Activities involving fauna monitoring are usually limited by the lack of resources; therefore, the choice of a proper and efficient methodology is fundamental to maximize the cost-benefit ratio. Both direct and indirect methods can be used to survey mammals, but the latter are preferred due to the difficulty to come in sight of and/or to capture the individuals, besides being cheaper. We compared the performance of two methods to survey medium and large-sized mammal: track plot recording and camera trapping, and their costs were assessed. At Jataí Ecological Station (S21°31'15"-W47°34'42"-Brazil) we installed ten camera traps along a dirt road directly in front of ten track plots, and monitored them for 10 days. We cleaned the plots, adjusted the cameras, and noted down the recorded species daily. Records taken by both methods showed they sample the local richness in different ways (Wilcoxon, T= 231; p;;0.01). The track plot method performed better on registering individuals whereas camera trapping provided records which permitted more accurate species identification. The type of infra-red sensor camera used showed a strong bias towards individual body mass (R 2 =0.70; p= 0.017), and the variable expenses of this method in a 10-day survey were estimated about 2.04 times higher compared to track plot method; however, in a long run camera trapping becomes cheaper than track plot recording. Concluding, track plot recording is good enough for quick surveys under a limited budget, and camera trapping is best for precise species identification and the investigation of species details, performing better for large animals. When used together, these methods can be complementary.

São Paulo is the most developed state in Brazil and little of its native vegetation remains. In Luiz Antonio and Santa Rita do Passa Quatro municipalities, only small fragments of cerrado (Brazilian savanna) physiognomies (cerradão, cerrado sensu stricto) and of semideciduous forest have been left, surrounded by eucalyptus silviculture and sugar-cane agriculture. However, that vegetation mosaic still shelters large mammals, including several carnivore species. To detect the carnivores present in such a mosaic area (50,000 ha), and to Wnd out how they use the landscape, we recorded them through 21 camera traps and 21 track plots, during 18 months. Species richness, diversity and relative frequency were evaluated according to the habitat. Ten species were recorded, some of them locally threatened to extinction (Puma concolor, Leopardus pardalis, Chrysocyon brachyurus). Species diversity did not signiWcantly diVer among fragments, and although most species preferred one or another habitat, the carnivore community as a whole explored all the study area regardless of the vegetation cover; eucalyptus plantations were as used by the carnivores as the native fragments. Therefore, it seems possible to maintain such animals in agricultural landscapes, where some large native fragments are left and the matrix is permeable to native fauna.

São Paulo is the most developed state in Brazil and contains few fragments of native ecosystems, generally surrounded by intensive agriculture lands. Despite this, some areas still shelter large native animals. We aimed at understanding how medium and large carnivores use a mosaic landscape of forest/savanna and agroecosystems, and how the species respond to different landscape parameters (percentage of landcover and edge density), in a multi-scale perspective. The response variables were: species richness, carnivore frequency and frequency for the three most recorded species (Puma concolor, Chrysocyon brachyurus and Leopardus pardalis). We compared 11 competing models using Akaike's information criterion (AIC) and assessed model support using weight of AIC. Concurrent models were combinations of landcover types (native vegetation, "cerrado" formations, "cerradão" and eucalypt plantation), landscape feature (percentage of landcover and edge density) and spatial scale. Herein, spatial scale refers to the radius around a sampling point defining a circular landscape. The scales analyzed were 250 (fine), 1,000 (medium) and 2,000 m (coarse). The shape of curves for response variables (linear, exponential and power) was also assessed. Our results indicate that species with high mobility, P. concolor and C. brachyurus, were best explained by edge density of the native vegetation at a coarse scale (2,000 m). The relationship between P. concolor and C.brachyurus frequency had a negative power-shaped response to explanatory variables. This general trend was also observed for species richness and carnivore frequency. Species richness and P. concolor frequency were also well explained by a second concurrent model: edge density of cerradão at the fine (250 m) scale. A different response was recorded for L. pardalis, as the frequency was best explained for the amount of cerradão at the fine (250 m) scale. The curve of response was linearly positive. The contrasting results (P. concolor and C. brachyurus vs L. pardalis) may be due to the much higher mobility of the two first species, in comparison with the third. Still, L. pardalis requires habitat with higher quality when compared with other two species. This study highlights the importance of considering multiple spatial scales when evaluating species responses to different habitats. An important and new finding was the prevalence of edge density over the habitat extension to explain overall carnivore distribution, a key information for planning and management of protected areas.

© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionPatterns of wildlife distribution and abundance have suffered alterations worldwide due to human occupation and related activities (Tilman et al. 2001). The agriculture expansion has replaced the original vegetation and fragmented primary environments, thus affecting wildlife patterns of habitat use (Goodwin & Fahrig 2002, Fahrig 2003. However, studies in agricultural landscapes have shown the use of man-made habitats by the wildlife, such as coffee plantations in Mexico (Moguel & Toledo 1999), banana and coconut plantations in Costa Rica (Harvey et al. 2006, Harvey & González Villalobos 2007, cocoa and Eucalyptus plantations in Brazil (Faria et al. 2006, Lyra-Jorge et al. 2008) and subsistence agriculture in Nepal (Acharya 2006). A great spatial heterogeneity due to different strata and structural complexity exists in native forests, which results in a significant β-diversity (Moffett 2000, Parker & Brown 2000. In an agricultural landscape, a considerable loss of biodiversity occurs where monocultures are spatially more homogenous. However, the environment of Eucalyptus plantations varies dramatically along their commercial cycle. At the first stage, it assumes a bushy structure that later evolves into a forest, which is totally clear-cut at the end of 6-7 years (Turnbull 1995, Wagner et al. 2006. Therefore, these artificial forests present great temporal heterogeneity which may affect patterns of abundance and distribution of resident wildlife, not only for small mammals (Martin et al. 2012), but also for their predators (Verdade et al. 2011). In fact, recent studies show these forests are capable of maintaining a resident wildlife (Penteado 2006, Lyra-Jorge et al. 2008, Dotta & Verdade 2011, Martin et al. 2012). This study aims at assessing the temporal variation of the specific composition and relative abundance of middle to large-sized mammal species found in Eucalyptus plantations in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern Brazil.Eucalyptus plantations currently occupy over one million hectares in São Paulo, the richest and most developed state in Brazil. Their main commodities are the pulp and paper (ABRAF 2013). Together with livestock production, the ethanol agroindustry primarily based on sugarcane and the pulp and paper silvicultural industry primarily based on Eucalyptus are the main agroindustrial sectors of São Paulo state. However, unlike the other two agroindustrial sectors, pulp and paper industries follow Brazilian environmental laws relatively well, due to market pressure posed by certification organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC -Verdade et al. 2012). Accordingly, the assessment of the distribution of middle to large-sized mammals in Eucalyptus plantations may give significant advances to both the environmental certification process of this sector and the elaboration of public policies which can result in the inclusion of such landscapes in the context of wildlife conservation. Materials and Methods Study AreaThis study was...