Table 3. Advantages (pros) and disadvantages (cons) of random and game trail-based camera trap placement strategies in relation to different types of survey aims, based on a comparison carried out in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania.

Placement strategy	Community richness and composition		Species presence/Occupancy		Space/Habitat use
	Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons	Pros	Cons
Random	Detection of species that never use trails	Slower to detect many species so greater effort needed to capture full community	More likely to detect species that never use trails	Less likely to detect larger-bodied and carnivore species	More landscape features sampled	May need more sampling effort to obtain adequate sample size
		Fewer species detected when dense vegetation			More accurate characterisation of species preferences across the wider landscape
Game trail-based	Detection of most species more rapidly	Non-detection of species that never use trails	More likely to detect larger-bodied and carnivore species	Less likely to detect species that never use trails	Larger sample size for many species (particularly larger-bodied and carnivore species)	Inferences will be restricted to trails
			More likely to detect species when vegetation is dense