Atributos funcionais das serpentes da Bacia do Alto Paraguai

Abstract

Ecological studies address different metrics to estimate biodiversity, with taxonomic and phylogenetic approaches being the most widely used. However, there is still a significant lack of knowledge about the functional diversity of species (Raunkiæran shortfall). Compiling and exploring data on the functional traits of species is of paramount importance to fill this gap. The Paraguay River Basin (PRB) is composed of several transition regions between ecoregions and, because of this, presents a great diversity of species. In the present research we provide an updated list of snake species in the PRB and compile data on functional traits of these species from the scientific literature. We compiled 23 traits into 19 categories. We recorded 153 species of snakes that occur in the Paraguay River Basin. We observed that foraging data and traits related to reproductive biology have more gaps, while activity, maximum size, mass, reproduction, dentition, habit, habitat, diet, morphology, pupil shape, and coloration were the best represented categories. The lack of basic information for snakes demonstrates a need to conduct studies on the natural history of these animals. This study will form the basis for further research on the functional diversity of PRB snakes.