Efeitos da heterogeneidade de habitat e da sazonalidade sobre a diversidade taxonômica, funcional e filogenética de assembleias de lagartos da porção oeste do Cerrado brasileiro

Abstract

Biological communities are structured by different processes (e.g. ecological, environmental or historical) that influence and shape the patterns of distribution and diversity of species, as well as the structure of communities. In savanna environments, plant heterogeneity and seasonal variation in environmental conditions are among the main factors that shape biodiversity in these regions. In the Cerrado, the largest savannah region in South America, lizard assemblages are influenced by the structure and type of habitat, and seasonal variation influences various aspects of the life history of these organisms (e.g. diet, reproduction, thermoregulation behavior). However, studies evaluating the influence of structure and habitat type, as well as seasons on the functional and phylogenetic diversity of the Cerrado lizard assemblages are still scarce. In this sense, this thesis analyzes how differences in habitat type and in the seasons influence the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of lizard assemblages in two locations in the western portion of the Brazilian Cerrado. This thesis is divided into three chapters: In the first, we analyze the influence of the type of habitat (open and forest) on the structure of lizard assemblages at the Serra das Araras Ecological Station (SAES). In the second chapter, we analyze the influence of two distinct habitats (campo sujo and seasonal semideciduous forest), the seasonal period (rainy and dry), and the interaction of these factors in the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity of lizard assemblages in Chapada Guimarães region. In the third chapter, we analyze how differences between open and forested formations influence the patterns of taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic beta-diversity of SAES lizard assemblages. In the first chapter, we found that taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic diversity differed between open and forested formations, with species richness and functional redundancy being greater in open formations, while functional diversity and divergence, and yet, phylogenetic variability were higher in forested formations. In the second chapter, phylogenetic richness differed between habitats and periods, being greater in the campo sujo and during the dry period, while the functional divergence was influenced by the interaction between habitat types and periods, being greater in the campo sujo during the rainy period. In the third chapter, we found that the composition of species, traits and lineages differed between the lizards assemblages of the open and forested formations, with the taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dissimilarities being greater in the open formations.