HERPETOFAUNA IN A RURAL LANDSCAPE OF THE SIERRA MADRE ORIENTAL, SAN LUIS POTOSI, MEXICO

Abstract

 The conservation of the rich Mexican herpetofauna is strongly threatened by anthropization. This has caused alteration in more than half of the country, necessitating an evaluation of the herpetofauna in anthropized environments. This work evaluated the richness and composition of the herpetofauna in differently altered environments of a rural landscape of the Sierra Madre Oriental in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. The hypotheses proposed were that the submontane scrub as a more natural environment would present a greater richness than anthropized environments (urban and agricultural), and that the composition of species would be different between these environments. The sampling design was stratified by habitat, which each contained seven plots were sampled four times during the rainy season of 2015. The completeness of the sampling was calculated, and the richness, diversity and composition were compared. Twelve species were registered during the study, five of which have conservation status or are endemic to Mexico.The environment with highest richness was the submontane scrub, which also contained all the species of conservation concern or endemic to Mexico. The urban environment presented fewer reptile species, but more amphibians, possibly due to the presence of a waterbody. The agricultural environment presented fewer species and individuals. The composition of species was different between environments, although there were important differences between the plots of each environment. These results support the original hypotheses and indicate the need to focus management actions mainly around wetlands and waterbodies, as well as agroecosystems.