RESUMO No presente estudo é apresentado o registro da ocorrência de Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger 1815) em uma área de campo úmido adjacente a faixa de mata ciliar do rio Ibicuí, estado do Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. A espécie foi encontrada através do uso de armadilhas fotográficas e da procura de vestígios em transecções pré-estabelecidas na área, como parte de um programa de monitoramento ambiental de um projeto silvicultural.

ABSTRACT The present study presents the record of occurrence of Chrysocyon brachyurus (Illiger, 1815) in an area of wet grasslands which is adjacent to the riparian forest along Ibicui river, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil. The species was found through the use of camera traps and search of vestiges in pre-established transections in the area, as part of an environmental monitoring program of a forestation project.

The abundance of soil microarthropods from seven fragments of Araucaria Forest, Muitos Capões, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, was compared. The size of the fragments ranged from 0.25 ha to 35 ha, the two largest fragments are situated within the Aracuri Ecological Station and the remaining five are situated in a cattle ranching farm. In June 2000, three plots (10 m x 10 m) were established in the central area of each patch, and three soil cores (7 cm diameter x 6 cm deep) were taken per plot. The abundance of microarthropods in the upper six centimeters (soil + litter) varied between 63209 and 102704 ind.m-2, with oribatid mites (Acari, Cryptostigmata) being dominant in all fragments (between 46.9 % and 61.3 % of total individuals). Most microarthropod groups presented a decrease in abundance with decreasing fragment area, with a statistically significant difference between smaller and larger fragments. The proportion of oribatids also decreased with decreasing fragment area. The results suggest that the growing fragmentation process of Araucaria forests in southern Brazil, associated to a tendency for reducing the size of remnant fragments, can affect the abundance of soil microarthropods, and therefore, the quality and health of this ecosystem.