Geographic location map of the study area showing the municipality of Rio das Ostras on the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. To the right, a view of APA Iriry, numbers 1 to 3 indicate the different characteristics of the study area (1 = proximity to urbanisation and recreation areas, with the presence of many exotic plant species; 2 = a strip of vegetation under a sandy stream flowing between a lagoon and the beach region and 3 = a higher concentration of shrubs and trees, with few open areas.