title: Fauna used by rural communities surrounding the protected area of Chapada do Araripe, Brazil.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Studies on the inter-relations between people and animals have been considered essential to better understand the dynamics of socio-ecological systems. This study aimed to register the animal species known by the communities adjacent to National Forest of Araripe, their uses and if the close relationship affects the knowledge of useful species.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data collection was conducted through a semi-structured inquiry form, free listings and guided tour. The study included 246 people from two community groups: group 1 (n = 113; <2 km from FLONA) and group 2 (n = 133; ≥ 2 km).
  
  
  RESULTS
  According to the free listing, group 1 communities know more animal species (11.50 ± 5.81) than group 2 (9.41 ± 3.70), with a significant difference in knowledge between the groups. Men and women showed no significant difference in knowledge about animal species. The men from group 1 know, significantly, more species than men from group 2; but this difference was not observed in women from both groups. In the analysis of the Use Value (UV), Mazama gouazoubira showed a higher UV, both in group 1 (1.15) and group 2 (1.49). The guided tour identified the presence of 11 species, common in the vegetation of Forested Savannah (Cerradão) and in the transition Rainforest/Savannah (Cerrado).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate M. gouazoubira as the most known and used species in this Protected Area, showing that species of interest to the local communities are worthy of conservation attention.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Curso de Doutorado em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, Laboratório de Herpetologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte/UFRN, Natal, RN, CEP59078-900, Brasil. kallynebonifacio@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Kallyne Machado
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bonifácio
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz/UESC, Km 16 Rodovia Ilhéus-Itabuna, Ilhéus, BA, CEP45662-000, Brasil.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schiavetti
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biociências, Departamento de Botânica e Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte/UFRN, Natal, RN, CEP59078-900, Brasil.
authors.forename: Eliza Maria Xavier
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Freire
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001938:Brazil; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D017753:Ecosystem; D005260:Female; D065928:Forests; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
keywords: Intracultural variation of knowledge; National Forest; Wild animals