Habitat degradation in the Chaco has been intense and widespread since European
settlement. Detailed knowledge about its effects on the Chaco fauna is scarce despite the
critical importance of such information for biodiversity conservation. The effects of habitat
degradation on the Arid Chaco lizard assemblage were evaluated by comparing species
richness and abundance in four sites along a gradient of increasing vegetation degradation.
Two undisturbed sites (primary forest and grassland), and two sites with different degrees of …