Birds of the north coast of Santa Catarina

Abstract

Coastal regions are directly impacted by human development, resulting in disorderly land use and occupation. This work seeks to present the composition of the avifauna of the northern coast of Santa Catarina, in a period prior to the occupation of the region, contributing with basic information aimed at planning actions by public agents. Non-systematic surveys were carried out seeking to explore all environments in the cities of Itapema and Porto Belo. The first observations began in October 1987, with the last listing carried out in November 2015. In the field, the birds were identified by visual and auditory methods in the morning. Endemic species, those of conservation interest, those dependent on forest environments and trophic guilds were identified. With a sampling effort of 90 hours in the field, 153 species were identified. Worthy of note are Nyctibius griseus (Gmelin, 1789), recorded in the mangroves of the Perequê River, and Cantorchilus longirostris (Vieillot, 1819), a species associated with coastal environments. Forest birds total 85 species (58%), such as Pyriglena leucoptera (Vieillot, 1818) which inhabits the lowest strata of the forest. We recorded 27 endemic species, such as Phylloscartes kronei (Willis & Oniki, 1992), vulnerable at a global level. The data indicate the need for adequate planning of land use and occupation on the coast. The creation and expansion of Conservation Units protecting forest remnants, in addition to the creation of ecological corridors, are integrated strategies that can minimize the negative effects of environmental degradation and promote the conservation of all biodiversity.