ECOLOGY AND LOCAL ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE THREATENED LEAF LIZARD, Coleodactylus natalensis FREIRE, 1999, IN A PROTECTED AREA OF THE BRAZILIAN NORTHERN ATLANTIC FOREST
Local knowledge; urban parks; cryptic species; ethnoherpetology
In an urban city park, which houses a remnant of the northern Brazilian Atlantic Forest, the local ecological knowledge (LEK) of employees about the reptile fauna was investigated. In addition to identifying which ecological knowledge these workers have about small cryptic species, such as Coleodactylus natalensis, an endangered species and endemic to these fragments of the Potiguar Atlantic Forest. 39 employees from different sectors of the Park were interviewed. Among the results, it was possible to identify that the employees had specific knowledge about the local flora, and that they saw the park's importance for the conservation of the species. Employees with longer working hours in the park have a higher LEK C. natalensis and, considering that C. natalensis is a very small, cryptic species that has no cultural or utilitarian value for employees, it is of great relevance these results, as it is not the pattern often observed in studies of local ecological knowledge. This work also highlights the threats to which urban parks are submitted, making clear the differences between these and rural parks, and does not show any evidence that ascendancy in rural areas influences the LEK of natural areas of urban environments.