Environmental Perception and Uses of Herpetofauna by Communities Surrounding the Environmental Protection Area of Jenipabu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Authors

  • Lucas da Silva Xavier UFRN
  • Raul Fernandes Dantas Sales Doutor em Psicobiologia (Comportamento Animal) UFRN
  • Eliza Maria Xavier Freire Docente do Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia/UFRN.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.1981-1268.2024v18n1.70928

Abstract

Reptiles are animals of great ecological and cultural importance, but they often elicit aversion and fear in people, promoting conflicting relationships. This study aims to identify the environmental perception of reptiles by inhabitants of local communities surrounding a protected area, the Jenipabu Environmental Protection Area (APAJ), located in Rio Grande do Norte (RN). Semi-structured interviews were conducted in four local communities surrounding the APAJ. The results showed that the inhabitants are familiar with the species that have a greater distribution or are well adapted to the urban environment, but they do not know the Coleodactylus natalensis lizard, an endemic species of the Atlantic Forest of RN. This study also showed that ethnobiological data can be important to identify the level of knowledge about a threatened endemic species, as well as to record the level of aversion to reptiles in a community.

 

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Author Biographies

Raul Fernandes Dantas Sales, Doutor em Psicobiologia (Comportamento Animal) UFRN

Bachelor of Biological Sciences from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN (2010), Master (2013), and PhD (2018) in Psychobiology (Animal Behavior) also from UFRN. Biologist registered with the Regional Council of Biology (5th Region) since 2012. He was an assistant professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte - UFRN (Department of Botany and Zoology) from 2013 to 2014. He has experience in teaching in the field of Zoology and experience in field and laboratory research, mainly working on studies of composition and diversity of fauna in northeastern ecosystems, behavioral ecology and eco-physiology of herpetofauna, and technical field studies involving fauna inventory, monitoring, and rescue. Currently, he is a fellow of the National Postdoctoral Program - PNPD/CAPES and a collaborating professor in the Graduate Program in Development and Environment (PRODEMA) at UFRN.

Eliza Maria Xavier Freire, Docente do Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia/UFRN.

Full Professor at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN); PhD in Biological Sciences/Zoology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - National Museum; Master in Biological Sciences/Zoology from the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB); Biologist from UFRN. She performs Teaching, Research, and Extension activities in both Undergraduate and Graduate programs at UFRN, serving as a permanent Professor in the Graduate Programs in Development and Environment - PRODEMA (Master's and PhD Program in Network; CAPES rating 5) and Systematics and Evolution (CAPES rating 5). Her expertise lies in Systematics, Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation of Squamata reptiles in the Brazilian Semi-arid and Atlantic Forest, as well as in multidisciplinary research/Environmental Sciences aimed at the sustainability of these biomes. She is the leader of the Research Group/CNPq - Systematics, Ecology, and Conservation of Biodiversity of Northeastern Ecosystems. She coordinates/coordinated Institutional Research/Development Projects funded by National and International Agencies, including: Subprojects Reptiles in the PELD/Caatinga (2002-2011) and in two editions of the PPBio Semi-arid Network, 2009-2012 and 2012-2016 (MCT/CNPq Proc. Nºs 558317/2009-0 and 457463/2012-0); participated in the INNOVATE Project, a binational Brazil-Germany Network Project, 2012-2016 (BBF-Germany and MCT-Brazil). She is a member of the Board of Curators of Scientific Biological Collections and Curator of the Herpetological Collection of UFRN. She was Executive Coordinator of the Technical Advisory Group (GAT) of the National Action Plan (PAN) for the threatened Herpetofauna of the Northeastern Atlantic Forest (Ordinance Nº 272/2013 MMA/ICMBio), 2013-2018. She led the group of professors who facilitated UFRN's integration into the PRODEMA Network (Graduate Program in Development and Environment, composed of seven public universities in the Northeast) and was the first Coordinator of PRODEMA/UFRN, from 2004-2008; coordinated this program and the PhD from 2010-2014. She was the General Coordinator of the PRODEMA Network PhD program from 2014-2017; coordinated the local PhD program (UFRN) of the PRODEMA Network from 2014 to 2018. She was a permanent member of the University Superior Council (CONSUNI), 2005-2009 and 2014-2018.

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Published

2025-04-16

How to Cite

DA SILVA XAVIER, Lucas; FERNANDES DANTAS SALES, Raul; MARIA XAVIER FREIRE, Eliza. Environmental Perception and Uses of Herpetofauna by Communities Surrounding the Environmental Protection Area of Jenipabu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Gaia Scientia, [S. l.], v. 18, n. 1, p. 51–63, 2025. DOI: 10.22478/ufpb.1981-1268.2024v18n1.70928. Disponível em: https://periodicos.ufpb.br/index.php/gaia/article/view/70928. Acesso em: 5 nov. 2026.

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 1 (2024): Gaia Scientia

Section

Ciências Ambientais