História natural de dois furnarídeos (Aves: Furnariidae) endêmicos dos campos rupestres da porção sul da Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais

Abstract

This work is the result of a study carried out with two furnarid taxa (Aves:Furnariidae) that currently occur restrictedly at the tops of the southern portion of the Espinhaço, in the state of Minas Gerais. These taxa are biogeographic relics, living fossils, which tell about an ancient biota connection that today is isolated in the high altitudes of the Southern thornback and related species distributed in the Andes, Patagonia and Chaco. The first chapter consists of the description of one of these taxa, sister of Cinclodes pabsti (endemic to Serra Geral, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina). The new species was discovered in some mountains in the vicinity of Serra do Cipó, southern portion of the Espinhaço Range in state of Minas Gerais, located approximately 1140 km from the most distant town of Cinclodes pabsti. In this chapter we present morphological and genetic characters, as well as differences vocals, which corroborate our proposal. The divergence between these two species of Cinclodes Brazil was estimated to have occurred around 220,000 years ago (Pleistocene period). The chapter two consists of a study with two populations of the joão cipó Asthenes luizae (Aves: Furnariidae), a bird threatened with extinction, has a restricted distribution along rocky outcrops on the mountain heights of the southern portion of the Espinhaço Range. The individuals were monitored with radio transmitters between March 2009 and November 2011, in two areas in Serra do Cipó. We count the number of adult individuals with established territories, we provide data on sex ratio, mortality, nestling dispersal movements, site fidelity, home range, territoriality, singing behavior and habitat use. O Knowledge of the spatial ecology of the species is important because its population has a dynamic of metapopulations in a threatened and naturally fragmented environment.