MUDANÇA CLIMÁTICA, CONFIGURAÇÃO DA PAISAGEM E SEUS EFEITOS SOBRE A FENOLOGIA E BIODIVERSIDADE DE ANUROS

Abstract

The biome Cerrado is suffering constant degradation as a consequence of the ongoing advance of agricultural frontiers, which have been causing a diversity of environmental problems, in particular habitat fragmentation. The recent acceleration of the Brazilian economic development has caused impacts to the country’s natural environments on an unprecedented scale. One of the immediate consequences of these environmental impacts has been the loss of biodiversity, due to the incapacity of many species tolerate the anthropogenic environmental modifications. Climate change is an additional anthropogenic impact that has widely been discussed in recent years. Climate change affects species geographical ranges, may affect populations and may also influence the acoustic characteristics of an environment, modifying the communication among animals. The climate has a direct influence on the activity patterns of ectothermic animals, and is one of the principal determinants of the phenology and daily activity patterns of these organisms. The amphibians are one of the groups of animals most threatened by anthropogenic activities, given their accentuated vulnerability derived from their reduced mobility and inability to adapt to alterations in local conditions. As studies of amphibians tend to focus on distribution patterns, they often leave gaps of knowledge in important areas, such as reproductive phenology. Thus, amphibians provide a valuable biological model to predict the effects of anthropogenic impacts and their consequences for phenology and biodiversity in the future. Key words: Cerrado, Climate change, Amphibians, Future (2100).