This study describes the richness and capture rates of lizards in forested and pasture areas at a locality in Rondônia (southwestern Amazon) utilizing three sampling methods: pitfall trap with drift fences, nocturnal time-constrained search and incidental finding. In all, 29 species belonging to nine families was recorded. Most species were found in forested area, whilst only eight species in pasture area. Most species were collected with pitfall trap (22), followed by incidental finding (16), and nocturnal search (9). The collecting curve gathering the three methods used showed that after the eighth month of sampling no new species could be added. This data suggests that the community was well sampled. The fact that some species were collect just by one of collecting method indicates the adequacy of using two or more methods for sampling communities. Higher species richness was recorded in forested areas compared with pastures. Such reduction is species number is due to the removing of plant covering and its consequences, the increasing predation rate, competition, food reduction, losses of sheltering and breeding, and limited thermoregulatory capacity.
Reptilia; Lacertilia; species richness; sampling methods
