Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region
The choice of sampling methods is a crucial step in every field survey in herpetology. In countries where time and financial support are limited, the choice of the methods is critical. The methods used to sample snakes often lack objective criteria, and the traditional methods have apparently been m...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Academia Brasileira de Ciências
2013-09-01
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| Series: | Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652013000301127&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1819051394443771904 |
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| author | Paulo C.M.D. Mesquita Daniel C. Passos Sonia Z. Cechin |
| author_facet | Paulo C.M.D. Mesquita Daniel C. Passos Sonia Z. Cechin |
| author_sort | Paulo C.M.D. Mesquita |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The choice of sampling methods is a crucial step in every field survey in herpetology. In countries where time and financial support are limited, the choice of the methods is critical. The methods used to sample snakes often lack objective criteria, and the traditional methods have apparently been more important when making the choice. Consequently researches using not-standardized methods are frequently found in the literature. We have compared four commonly used methods for sampling snake assemblages in a semiarid area in Brazil. We compared the efficacy of each method based on the cost-benefit regarding the number of individuals and species captured, time, and financial investment. We found that pitfall traps were the less effective method in all aspects that were evaluated and it was not complementary to the other methods in terms of abundance of species and assemblage structure. We conclude that methods can only be considered complementary if they are standardized to the objectives of the study. The use of pitfall traps in short-term surveys of the snake fauna in areas with shrubby vegetation and stony soil is not recommended. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:03:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d3fe3705013a43a6969c5a320cdf5182 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1678-2690 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T12:03:15Z |
| publishDate | 2013-09-01 |
| publisher | Academia Brasileira de Ciências |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências |
| spelling | doaj.art-d3fe3705013a43a6969c5a320cdf51822022-12-21T19:04:47ZengAcademia Brasileira de CiênciasAnais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências1678-26902013-09-018531127113910.1590/S0001-37652013005000040S0001-37652013000301127Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid regionPaulo C.M.D. MesquitaDaniel C. PassosSonia Z. CechinThe choice of sampling methods is a crucial step in every field survey in herpetology. In countries where time and financial support are limited, the choice of the methods is critical. The methods used to sample snakes often lack objective criteria, and the traditional methods have apparently been more important when making the choice. Consequently researches using not-standardized methods are frequently found in the literature. We have compared four commonly used methods for sampling snake assemblages in a semiarid area in Brazil. We compared the efficacy of each method based on the cost-benefit regarding the number of individuals and species captured, time, and financial investment. We found that pitfall traps were the less effective method in all aspects that were evaluated and it was not complementary to the other methods in terms of abundance of species and assemblage structure. We conclude that methods can only be considered complementary if they are standardized to the objectives of the study. The use of pitfall traps in short-term surveys of the snake fauna in areas with shrubby vegetation and stony soil is not recommended.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652013000301127&lng=en&tlng=enCaatingacomparacaoarmadilhas pitfallSquamatatecnicas |
| spellingShingle | Paulo C.M.D. Mesquita Daniel C. Passos Sonia Z. Cechin Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências Caatinga comparacao armadilhas pitfall Squamata tecnicas |
| title | Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region |
| title_full | Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region |
| title_fullStr | Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region |
| title_short | Efficiency of snake sampling methods in the Brazilian semiarid region |
| title_sort | efficiency of snake sampling methods in the brazilian semiarid region |
| topic | Caatinga comparacao armadilhas pitfall Squamata tecnicas |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0001-37652013000301127&lng=en&tlng=en |
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