SPECIES RICHNESS AND VARIATION IN THE COMMUNITY COMPOSITION OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN FOUR SITES OF THE DAHOMEY GAP IN BENIN, WEST AFRICA

Abstract

In order to analyze the community composition of herpetofauna in the Dahomey Gap area in West Africa, we studied the amphibians and reptiles of distinct sites in Benin. Our aims were to highlight whether these communities are homogeneous (as can be predicted by the fact that the Dahomey Gap is a relatively homogeneous vegetation zone) or whether there are remarkable site-specific differences. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that there should be significant differences in community composition between savannah and the open forest remnants or gallery forests along the riverine sites, by applying a Visual Encounter Survey protocol. We found that the herpetological species were typically those of the West African savannahs, with no species belonging to another ecosystem different from the Guinean and Sudanian savannahs. Anthropophilic species were also frequently observed. Our study also documented that the community composition may vary considerably in terms of species richness by site within the Dahomey Gap main habitats, whereas the bulk of the communities of both taxa remain the same.