Herpetofauna, Espora Hydroelectric Power Plant, state of Goiás, Brazil

We provide a checklist of the herpetofaunal assemblage from Espora Hydroelectric Power Plant region (UHE Espora), southwestern of the state of Goias, Brazil. Representatives of 32 amphibian and 71 reptile species were obtained during faunal monitoring and faunal rescue programs carried out in the study area. The obtained species list and distribution records are here discussed in an attempt to improve the still limited knowledge on Cerrado herpetofaunal assemblages.


Introduction
Amphibians and reptiles have not been treated appropriately in environmental assessments, mostly due to lack on data about natural history and basic ecological information for many species. Gaps in basic knowledge include many aspects such as diversity and geographical distribution, endemism levels, population dynamics and faunal composition (Azevedo-Ramos and Gallatti 2002).
The herpetofauna of the Cerrado region, one of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots (Mittermeier et al. 1998;Myers et al. 2000), is considered poorly known, with many areas not yet adequately studied (Strüssmann 2000;Colli et al. 2002) Despite poor knowledge, previous studies Nogueira et al. 2005) point habitat diversity as a very important determinant of faunal diversity in this region. Thus, the great habitat diversity and related ecological conditions distinguishes Cerrado from other biogeographical systems (see Colli et al. 2002).
Although still poorly studied, the herpetofauna of the Brazilian Cerrado is very rich and diverse. Colli et al. (2002) listed 113 species of amphibians (32 endemics) and 122 species of reptiles (34 endemics), although these numbers need to be updated due to the description of several new taxa (e.g. Caramaschi and Niemeyer 2003;Jorge da Silva et al. 2005;Passos et al. 2006).
Data on the species of amphibians and reptiles from the Cerrado must also include new records from several localities in the states of Goiás (Bastos et al. 2003;Jorge da Silva et al. 2005), Distrito Federal (Brandão and Araújo 1998;Brandão et al. 2005;Nogueira et al. 2005), Tocantins (Brandão and Peres 2001;Vitt et al. 2002;Vitt et al. 2005;Vaz-Silva et al. 2005a;2005b;Pavan and Dixo 2004), Mato Grosso (Strüssmann 2000), São Paulo (Brasileiro et al. 2005), and Minas Gerais (Haddad et al. 1998;Eterovick and Sazima 2004;Silveira 2006). Previous knowledge on the herpetofauna from regions near the limits between Southwestern Goiás and Northeastern Mato Grosso do Sul states, in the central portion of the Brazilian Cerrado, is scarce. To our knowledge, it is restricted to data on the amphibians and reptiles occurring in a region between the rivers Aporé and Sucuriú in Mato Grosso do Sul (Uetanabaro et al. 2006), and a list of range extensions from Southeastern Goiás, in Emas National Park region (Nogueira and Valdujo 1999;Valdujo and Nogueira 2001) and Aporé (Ribeiro et al. 2007).
The present study offers additional information on the herpetofauna from Cerrado areas in Southwestern Goiás, by providing a checklist of amphibians and reptiles from areas directly and indirectly affected by the Espora Hydroelectric Power Plant (UHE Espora). The list is based on specimens collected during faunal monitoring and rescue programs conducted at UHE Espora prior and during the flooding of the local reservoir.

Materials and Methods
The UHE Espora is located in the Corrente River, tributary of the Paranaíba River, at the municipality of Aporé (18º40'26" S, 51º52'50" W), Southwestern of the state of Goiás, Central Brazil ( Figure 1). The area is environmentally partially degraded, mostly by several years of extensive cattle ranching. Remnants of original vegetation can be classified as savanna environments (cerrado típico and cerrado denso) and forested environments (cerradão, matas de galeria, and mata ciliar), according Ribeiro and Walter (1998). Specimens were recorded in diurnal and nocturnal visual surveys, and also by captures in pit fall traps with drift fences (Fitch 1987;Cechin and Martins 2000). Twelve groups of pit falls with drift fences (5.0 x 0.5 m) were installed (ten with container of 30 liters arranged in Y form, and two with container of 100 liters arranged in linear form) in the following habitats: cerrado típico, cerrado denso, mata de galeria, and anthropic areas. The sample effort was 130 hour/researcher per field expedition and the capture rate per survey in pit fall traps ranged from 0.75 specimens/container/month (May 2005)

Results and Discussion
Thirty-two amphibian species were recorded from UHE Espora, representing two orders, seven families, and 15 genera ( Table 1). The family Hylidae was the richest taxon, corresponding to 50 % of all amphibians.
Seventy-one reptile species were recorded from UHE Espora, representing three orders, 17 families, and 51 genera ( Table 1). The family Colubridae was the richest taxon, corresponding to 52.1 % of the local richness (Table 1). Table 1. Amphibians and reptiles recorded in the region affected by Espora Hydroelectric Power Plant (municipality of Aporé, state of Goiás, Brazil). Habitat according to Ribeiro and Walter (1998): MC = mata ciliar of the Corrente River; CE = cerrado típico; AT = anthropic areas; AL = arbustive vegetation on margin of ponds and aquatic environment (vereda, brejos, and others); CD = cerrado denso; MG = mata de galeria; ? = not recorded.