Resumen

ZARATE-BETZEL, Griselda Inés et al. Camera traps as a sampling method for Paraguayan Dry Chaco birds: a comparison with auditory and visual methods. Rev. biol. trop [online]. 2019, vol.67, n.4, pp.1089-1102. ISSN 0034-7744.  http://dx.doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v67i4.34835.

Camera trap as a sampling method for Paraguayan Dry Chaco birds: a comparison with auditory and visual methods. Camera trap techniques are widely used for the study of mammals, but also enable investigation of other groups, such as birds. In order to evaluate the usefulness of camera trapping for the study of avifauna, we analyzed the records obtained from 12 camera traps installed between July 2015 and July 2016, near artificial water sources in Estancia Montania, Boquerón Department, Paraguay. Four of these sites were associated with xerophytic forests and eight with exotic pastures. The richness, composition and capture rate recorded in both ecosystems were determined. We compared the richness and composition of birds detected by camera traps with those obtained through auditory and visual methods. Through camera trapping, 74 species of birds were recorded, belonging to 30 families and 16 orders. The xerophytic forest and the exotic pasture have a 52.7 % similarity in species composition. With regard to capture rates, the most frequently recorded species were: Leptotila verreauxi (16.14 %), Ortalis canicollis (14.28 %) and Furnarius cristatus (11.39 %). The camera traps were effective in detecting 33% of the species identified in the area based on direct and auditory observation sampling techniques, and added two species not detected by direct methods. For this reason, camera trapping is appropriate to complement methods based on direct observation, particularly for monitoring hunted species of the Chaco ecosystem belonging to Tinamiform and Columbiform species. Due to the non-invasive nature of the technique, it constitutes an efficient method for addressing ethological studies of terrestrial species.

Palabras clave : camera trapping; species richness; terrestrial birds; diversity; Tinamiform.

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