Vertebrados da Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins: faunística, biodiversidade e conservação no Cerrado brasileiro

Abstract

Basic taxonomic and distributional data on vertebrates are one of the most useful and reliable sources of information for conservation planning. Biological data are even more relevant in rich and highly threatened regions such as the Brazilian Cerrado, one of the least studied global biodiversity hotspots. Herein we provide a summary of the results of a vertebrate survey at Estação Ecológica Serra Geral do Tocantins (~716.000 ha), the second largest protected area in the Cerrado region. We recorded 450 species in EESGT and surroundings, including 17 threatened species, 50 Cerrado endemics and 11 potential restricted-range species. Our results also added 180 new vertebrate records for the Jalapão region. At least 12 species were considered potential undescribed taxa; four of these were recently described based on specimens obtained in the present study. Our results indicate that EESGT is among the most biologically relevant protected areas in the Cerrado. Proper management will favor the persistence of threatened vertebrates dependent on the last remaining large blocks of pristine Cerrado savannas. Moreover, EESGT and its major biological subunits contribute decisively to the representativeness of the reserve system in the Cerrado, conserving presumed narrow endemics with high intrinsic vulnerability and high potential value as indicators of biogeographic processes of diversification in rich and complex Neotropical biotas.