Diversidad de las comunidades de escamados en la Reserva Natural del Iberá, Corrientes, Argentina

Abstract

The Iberá Nature Reserve has one of the most important wetlands in South America. This system is currently facing various threats to its preservation as a result of human activities. In this work we compare the diversity and complementarity - beta diversity - of the squamates fauna in relation to plant communities representative of 2 localities: Paraje Galarza and Colonia Pellegrini on the eastern edge of the Nature Reserve of Iberá, Corrientes province, Argentina. Using the method of sampling by quadrants, we recorded 33 species of squamates between 2007 and 2008, representing 53% and 38% of known species for the reserve and Corrientes province, respectively. Species richness and species diversity were higher in Colonia Pellegrini (S= 29 and 21.26 effective species) than paraje Galarza (S= 22 and 15.76 effective species). The complementarity of species among sites was about 45%. The grasslands were notable for their high species richness, diversity and high number of unique species. The wetlands, marshes and forests, had the highest values of complementarity, reflecting the specificity of their species. Our results demonstrated the importance of the different native environments for conservation of squamates and provide useful information for the management and conservation of the Iberá Natural Reserve.