilepis were indistinguishable according to the niche equivalence tests, but the distribution of one of these populations did not predict the distribution of the second one, and vice versa. Our study shows that niche partitioning may allow for the coexistence of Lygophis species.
Acta Oecologica, 2019
Seasonal flood pulses drive important seasonal ecosystem changes, trigger ecological processes th... more Seasonal flood pulses drive important seasonal ecosystem changes, trigger ecological processes that control spatial and temporal distribution of organisms and their life-history strategies, and are considered a key ecological process shaping diversity in floodplains. We used generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM) to analyse the relative importance of flooding as a driver of snake community composition in the Paraguay River Basin (PRB), which encompasses discontinuous seasonal flooded areas, including the Pantanal floodplain, one of the largest Neotropical wetland systems. We modelled the beta diversity of pairs of PRB snake communities (based on species occurrence and phylogenetic relationships) as a function of biogeographical and environmental dissimilarities between areas, considering predictors that represent distinct limitations of species' ability to use an area. Annual flooding directly drives snake diversity, mainly when ancient evolutionary relationships between species were considered to calculate the phylogenetic diversity of the communities. Floods recurrently produce major changes in the environment and probably limit the persistency of species extremely specialized in habitat use. Despite the confirmation of the effect of flooding, the most important predictor of beta diversity between snake communities in the PRB was forest cover where communities were placed. Forest cover seems to constrain the occurrence of some species in both gradient extremities through the absence of suitable conditions for either specialized habitat use or thermoregulatory behaviours. Geographical distance was also an important predictor of beta diversity, highlighting the importance of neutral process in the assembly of local communities in systems such as seasonally flooded areas, where annual disturbances of varying intensities continually disassemble and reassemble biological communities. For the first time, we quantified the relative importance of flooding affecting patterns of biological communities in the Pantanal floodplain, compared to multiple factors also acting on species turnover in the area.
Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 2017
RESUMO A fauna de anfíbios do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul foi compilada e elaborada pela primeir... more RESUMO A fauna de anfíbios do estado de Mato Grosso do Sul foi compilada e elaborada pela primeira vez, totalizando 97 espécies, o que representa pouco mais de 10% das espécies que ocorrem no Brasil. Nove famílias e 25 gêneros de Anura e apenas uma espécie de Gymnophiona foram registradas. As áreas de Cerrado apresentaram a maior riqueza, seguidas pelas florestas estacionais semideciduais, Chaco e veredas. Em relação às macrorregiões consideradas, foram registradas 56 espécies para a planície de inundação (majoritariamente representada pelo Pantanal) e 92 para o planalto. As regiões mais amostradas em Mato Grosso do Sul são o Parque Nacional da Serra da Bodoquena e algumas áreas do Pantanal, o que resulta em lacunas de amostragens por todo o estado, principalmente nas regiões norte, leste/sudeste e parte do oeste/sudoeste. Foram identificadas áreas consideradas importantes para amostragens em decorrência da complexidade de fitofisionomias e relevos encontrados no estado: Maciço do r...
Herpetological Journal, 2006
The biology of blindsnakes is virtually unknown. Herein, we present data on the biology of the bl... more The biology of blindsnakes is virtually unknown. Herein, we present data on the biology of the blindsnake Typhlops brongersmianus from a semideciduous forest in Central Brazil. Males had longer tails and matured at smaller sizes than did conspecific females. Reproduction was highly seasonal, with clutch size of 4-5 eggs and oviposition in the early wet season. T. brongersmianus fed mainly on the pupae and larvae of ants, with ingestion of large number of prey items. Our findings agree with other studies of diet and reproduction of scolecophidians from other parts of the world.
Nature and Conservation, Sep 2, 2020
There are many gaps in our biodiversity knowledge, especially in highly diverse regions such as t... more There are many gaps in our biodiversity knowledge, especially in highly diverse regions such as the Neotropics. Basic information on species occurrence and traits are scattered throughout different literature sources, which makes it difficult to access data and ultimately delays advances in ecology, evolution, and conservation biology. We provide species occurrence and trait data for amphibian species in the Upper Paraguay River Basin, central South America. The compiled information is made available through two different datasets that hold (i) 17K species occurrence records and (ii) 30 species-level traits for 113 amphibian species. The first dataset includes the species occurrence records and informs specimen id, collection of housing, locality, geographical coordinates, geographic accuracy, collection date, and collector name. The second dataset covers species-level attributes on morphometry, diet, activity, habitat, and breeding strategy. These datasets improve accessibility to spatial and trait data for amphibian species in the Pantanal ecoregion, one of the largest wetlands on Earth.
Journal of Tropical Ecology, Mar 10, 2011
We conducted a study on small-mammal composition, abundance and diversity across altitudinal and ... more We conducted a study on small-mammal composition, abundance and diversity across altitudinal and vegetational gradients in the Urucum Mountains (from 150 to 1000 m asl) in western Brazil, a complex biogeographic region. Small mammals were collected in 31 sampling units distributed along altitudinal and vegetational gradients (forest and grassland), totalling 18 112 trap-nights for pitfall and 3500 trap-nights for live-trap. Community variation among sampling units was assessed by randomization tests, setting altitude, vegetation, locality and time as factors, and using presence/absence data. Correlation and logistic regression analyses were run for species and diversity along gradients of altitude and vegetation, according to abundance and presence/absence data. Nineteen species (seven marsupial and 12 rodent) and 355 individuals were recorded. The species composition of small mammals differed according to altitude, vegetation type, locality and time. Species diversity varied significantly according to altitude. Species were influenced solely by altitude or vegetation, or by both vegetation and altitude concomitantly. The smallmammal community was divided in two groups according to biogeographic affinities. The grassland group is capable of invading forest habitats. The results are discussed in light of current hypotheses that attempt to explain community variation along altitudinal gradients around the world.
Biota Neotropica, Mar 1, 2012
Amphibians are usually generalist predators, and their diet is influenced by extrinsic (e.g. food... more Amphibians are usually generalist predators, and their diet is influenced by extrinsic (e.g. food availability) and intrinsic factors (e.g. body size and skull shape). This study aims to describe the diet of adult males and females of Leptodactylus fuscus in the Pantanal of the Miranda river and to answer the following questions: i) Are prey's maximum size and number of food items explained by the anuran's body size? ii) Are richness of morphospecies and number of food items explained by frog sex? iii) Is there diet overlap between male and female? We recorded 62 food items, belonging to seven orders of Arthropoda, and one individual of Annelida. The diet of L. fuscus was dominated by Orthoptera, followed by Coleoptera, Araneae, Hymenoptera, Blattaria, Hemiptera and Diptera. Frog's body size did not influence prey size or number of food items consumed. The number of prey and richness of morphospecies did not differ between males and females. There was low diet overlap between the sexes. Our results provide evidence for the opportunistic and generalist feeding behavior of L. fuscus.
Journal of Ethology, Mar 29, 2023
Herpetological review, Dec 1, 2008
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Papers by Vanda Lucia Ferreira