The use of camera traps is quite recent in Brazil. The high cost of equipments and constant expenses with supplies can, in some circumstances, limit the number of units to be deployed and sampling effort. The present study discusses methodological issues aiming at optimizing the use of these traps in mammalian inventories and also provides a comparison of two brands of equipments. The study was carried out in Santa Lúcia Biological Station (SLBS) in Center-north Espirito Santo state between January 2002 and November 2003, using three Wildlife Pro Camera© (WPC) units and four DeerCam© units. We realized the importance of sampling in different phitophysiognomies as they varied in mammal community. We detected a significant correlation between species richness and sampling effort in each trail, observing that 60% or more of species richness recorded in SLBS was obtained when sampling effort was > 250 camera-trap nights/trail. Nocturnal records predominated (67%) although the number of recorded species was similar between night and day. When camera traps were set in pairs, only 27% of records were simultaneous. The tested units showed significant differences in durability and efficiency, both within and between brands.
Atlantic forest; inventories; mammalogy; methods; trapping
