scholarly journals Diet of the wild boar (Sus scrofa): implications for management in forest-agricultural and urban environments in South Korea

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seong-Min Lee ◽  
Eun-Jae Lee

The wild boar is one of the most widely distributed in the world. In South Korea, the wild boar population has rapidly increased and their habitat use has expanded from forests to urban environments. This expansion has led to increased conflicts with humans, such as the severe damaging of crops and the attacking of people in urban areas. We assessed the stomach contents of wild boar killed by hunters in two different environments in Geochang and Seoul, South Korea, from 2012 to 2017. We compared the feeding habits between sites and between seasons and explored the relationship between the number of earthworms and the main diet. The diet of wild boars inhabiting the two environments were found to differ and vary seasonally. Wild boar in Geochang preferred crops, when available, to natural food resources. Although wild boar in Seoul also preferred crops, they had a higher composition of natural food in their diets because of a low availability of crops. The preference of crops and discarded food waste in urban areas is expected to have accelerated the appearance of wild boar in urban areas. The consumption of earthworms did not differ between the two study sites, but it did differ seasonally due to availability. The number of earthworms was significantly negatively correlated with crop availability in both sites. Effective management plans that involve targeted hunting by baiting with food in Seoul and direct hunting in the fall in Geochang should be implemented to resolve the human–wild boar conflicts in these areas.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junga Lee ◽  
Hyung-Sook Lee ◽  
Daeyoung Jeong ◽  
C. Scott Shafer ◽  
Jinhyung Chon

Greenways provide multiple benefits for trail users’ individual experiences based on users’ background environment and their perceptions of characteristics such as the trail width, vegetation, water, and facilities. Although greenway trail characteristics are important factors that affect users’ preferences, only a few studies have examined individuals’ experiences of greenways based on their perceptions and preferences. The purpose of this study is to examine how greenway trails can be designed to improve users’ experiences in relation to their perceptions and preferences by considering trail characteristics. We examine the relationship between greenway trail characteristics and likability using t-tests as well as correlation and multiple regression analyses. In the current study, virtual tour surveys of greenway users were conducted, with two urban greenway trails as the study sites: Town Lake Trail in Austin, Texas, and Buffalo Bayou Trail in Houston, Texas. Perceptions of all eight greenway trail characteristics, except for background buildings, were significantly different between the trails, and a significant difference in likability was found for five characteristics (the presence of water, trail facilities, trail width, adjacent automobile traffic, and built structures on the trail). In addition, the results of the correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed that the presence of water, amount of vegetation, automobile traffic, and built structures were correlated with likability. These findings suggest that designing appropriate types of greenway trails can help increase users’ likeability ratings of urban greenways. This study contributes to the enhancement of trail environments by providing strategies for practitioners to effectively design and manage greenways.


2008 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 497-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney W. Brook ◽  
Maria Pasitschniak-Arts ◽  
David W. Howerter ◽  
François Messier

Most waterfowl nesting failure in the prairie biome is attributed to predation. However, the contribution of small mammal abundance to the prairie predator–prey cycle and how this affects waterfowl productivity is not known. We modelled seasonal variability of nesting success, including a number of habitat and nest-related variables, to quantify influence of rodent abundance for prairie nesting waterfowl for six study sites in the Prairie Pothole Region of Canada, 1996–1998. We estimated there is a curvilinear relationship between the abundance of meadow voles ( Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord, 1815)) and the nesting success of ducks. The relationship has characteristics of the alternate prey hypothesis at low vole density and characteristics of the shared prey hypothesis at higher densities. At low vole densities, duck nests appear to be buffered from predation by voles but, at higher densities, nesting success was affected negatively. We recommend that predator–prey dynamics should be included as an integral part of management plans for nesting waterfowl and suggest further research using rigorous experiment design to elucidate mechanisms and pathways responsible for this observed relationship.


Author(s):  
Edem, Edem Thomas ◽  
Patience B. Opeh

The present study is aimed to provide information on the food and feeding habit of adult Auchenoglanis biscutatus in Lower River Benue. The natural food of A. biscutatus in the Lower River Benue was studied from stomach contents of the fish. The stomach contents were analyzed using two methods; the frequency of occurrence and point methods. A total of 100 stomachs were randomly examined. Eleven major items constituted the diet of A. biscutatus. The stomach content analysis of A. biscutatus have shown that they fed on the various food items ranging from plant parts, detritus, seeds, digested food particles, fish parts, mollusc, sand/mud, insect parts and algae. This indicates that A. biscutatus is an omnivorous bottom feeder since; bottom dwelling immature insects dominated most of the food items of animal origin, digested food and detritus. A. biscutatus in Lower Benue River feeds on a wide range of food items which could make it to be regarded as an omnivore. Future attempts to culture this species must take cognizance of its food habits in the wild.


2009 ◽  
Vol 99 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra S. Moreira-Hara ◽  
Jansen A. S. Zuanon ◽  
Sidineia A. Amadio

The feeding habits of Pellona flavipinnis (Valenciennes, 1836) at Catalão, a floodplain area on the Brazilian Central Amazon was studied. Data was obtained during three hydrological cycles, between September 1999 and September 2003. Diet composition, daily and seasonal variation in the feeding activity and the relationship between predator's size and its prey were analyzed. Almost 80% of the food consumed has autochthonous origin and diet was composed basically by insects and fish. Juvenile fish predominated in the stomach contents of all size classes but there was no significant relationship between predator's size and its prey. Pellona flavipinnis may be considered a carnivorous species which feeds mainly on juvenile (young-of-the-year) specimens of other fish. More intense feeding activity occurred at night and in the high water period.


2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1349-1357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harriet R. Thatcher ◽  
Colleen T. Downs ◽  
Nicola F. Koyama

Abstract Generalist wildlife species often thrive in urban environments because of increased anthropogenic resources. However, human-wildlife interactions, especially if negative, raise concerns for urban wildlife management. An enhanced understanding of wildlife behavioural flexibility has been suggested to be a key tool to provide educated and effective management strategies. We therefore investigated how availability of semi-naturally occurring food affected behavioural foraging patterns of urban vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus), a generalist primate commonly found in urban areas of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Over one year, we conducted 20 min. focal animal observations recording foraging behaviour and food consumption. We used a combination of a generalised linear model and descriptive statistics to examine the relationship between anthropogenic food consumption and semi-natural food availability. Our analyses showed that anthropogenic food consumption decreased as semi-natural food availability increased. We also showed that increased aggression from humans towards vervet monkeys decreased time spent foraging on anthropogenic food. Our study highlights how vervet monkeys have adapted to their urban landscape, showing foraging flexibility in response to available food resources and the frequency of human interactions. We suggest how our results can be applied for management recommendations, particularly controlling anthropogenic food availability and decreasing negative human-wildlife interactions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1862) ◽  
pp. 20171349 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Salmón ◽  
Johan F. Nilsson ◽  
Hannah Watson ◽  
Staffan Bensch ◽  
Caroline Isaksson

Urban environments pose novel challenges, as well as opportunities, for urban-dwelling wildlife. Although differences have been reported in several phenotypic traits (e.g. morphology, physiology and behaviour) between urban and rural populations, it is poorly understood whether this affects individual fitness. Telomere dynamics are posited as one possible mechanism underlying senescence and mortality. It was recently shown that telomere shortening is accelerated when growing up in an urban, compared with a rural, environment. However, the implications of accelerated telomere attrition for fitness are still unclear. Here, we examine the relationship between telomere length (TL) and survival in a bird common to urban and rural environments, and during both early and later life. The results reveal that TL is a strong predictor of post-fledging survival and recruitment in both habitats but, crucially, selective disappearance of individuals with short telomeres early in life is more pronounced in the urban environment, resulting in a longer average TL among the adult population. However, following recruitment, we found no difference in the relationship between TL and survival between the urban and rural environments. This indicates that the urban environment has negative effects in early life, while during later life the benefits could potentially outweigh the costs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1098 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun-Jae Choung ◽  
Jin-Man Kim

To protect the population from respiratory diseases and to prevent the damages due to air pollution, the main cause of air pollution should be identified. This research assessed the relationship between the airborne particulate concentrations (PM10) and the urban expansion in Daegu City in South Korea from 2007 to 2017 using multi-temporal spatial datasets (Landsat images, measured PM10 data) and the machine learning technique in the following steps. First, the expanded urban areas were detected from the multiple Landsat images using support vector machine (SVM), a widely used machine learning technique. Next, the annual PM10 concentrations were calculated using the long-term measured PM10 data. Finally, the degrees of increase of the expanded urban areas and of the PM10 concentrations in Daegu from 2007 to 2017 were calculated by counting the pixels representing the expanded urban areas and computing variation of the annual PM10 concentrations, respectively. The experiment results showed that there is a minimal or even no relationship at all between the urban expansion and the PM10 concentrations because the urban areas expanded by 55.27 km2 but the annual PM10 concentrations decreased by 17.37 μg/m³ in Daegu from 2007 to 2017.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (8) ◽  
pp. 172
Author(s):  
Anthony Murithi Njeru ◽  
Kinoshita Isami

It has been established that carfree streets in Central Business Districts (CBDs) are linked to more livable urban environments, but most studies on this topic have concentrated on developed countries. Based on data from 399 questionnaires and interviews with 6 key stakeholders, this study presents perceived safety, comfort, and connectivity of users across three street types: a typical car street, a one-way street, and a carfree street in Nairobi Kenya. Further, this study discusses the relationship between approaches of key decision makers such as the City Government and business owners against the priorities of day-to-day pedestrians.eISSN: 2398-4287 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v3i8.1400


2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackellynne Fernanda Farias FERNANDES ◽  
Jailza FREITAS ◽  
Yago Bruno Silveira NUNES ◽  
Rafael Santos LOBATO ◽  
Marina Bezerra FIGUEIREDO

The feeding habit of lane snapper Lutjanus synagris was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively, related to seasonality, its ontogenetic development, and the relationship between food and biotic and abiotic conditions on the Amazon Coast of Maranhão, between June 2018 and May 2019. Numerical, gravimetric, and ecological index methods were used to show the relative importance or preference of a category or food item in the diet. The food composition was studied related to the sex, size of the predator and seasonality. Of 359 stomachs sampled, 54 were empty due to regurgitation and presented a vacuity coefficient (Cv%) of 15.04%. In the analysis of diets between the sexes, it was possible to identify a greater participation of fish (30.43%) and Crabs (26.10%) for females, Shrimp (36.23%) and Organic Matter Not Identified (OMNI) (18.84%) in males. The diet showed spatial differences in length distributions. The analysis of stomach contents showed the presence synthetic materials (mesoplastics ranging from 5.0 mm to 2.5 cm) in 5.52% of the samples. The main food items found were from the Brachyura and Caridea species. The results clearly demonstrate that lane snapper prefers benthic prey, presenting a carnivorous and generalist-opportunistic habit. Its diet is also composed of demersal-pelagic species, such as Cephalopods and Teleost fish.


2020 ◽  
Vol 187 (10) ◽  
pp. e85-e85
Author(s):  
Irene Torres-Blas ◽  
Gregorio Mentaberre ◽  
Raquel Castillo-Contreras ◽  
Xavier Fernández-Aguilar ◽  
Carles Conejero ◽  
...  

BackgroundWild boar (Sus scrofa) populations are increasing worldwide and invading urban areas. Live-capture can improve the management of this challenge, maximising efficiency, allowing scientific studies and potentially improving animal welfare. This study assesses teleanaesthesia, drop-net, corral trap and cage trap to live-capture wild boar in urban and peri-urban areas, evaluating efficiency and animal stress through haematology and serum biochemistry.MethodsFrom 2012 to 2018, 655 wild boars were captured in 279 operations (drop-net=17, teleanaesthesia=186, cage trap=66 and corral trap=10) in the urban and peri-urban areas of Barcelona (Spain). Haematological and serum biochemical variables were determined in 145 wild boars (42 drop-netted, 41 teleanaesthetised, 38 cage-trapped and 24 corral-trapped).ResultsPerformance (wild boars captured per operation) was highest for drop-net, followed by corral and cage traps, and finally teleanaesthesia. The three physical capture methods were more stressful than teleanaesthesia, causing a more intense physiological reaction, muscular damage, renal function impairment and homeostasis adaption. Stress response was predominantly adrenergic for drop-net and cortisol-induced for cage and corral traps.ConclusionTeleanaesthesia is the choice in reactive urban situations thanks to its adaptability; drop-net effectively targets wild boars in peri-urban environments; cage and corral traps are useful as long-term methods in specific areas.


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