RESUMEN Las cámaras trampa constituyen una herramienta de gran utilidad para el estudio de vertebrados terrestres. Con el objetivo de evaluar la utilidad del fototrampeo para el estudio de la avifauna, se analizaron los registros obtenidos, entre julio 2015 y julio 2016, por cámaras trampa instaladas en 12 puntos con aguadas artificiales de la Estancia Montania, departamento de Boquerón, Paraguay. Se determinó la riqueza, composición y tasa de captura registrada en bosques xerofíticos y pasturas exóticas. Se comparó la riqueza y composición de aves detectada mediante cámaras trampa con la obtenida a través de listas Mackinnon. Mediante fototrampeo, fueron registradas 74 especies, pertenecientes a 30 familias y 16 órdenes. El bosque xerofítico y la pastura exótica poseen un 52.7 % de similitud en cuanto a la composición de las especies. Las especies registradas con mayor frecuencia fueron: Leptotila verreauxi (16.14 %), Ortalis canicollis (14.28 %) y Furnarius cristatus (11.39 %). Las cámaras trampa resultaron efectivas para el registro del 33 % de las especies identificadas a través de listas Mackinnon, y adicionaron dos especies. Por ello, resultan apropiadas para complementar métodos basados en la observación directa, particularmente para el registro de especies cinegéticas del ecosistema chaqueño pertenecientes a los órdenes Tinamiformes y Columbiformes.
Abstract 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.
