Consumption of crops by feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a fragmented agricultural landscape

2015 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Gentle ◽  
James Speed ◽  
Darren Marshall
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Economic Losses ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Crop Species ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Feral Pig

Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) consume and damage crops and impact the environment through predation, competition and habitat disturbance, although supporting dietary data are lacking in agricultural landscapes. This study was undertaken to determine the relative importance of food items in the diet of feral pigs in a fragmented agricultural landscape, particularly to assist in predicting the breadth of likely impacts. Diet composition was assessed from the stomach contents of 196 feral pigs from agricultural properties in southern Queensland. Feral pigs were herbivorous, with plant matter comprising >99% of biomass consumed. Crops were consumed more frequently than non-crop species, and comprised >60% of dietary biomass, indicating a clear potential for direct economic losses. Consumption of pasture and forage species also suggests potential competition for pasture with domestic stock. There is little evidence of direct predation on native fauna, but feral pig feeding activities may impact environmental values. Seasonal differences in consumption of crop, pasture or animal food groups probably reflect the changing availability of food items. We recommend that future dietary studies examine food availability to determine any dietary preferences to assist in determining the foods most susceptible to damage. The outcomes of this study are important for developing techniques for monitoring the impacts of feral pigs, essential for developing management options to reduce feral pig damage on agricultural lands.

Observations on effects of feral pig (Sus scrofa) age and sex on diet

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Wishart ◽  
Steven Lapidge ◽  
Michael Braysher ◽  
Stephen D. Sarre ◽  
Jim Hone
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
New South ◽  
Food Material ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Wildlife Species ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Slow Moving ◽  
Pig Management ◽  
Age And Sex ◽  
Feral Pig

Context Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are a destructive invasive species that cause damage to ecologically sensitive areas. Management of biodiversity and of feral pigs assumes the diet of pigs of different ages and sexes are similar. Aims We aimed to investigate effects of feral pig age and sex on broad feral pig diet to identify potential at-risk native wildlife species so as to improve biodiversity and feral pig management. Methods Diet was determined by macroscopic analysis of the stomach content of 58 aerially shot feral pigs of mixed ages and sexes. The study occurred in the Macquarie Marshes, New South Wales, a Ramsar wetland of international significance. Results Feral pigs were largely herbivorous, with vegetable matter being found in all stomachs and contributing to a majority of the food material that was present in each stomach, by volume. Adult feral pigs had significantly more grasses and crop material in their stomachs than juveniles, while juveniles had significantly more forbs in their stomachs than adult feral pigs. Vertebrate prey items included frogs, lizard and snake, but no threatened wildlife species. Conclusions Juvenile and adult feral pigs differed in their diet, especially with regards to plant material, which has not been reported previously. There was, however, no difference in the consumption of vertebrate wildlife species between juvenile and adult, or male and female feral pigs. Slow-moving, nocturnal amphibians and reptiles were the most common vertebrate item recorded. Implications Biodiversity and feral pig management should recognise plant diet differences between demographic segments of the feral pig population. Further research is recommended to determine if diet differences also occur for threatened wildlife species, which will require more intensive nocturnal sampling.

How much land is needed for feral pig hunting in Hawai‘i?

2014 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven C Hess ◽  
James D Jocobi
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Minimum Amount ◽  
Land Area ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
The Public ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Pig Meat ◽  
Sustained Yield ◽  
Feral Pig

Hunting is often considered to be incompatible with conservation of native biota and watershed functions in Hawai‘i. Management actions for conservation generally exclude large non-native mammals from natural areas, thereby reducing the amount of land area available for hunting activities and the maintenance of sustainable game populations. An approach which may be useful in addressing the necessary minimum amount of land area allocated for hunting in Hawai‘i is to determine the amount of land area necessary for sustaining populations of hunted animals to meet current levels harvested by the public. We ask: What is the total amount of land necessary to provide sustained-yield hunting of game meat for food at the current harvest level on Hawai‘i Island if only feral pigs (Sus scrofa) were to be harvested? We used a simplistic analysis to estimate that 1 317.6 km2–1 651.4 km2 would be necessary to produce 187 333.6 kg of feral pig meat annually based on the range of dressed weight per whole pig, the proportion of a pig population that can be sustainably removed annually, and the density of pig populations in the wild. This amount of area comprises 12.6–15.8% of the total land area of Hawai‘i Island, but more likely represents 27.6–43.5% of areas that may be compatible with sustained-yield hunting.

Soil phosphorus predicts feral pig (Sus scrofa) occupancy, detection probability and feeding activity in a temperate montane rainforest

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 277 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Forsyth ◽  
Robert B. Allen ◽  
Roy K. J. Allen ◽  
Kathrin Affeld ◽  
Darryl I. MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Habitat Use ◽  
Detection Probability ◽  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Feeding Activity ◽  
Occupancy Models ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Feral Pig

Context Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) have a wide global distribution that includes large parts of Australia and New Zealand. There is concern about the impacts of feral pigs on above- and below-ground flora and fauna, but little is known about their habitat use and feeding activity in temperate rainforests. Aims We evaluated the importance of abiotic and biotic variables hypothesised to influence seasonal and annual feral pig habitat use and feeding activity in a montane conifer–angiosperm rainforest in Te Urewera, North Island, New Zealand. Methods We used a grid of 25 remote-camera locations to collect feral pig images in a 100-ha area during the winters and summers of 2010 and 2011. Plant composition, solar radiation and soil fertility variables were determined for each camera-image area. Multiseason, multistate occupancy models and information-theoretic methods were used to evaluate how these variables related to feral pig occupancy and feeding. Key results Feral pigs occupied more camera locations in summer than in winter, and detection probabilities increased if piglets were present and with increasing soil phosphorus (P). Piglets were detected only in summer, and their detection probability increased with increasing soil P. The probability of detecting feral pigs feeding also increased with soil P and was higher in 2010 than 2011. Conclusions Feral pigs selected locations with high soil P, probably because those sites had more food than did locations with low soil P. Mast fruiting of tawa (Beilschmiedia tawa) has been hypothesised to increase feral pig recruitment, and the higher detection probability of piglets in summer 2010 followed a heavier tawa fruit fall. Implications Our study highlighted the usefulness of camera traps and occupancy models for understanding seasonal and annual dynamics of cryptic ungulate species in remote, rugged forests, and suggests that the impacts of feral pigs will be greatest in areas of high soil P following widespread tawa masting.

The effectiveness of aerial baiting for control of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in North Queensland

1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 297 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Blood Samples ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Population Reduction ◽  
Feral Pig

This study assessed the proportion of a feral pig population that consumed aerially distributed baits incorporating a non-toxic biomarker (iophenoxic acid). Baits were distributed at a rate of 18 baits km-2 over 70 km2 of a seasonally inaccessible habitat. A total of 102 feral pigs were then captured by trapping and ground-shooting. Blood samples from 63 adult feral pigs were analysed for the presence of the biomarker; 40 (63%) were considered to have consumed at least one bait. Ground-shooting and trapping over 6 days resulted in 18% and 16% population reduction respectively.

Quantifying efficacy of feral pig (Sus scrofa) population management

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Adams ◽  
Joseph B. Fontaine ◽  
Robert M. Huston ◽  
Patricia A. Fleming
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Distance Sampling ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Population Management ◽  
Ecological Communities ◽  
Feral Pigs ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Feral Pig

Abstract ContextFeral pigs (Sus scrofa) are an increasing threat to agriculture and ecological communities globally. Although ground rooting is their most readily observable sign, feral pigs typically remain highly cryptic and their abundance and impacts are difficult to quantify. AimsThe aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of current feral pig population management practices (trapping, baiting, no feral pig management) on feral pig abundance and digging impacts, using a BACI (before–after control–impact) experimental design at a landscape scale. MethodsA monitoring program was established to quantify both the abundance and digging impacts of feral pig populations within a temperate sclerophyll forest landscape using distance sampling. Transects were established across eight drinking water catchments where the whole catchment was the unit of replication for feral pig population management. Monitoring was carried out at 6-monthly intervals for 3 years, with no feral pig population management undertaken in the first year. In total, 367 feral pigs were trapped out of three catchments subject to trapping, and 26 were baited across two catchments subject to baiting with a commercial product (PIGOUT, Animal Control Technologies Australia, Melbourne, Vic., Australia). Three catchments were exempt from feral pig population management for the duration of this study. Key resultsFeral pig density within the overall study site was estimated as 1.127pigskm–2, resulting in 4580diggingskm–2year–1. There was no significant difference in feral pig density estimates observed among population management treatments or the treatment×year interaction term. An overall decrease in feral pig density across all catchments was attributed to extreme temperature and drought conditions experienced during the study. ConclusionsFeral pig populations demonstrate high resilience to current feral pig population management practices in the present study. The annual volume of soil disturbed by the numbers of feral pigs estimated across this study area is comparable to a commercial-scale resource extraction industry. We did not find significant differences in feral pig digging density among dominant vegetation types, but larger digs were associated with swamp vegetation. ImplicationsCurrent levels of feral pig population management did not reduce pig densities across eight catchments in the northern jarrah forest; therefore, more intensive population management is needed.

scholarly journals The Relict Ecosystem of Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea in an Agricultural Landscape: Past, Present and Future Scenarios

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Antonio J. Mendoza-Fernández ◽  
Fabián Martínez-Hernández ◽  
Esteban Salmerón-Sánchez ◽  
Francisco J. Pérez-García ◽  
Blas Teruel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Ecological Niche ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Eastern Coast ◽  
Ecological Value ◽  
Distribution Models ◽  
European Continent ◽  
Major Interest ◽  
Maytenus Senegalensis

Maytenus senegalensis subsp. europaea is a shrub belonging to the Celastraceae family, whose only European populations are distributed discontinuously along the south-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula, forming plant communities with great ecological value, unique in Europe. As it is an endangered species that makes up plant communities with great palaeoecological significance, the development of species distribution models is of major interest under different climatic scenarios, past, present and future, based on the fact that the climate could play a relevant role in the distribution of this species, as well as in the conformation of the communities in which it is integrated. Palaeoecological models were generated for the Maximum Interglacial, Last Maximum Glacial and Middle Holocene periods. The results obtained showed that the widest distribution of this species, and the maximum suitability of its habitat, occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, when the temperatures of the peninsular southeast were not as contrasting as those of the rest of the European continent and were favored by higher rainfall. Under these conditions, large territories could act as shelters during the glacial period, a hypothesis reflected in the model’s results for this period, which exhibit a further expansion of M. europaea’s ecological niche. The future projection of models in around 2070, for four Representative Concentration Pathways according to the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, showed that the most favorable areas for this species would be Campo de Dalías (southern portion of Almería province) as it presents the bioclimatic characteristics of greater adjustment to M. europaea’s ecological niche model. Currently, some of the largest specimens of the species survive in the agricultural landscapes in the southern Spain. These areas are almost totally destroyed and heavily altered by intensive agriculture greenhouses, also causing a severe fragmentation of the habitat, which implies a prospective extinction scenario in the near future.

scholarly journals Predation on Drosophila suzukii within Hedges in the Agricultural Landscape

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 305
Author(s):  
Alexandra Siffert ◽  
Fabian Cahenzli ◽  
Patrik Kehrli ◽  
Claudia Daniel ◽  
Virginie Dekumbis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Gut Content ◽  
Drosophila Suzukii ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Host Fruit ◽  
Molecular Gut Content Analysis ◽  
Wild Fruits ◽  
Diverse Community

The invasive Drosophila suzukii feeds and reproduces on various cultivated and wild fruits and moves between agricultural and semi-natural habitats. Hedges in agricultural landscapes play a vital role in the population development of D. suzukii, but also harbor a diverse community of natural enemies. We investigated predation by repeatedly exposing cohorts of D. suzukii pupae between June and October in dry and humid hedges at five different locations in Switzerland. We sampled predator communities and analyzed their gut content for the presence of D. suzukii DNA based on the COI marker. On average, 44% of the exposed pupae were predated. Predation was higher in dry than humid hedges, but did not differ significantly between pupae exposed on the ground or on branches and among sampling periods. Earwigs, spiders, and ants were the dominant predators. Predator communities did not vary significantly between hedge types or sampling periods. DNA of D. suzukii was detected in 3.4% of the earwigs, 1.8% of the spiders, and in one predatory bug (1.6%). While the molecular gut content analysis detected only a small proportion of predators that had fed on D. suzukii, overall predation seemed sufficient to reduce D. suzukii populations, in particular in hedges that provide few host fruit resources.

scholarly journals Determinants of bird assemblage composition in riparian vegetation on sugarcane farms in the Queensland Wet Tropics

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anita F. Keir ◽  
Richard G. Pearson ◽  
Robert A. Congdon
Keyword(s):  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Wildlife Conservation ◽  
Agricultural Landscape ◽  
Riparian Zone ◽  
Riparian Forest ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Assemblage Composition ◽  
Bird Assemblages ◽  
Wet Tropics

Remnant habitat patches in agricultural landscapes can contribute substantially to wildlife conservation. Understanding the main habitat variables that influence wildlife is important if these remnants are to be appropriately managed. We investigated relationships between the bird assemblages and characteristics of remnant riparian forest at 27 sites among sugarcane fields in the Queensland Wet Tropics bioregion. Sites within the remnant riparian zone had distinctly different bird assemblages from those of the forest, but provided habitat for many forest and generalist species. Width of the riparian vegetation and distance from source forest were the most important factors in explaining the bird assemblages in these remnant ribbons of vegetation. Gradual changes in assemblage composition occurred with increasing distance from source forest, with species of rainforest and dense vegetation being replaced by species of more open habitats, although increasing distance was confounded by decreasing riparian width. Species richness increased with width of the riparian zone, with high richness at the wide sites due to a mixture of open-habitat species typical of narrower sites and rainforest species typical of sites within intact forest, as a result of the greater similarity in vegetation characteristics between wide sites and the forest proper. The results demonstrate the habitat value for birds of remnant riparian vegetation in an agricultural landscape, supporting edge and open vegetation species with even narrow widths, but requiring substantial width (>90 m) to support specialists of the closed forest, the dominant original vegetation of the area.

Are oestrous feral pigs, Sus scrofa, useful as trapping lures?

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (7) ◽  
pp. 605 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. McIlroy ◽  
E. J. Gifford
Keyword(s):  
Sus Scrofa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Control Program ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
General Technique ◽  
Feral Pigs

Eight feral pigs (two boars, four sows and two piglets) were caught in traps using oestrous sows as lures during a control program on a remnant pig population in part of Namadgi National Park during spring, 1990. The program was mostly based on aerial baiting with warfarin. No pigs were caught in traps containing anoestrous sows or in traps containing bait only. Seven unmarked pigs (caught seven days after the cessation of baiting) did not appear to have eaten any warfarin bait. In an earlier pilot trial, two boars were caught at a trap containing an oestrous sow, one of these again in a trap baited only with fermented grain, but no pigs were caught at a trap containing an anoestrous sow. Although not cost-effective as a general technique, this method could be useful in specific circumstances, such as eradication campaigns on islands, if the last few pigs are, or have become bait shy, or are impossible to cull by other methods.

scholarly journals Validation of a food-frequency questionnaire for cohort studies in rural Japan

2003 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Ogawa ◽  
Yoshitaka Tsubono ◽  
Yoshikazu Nishino ◽  
Yoko Watanabe ◽  
Takayoshi Ohkubo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Total Energy ◽  
Food Frequency Questionnaire ◽  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Food Groups ◽  
Daily Consumption ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Food Frequency ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Miyagi Prefecture

AbstractObjectives:To examine the validity and reproducibility of a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) used for two cohort studies in Japan.Design:Cross-sectional study.Setting:Two rural towns in the Miyagi Prefecture, in north-eastern Japan.Subjects:Fifty-five men and 58 women.Results:A 40-item FFQ was administered twice, 1 year apart. In the mean time, four 3-day diet records (DRs) were collected in four seasons within the year. We calculated daily consumption of total energy and 15 nutrients, 40 food items and nine food groups from the FFQs and the DRs. We computed Spearman correlation coefficients between the FFQs and the DRs. With adjustment for age, total energy and deattenuation for measurement error with the DRs, the correlation coefficients for nutrient intakes ranged from 0.25 to 0.58 in men and from 0.30 to 0.69 in women, with median of 0.43 and 0.43, respectively. Median (range) of the correlation coefficients was 0.35 (−0.30 to 0.72) in men and 0.34 (−0.06 to 0.75) in women for food items and 0.60 (−0.10 to 0.76) and 0.51 (0.28–0.70) for food groups, respectively. Median (range) of the correlation coefficients for the two FFQs administered 1 year apart was 0.49 (0.31–0.71) in men and 0.50 (0.40–0.64) in women for nutrients, 0.43 (0.14–0.76) and 0.45 (0.06–0.74) respectively for food items, and 0.50 (0.30–0.70) and 0.57 (0.39–0.66) respectively for food groups. Relatively higher agreement percentages for intakes of nutrients and food groups with high validity were obtained together with lower complete disagreement percentages.Conclusions:The FFQ has a high reproducibility and a reasonably good validity, and is useful in assessing the usual intakes of nutrients, foods and food groups among a rural Japanese population.

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