Lições para a Biologia da Conservação no Cerrado a partir dos Padrões de Diversidade Genética Populacional do Anfíbio Physalaemus cuvieri

The fragmentation of natural habitats has increased in the last decades. In this work, the effects of habitat fragmentation upon the genetic structure of populations of the Barker frog Physalaemus cuvieri were studied. Frogs were sampled in three naturally isolated fragments of Cerrado from Vilhena (Rondonia) and three anthropic Cerrado fragments from Brasilia (Distrito Federal). RAPD was used as molecular marker and results showed that both groups of populations were not different in their genetical distances and interpopulational or intrapopulational components of genetic diversity. However, subpopulations are fairly extensive differentiated and the genetical diversity was correlated with the fragment size for long time isolated fragments. Results suggest that small populations of Physalaemus cuvieri can have their genetic structure affected by long time fragmentation. Management of these populations is suggested to avoid anthropogenic changes in their genetic structure.