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Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Occurrence and Abundance of the Freshwater Turtles in Water Bodies of a Peri-Urban Area in the Midwestern Brazil: Spatial and Temporal Variation in a Freshwater Turtle Assemblage

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  • Elizângela Silva de Brito,
  • NICOLLE PRADO,
  • KLYSMAN ALMEIDA,
  • LUCIANA VALÉRIO,
  • Christine Strüssmann,
  • Tainá Dorado-Rodrigues
Elizângela Silva de Brito
Programa de Capacitação Institucional, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi/ Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas do Pantanal
NICOLLE PRADO
Programa de Pós-graduação em Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul, Av. Costa e Silva 8000, 79070-900 Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-17006

Published 2025-08-21

Keywords

  • Chelidae,
  • urban ecology,
  • Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei,
  • Phrynops geoffroanus

How to Cite

Silva de Brito, E., B. F. PRADO, N., F. F. ALMEIDA, K., M. VALÉRIO, L., Strüssmann, C., & F. Dorado-Rodrigues, T. (2025). Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Occurrence and Abundance of the Freshwater Turtles in Water Bodies of a Peri-Urban Area in the Midwestern Brazil: Spatial and Temporal Variation in a Freshwater Turtle Assemblage. Acta Herpetologica. https://doi.org/10.36253/a_h-17006

Copyright (c) 2025 Elizângela Silva de Brito, NICOLLE PRADO, KLYSMAN ALMEIDA, LUCIANA VALÉRIO, Christine Strüssmann, Tainá Dorado-Rodrigues

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

In this study we evaluated spatial and temporal variations in the occurrence and abundance of freshwater turtles in four water bodies located in the headwaters of a stream in the peri-urban area of Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Midwestern Brazil. Over the 38 months sampled between 2014 and 2017, we captured 94 individuals: 73 of Phrynops geoffroanus, 19 of Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei, and two of Trachemys dorbigni. The probability of detecting individuals of Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei increased with the occurrence of rainfall, while for Phrynops geoffroanus probability increased with increasing temperature. The abundance of both species varied between water body types, with Phrynops geoffroanus being more abundant in larger water bodies only in the first year of sampling. The abundance of both species was highest during the rainy season between November and March. Despite the syntopic occurrence of Phrynops geoffroanus and Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei, the occurrence of the former influenced the occurrence and abundance of the latter species, thus presenting different patterns over time and space.

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