The occurrence of crop damage by wild boars raised dramatically in the last decades, implying an increase in social conflicts, expenditures for compensation and a risk to natural ecosystems. Many researchers have explained this phenomenon by considering wild boar biology, behaviour and abundance. Little or no attention has been devoted to wildlife management and the agricultural mosaic. We hypothesised that the agricultural structure of the landscape and wildlife management planning, including hunting, can play a relevant role in causing crop damage. We studied a Mediterranean area in central Italy that is characterised by a patchy agriculture, dividing the surface into hexagons. A large number of terrain parameters were calculated at the large (hexagons) and local (buffer) scale, including the topography, land use and agricultural management. We also considered wildlife variables such as the number of wild boar shot down, hunting management and the legal status of the wild boar. The terrain and management data for each hexagon were submitted to a generalised binomial stepwise multiple logistic regression. The resultant model demonstrated an accuracy of 0.76, a misclassification rate of 0.24 and an odds ratio of 10.41. The most important variables selected by the regression were the woods in the area where hunting was banned (P< 0.001), a 1-km buffer of intensively cultivated farmland close to the woods where hunting was banned (P<0.001), a 1-km buffer of intensively cultivated farmland along the river (P<0.05), the forest edge (P<0.001), and the mean number of wild boar that were shot (P<0.05). In this study, we proved that an important factor in explaining crop damage is the "refuge effect" (a buffer close to the wooded areas where hunting was banned) and the 1-km buffer along possible dispersion routes.
Heavy metals are ubiquitous in soil, water, and air. Their entrance into the food chain is an important environmental issue that entails risks to humans. Several reports indicate that game meat can be an important source of heavy metals, particularly because of the increasing consumption of game meat, mainly by hunters. We performed an exposure assessment of hunters and members of their households, both adults and children, who consumed wild boar (WB) meat and offal. We estimated the amount of cadmium, lead, and chromium in the tissues of WB hunted in six areas within Viterbo Province (Italy) and gathered data on WB meat and offal consumption by conducting specific diet surveys in the same areas. The exposure to cadmium, lead, and chromium was simulated with specifically developed Monte Carlo simulation models. Cadmium and lead levels in WB liver and meat harvested in Viterbo Province (Italy) were similar to or lower than the values reported in other studies. However, some samples contained these metals at levels greater then the EU limits set for domestic animals. The chromium content of meat or liver cannot be evaluated against any regulatory limit, but our results suggest that the amounts of this metal found in WB products may reflect a moderate environmental load. Our survey of the hunter population confirmed that their consumption of WB meat and liver was greater than that of the general Italian population. This level of consumption was comparable with other European studies. Consumption of WB products contributes significantly to cadmium and lead exposure of both adults and children. More specifically, consumption of the WB liver contributed significantly to total cadmium and lead exposure of members of the households of WB hunters. As a general rule, liver consumption should be kept to a minimum, especially for children living in these hunter households. The exposure to chromium estimated for this population of hunters may be considered to be safe. However, a specific and complete assessment of chromium speciation in relevant dietary and environmental situations should be conducted.
A survey of wild boar shot during two consecutive years (hunting seasons 2002-2004) was carried out in order to evaluate which somatic measurements are most significant in identifying and discriminating among different morphotypes in central Italy. Biometric data from 688 wild boars was collected in three different areas of central Italy, two in Viterbo and one in the Province of Rieti. The following somatic measurements were individually recorded for each specimen: head-body length, height at withers, hind-foot length, ear length, ear-snout distance and ear-shoulder distance. Body weight was registered, and age was estimated from tooth eruption and wear. The animals were divided into three age classes; young (aged less then 12 months), sub-adults (aged between 12 and 36 months), and adults (36 months and older). After a preliminary ANOVA procedure, which did not give satisfactory results, a statistical analysis was performed using a canonical discriminant procedure, given an a priori classification (geographical area) and several quantitative variables (somatic measurements and weight). The separation between areas was estimated calculating the squared distance of Mahalanobis. The data referring to all 688 specimens was subjected to factor analysis. The results of the canonical discriminant analysis highlight the existence of two distinct groups within all three age classes. There is a statistically significant difference between the southern- Maremma (SM) vs. the Apennine (A) and sub- Apennine (SA) areas, for young (P<0.0001), sub-adults (P<0.001) and adults (P<0.001). The difference between the A and SA areas was significant only for sub-adults (P<0.05). The first canonical variable account for 92.5, 92.7 and 89.9% of the total variance for the three age classes respectively, but this is unequally correlated with the original variables suggesting that the separation between the two areas is due to differences in conformation rather than in body size. On the basis of the discriminant analysis large part of the animals were correctly categorised in the sampling areas. As regards the factor analysis results for the adult group, the first three common factors are able to explain 78, 92, and 64% of the covariance for the data of the SM, A and SA groups respectively. These results suggest that, for the SM group, a differentiation among morphotypes may be possible on the basis of a few somatic measurements. These results confirm the need for biochemical and genetic studies to identify if the different morphotypes refer to the autochthonous wild boar strain
The rock partridge has undergone a decline throughout its entire distribution area, including the population of the central Italian Apennine Mountains. Areas of suitable habitat for this species have been reduced due to landscape fragmentation and the dynamics of domestic animal and wildlife management. The present study was conducted in the Province of Rieti, Lazio Region. Geograph- ical and land use predictors were evaluated in a GIS environment to identify the most relevant factors influencing the presence of rock partridge during the nesting period. Logistic regression was then imple- mented to create a model, characterised by a good level of adequacy, for predicting rock partridge nesting site habitat characteristics. Correct predictions of presence and absence were made in 65.2% and 98.6% of cases, respectively. The ROC value was 0.771, which is statistically significant (P<0.001). The results show that, on a local scale, slope (log), distance from forests, and the presence of bare rocks were statisti- cally significant factors. On a landscape scale, the percentage of forests, the presence of sparse vegetation (over 60%), and a negative Mean Shape Index (MSI) were found to be statistically significant
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