abstract We surveyed Grande sertão Veredas national Park in the cerrado of central brazil to evaluate the distribution and abundance of the broad-snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) and cuvier’s smooth-fronted caiman (Paleosuchus palpebrosus) populations in the park. We conducted nocturnal spotlight surveys at 35 different sites in 2009 and 2010, and found differences in habitat use and distribution between the two species: Caiman latirostris was more common in oxbow lakes associated with the low valleys of large rivers, while P. palpebrosus was typically found in swift-flowing headwater streams or in their associated dams. We conducted additional spotlight sampling in 2011 at 40 selected oxbow lakes which revealed low site occupancy and small population sizes for C. latirostris, while intensive trapping for P. palpebrosus in a 3.5 km section of a selected headwater stream suggests that the species may be more common than it appears at first sight, based on conventional spotlight sampling. a sample of captured C. latirostris was dominated by hatchlings and juveniles, in contrast to P. palpebrosus, which had proportionally more adults in the sample, but these differences were not statistically significant. further studies are needed to better elucidate the conservation status of caiman populations in the park and factors affecting their abundance and distribution. Key Words.—Broad-snouted Caiman; Cerrado; Cuvier’s Smooth-fronted Caiman; habitat use; population structure; reptiles |