Herpetofauna of protected areas in the Caatinga VIII: An updated checklist for the Serra das Confusões region with new data from Serra Vermelha, Piauí, Brazil / Herpetofauna das áreas protegidas da Caatinga VIII: Um inventário atualizado para a região da Serra das Confusões com novos dados da Serra Vermelha, Piauí, Brazil

Abstract It is repeatedly stressed the need to characterize the extant biodiversity in tropical ecosystems. However, inventory studies are still progressing slowly in dry ecosystems, leading to the underestimation of their true biodiversity and hindering conservation efforts. In this study, we present primary and secondary data, along with an updated list of amphibians and reptiles from two localities in the São Francisco-Gurguéia region in Piauí. Additionally, we compare the species composition between nine areas within the Caatinga, which were sampled using standardized methods over the past ten years, to examine broader spatial patterns of community composition. To survey reptiles and amphibians, we employed similar methods and sampling efforts in two areas within the Serra das Confusões National Park (SCNP) region. Our surveys recorded a total of 73 species of amphibians and reptiles, of which 24 are new distribution records for the SCNP region. Consequently, our findings increase the known herpetofauna in the region to 94 species. Despite their proximity, the two sites in the SCNP region exhibited only 42% similarity in species composition, and they differed significantly from other areas within the Caatinga. Furthermore, even the closer Caatinga areas presented differences in species composition, highlighting the necessity to evaluate biodiversity across the landscape and contribute to understanding biogeographic patterns.

Resumo É repetidamente enfatizada a necessidade de caracterizar a biodiversidade vivente em ecossistemas tropicais. No entanto, os estudos de inventário ainda estão progredindo lentamente em ecossistemas secos, levando à subestimação de sua verdadeira biodiversidade e dificultando os esforços de conservação. Neste estudo, apresentamos dados primários e secundários, juntamente com uma lista atualizada de anfíbios e répteis de duas localidades na região de São Francisco-Gurguéia, do Piauí. Além disso, comparamos a composição de espécies entre nove áreas dentro da Caatinga, que foram amostradas usando métodos padronizados nos últimos dez anos, para examinar padrões espaciais mais amplos de composição da comunidade. Para estudar répteis e anfíbios, utilizamos métodos e esforços de amostragem semelhantes em duas áreas na região do Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões (PNSC). Nossos levantamentos registraram um total de 73 espécies de anfíbios e répteis, das quais 24 são novos registros de distribuição para a região do PNSC. Consequentemente, nossos resultados aumentam a herpetofauna conhecida na região para 94 espécies. Apesar da proximidade, os dois locais na região do PNSC exibiram apenas 42% de similaridade na composição de espécies e diferiram significativamente de outras áreas dentro da Caatinga. Mesmo áreas mais próximas da Caatinga apresentaram diferenças na composição de espécies, destacando a necessidade de avaliar a biodiversidade em toda a paisagem e contribuir para a compreensão de padrões biogeográficos.

Students' attitudes toward and knowledge about snakes in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Humans in various cultures have feared snakes, provoking an aversion and persecution that hinders conservation efforts for these reptiles. Such fact suggests that conservation strategies for snakes should consider the interactions and perceptions of the local population towards these animals. The aim of this study was to investigate students' perception of snakes and if attitudes and knowledge may differ according to gender and local residence (urban or rural). METHODS: Data was collected in the second half of 2012 and consisted of questionnaires applied to 108 students in the Basic Education School in the municipality of Sumé, located in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil. RESULTS: The male respondents recognized more species than female did. Part of the students affirmed to have a fear of snakes, especially women. Nearly half of respondents (49%) showed negative behaviour towards these animals, reflecting the influence of potential risk and myths associated with snakes, and supported by a limited knowledge about these animals and their ecological and utilitarian role. We find that the rural students recognized significantly more species than the urban students. CONCLUSIONS: Our results point to the need for educational interventions in order to increase knowledge about the positive aspects associated with snakes, seeking to minimize the influence of myths and beliefs that contribute to a strong aversion to snakes by the locals. Conservation strategies should therefore engage students but also teachers, who are key individuals in the process.

Medicinal animals used in ethnoveterinary practices of the 'Cariri Paraibano', NE Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Zootherapy is important in various socio-cultural environments, and innumerous examples of the use of animal derived remedies can currently be found in many urban, semi-urban and more remote localities in all parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. However, although a number of ethnobiological inventories concerning the use of medicinal animals in human health care have been compiled in Brazil in recent years, zootherapeutic practices in ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) are poorly described and neglected in favor of human ethnomedicine. In this sense, the purpose of this study was to describe the local zootherapeutic practices in ethnoveterinary medicine of semi-arid of NE Brazil (Caatinga biome) and to contribute to future research about the validation of the effects and side effects of these animal products METHODS: The information obtained through semi-structured interviews was complemented by free interviews and informal conversations. A total of 67 people were interviewed (53 men and 14 women) about the use and commercialization of medicinal animals. To determine the relative importance of each local known species, their use-values (UV) were calculated. Diversity of species utilized was compared, between localities, using rarefaction curves and diversity estimate (Chao2) RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: A total of 44 animal species (37 vertebrates and 7 invertebrates), distributed among 6 taxonomic categories were found to be used to treat 30 different ailments in livestock and pets. The results of our surveys revealed a rich traditional knowledge of local residents about the use of animals in traditional veterinary medicine. Although it is gradually being discontinued, the perceived efficacy, economic and geographic accessibility were main reasons for popularity of zootherapy in studied areas.

Hunting strategies used in the semi-arid region of northeastern Brazil.

Hunting for wild animals is stimulated by the many different human uses of faunal resources, and these animals constitute important subsistence items in local communities in the Caatinga region. In order to gain access to these resources, hunters have developed a series of techniques and strategies that are described in the present work. The principal hunting techniques encountered were: waiting, especially directed towards hunting diurnal birds; calling ("arremedo"), a technique in which the hunters imitate the animal's call to attract it to close range; hunting with dogs, a technique mostly used for capturing mammals; tracking, a technique used by only a few hunters who can recognize and follow animal tracks; and "facheado", in which the hunters go out at night with lanterns to catch birds in their nests. Additionally, many animal species are captured using mechanical traps. The types of traps used by the interviewees were: dead-fall traps ("quixó"), iron-jaw snap traps ("arataca"), wooden cages with bait ("arapuca"), iron-cage traps ("gaiola'), "visgo", multi-compartment bird cages ("alçapão"), buried ground traps with pivoted tops ("fojo"), and nooses and cages for carnivorous. The choice of which technique to use depends on the habits of the species being hunted, indicating that the hunters possess a wide knowledge of the biology of these animals. From a conservation perspective, active hunting techniques (waiting, imitation, hunting with dogs, and "facheado") have the greatest impact on the local fauna. The use of firearm and dogs brought greater efficiency to hunting activities. Additional studies concerning these hunting activities will be useful to contribute to proposals for management plans regulating hunting in the region - with the objective of attaining sustainable use of faunal resources of great importance to the local human communities.

An examination of morphometric variations in a neotropical toad population (Proceratophrys cristiceps, Amphibia, Anura, Cycloramphidae).

The species Proceratophrys cristiceps belongs to the genus Proceratophrys within the family Cycloramphidae. These amphibians are found exclusively in South America in the morphoclimatic domain of the semi-arid depression zones in northeastern Brazil known as the Caatinga. We examined intrapopulational variation using univariate and multivariate statistics with traditional and geometric morphometrics, which supported the existence of two morphotypes of this species. Our results indicated significant degrees of variation in skeletal characteristics between some natural populations of this species. Careful analyses of variability levels are fundamental to avoid taxonomic errors, principally in populations that demonstrate characteristics intimately associated with their area of occurrence, as is the case of Proceratophrys cristiceps.

"Helicobacter pylori": erradicaçäo em curto prazo com o esquema Belo Horizonte modificado / Helicobacter pylori: short-term eradication with modified Belo Horizonte scheme

Após a constataçao de que a erradicaçao do H. pylori está correlacionada com a cura da doença ulcerosa, numerosos esquemas terapêuticos têm sido testados na procura de um tratamento ideal.Como os estudos in vitro mostram número elevado de cepas de H. pylori resistentes ao metronidazol, no Brasil, foram comparados dois grupos com diferentes esquemas. Sessenta pacientes (34 homens, idade média de 42 anos), positivos para o H. pylori, foram divididos em dois grupos: A) associaçao de furazolidona 600mg/dia, amoxicilina 1.500 mg/dia e subcitrato de bismuto 480mg/dia (esquema Belo Horizonte modificado); B) amoxicilina 2.000mg/dia, metronidazol 1.250mg/dia e subcitrato de bismuto 480mg/dia (esquema Sydney).A presença do H. pylori foi avaliada pelo teste da urease e pelo teste respiratório. Dos 60 pacientes, 49 (81 por cento) completaram o estudo (26 do grupo A e 23 do grupo B). Quatro pacientes (três no grupo A e um no grupo B) nao retornaram para controle. Sete pacientes (um no grupo A e seis no grupo B) interromperam o tratamento por causa de efeitos colaterais. No grupo A, o H. pylori foi erradicado em 17 (65,4 por cento) dos pacientes e, no grupo B, em 17 (73,9 por cento), nao havendo diferença estatisticamente significativa, permitindo a conclusao de que o esquema Belo Horizonte modificado é uma alternativa satisfatória na terapêutica anti-H.pylori.