Relaciones espaciales y alimenticias del ensamblaje de reptiles del complejo cenagoso de Zapatosa, departamento del Cesar (Colombia)

Abstract

To find environmental factors that favors richness and abundance of species and groups of reptiles, his preference for microhabitats, species diet and differences between habitats in parameters such as size of individuals, level of detection and proportion of predation, we made four field trip in surrounding areas of the Zapatosa's wetland complex, between November of 2006 and October of 2007, embracing both the rainy and the dry season Habitats with significant differences between environmental and structural variables were riparian forest, palm-grove, tree-lined savanna and chasmophyte forest; riparian forest and dry forest were not different. The slope of the land and degree of human intervention were variables more related to species abundance. By increasing the slope and human intervention, the richness and abundance of reptiles in general and snakes and lizards decreased; with the increase of environmental temperature average, abundance of reptiles decreased. With increasing herbaceous cover and decreased tree diameter, the richness of snakes and lizards decreased. The body size of the reptiles was not different between habitats, although small sizes predominated in all. Snakes had lower detection values those lizards. Riparian forest had the highest detection values. A fifth of all lizards showed some sign of predation and was higher in the palm-grove. Terrestrial reptiles were the richest and most abundant in the study. Lizards had the highest amplitude in the habitat use and microhabitat, while snakes Helicops danieli and Leptodeira septentrionalis and lizards Anolis gaigei, Gonatodes albogularis y Cnemidophorus lemniscatus in the food use. Lizards exhibit greater overlap in the use of resources.