Effects of simulated removal activities on movements and space use of feral swine

Fischer, Justin W.; McMurtry, Dan; Blass, Chad R.; Walter, W. David; Beringer, Jeff; VerCauteren, Kurt C.

doi:10.1007/s10344-016-1000-6

Cited by 13 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…This could be related to these animals relying on anthropogenic food sources during periods of food stress 17,19 . However, this result also indicated that wild pigs did not become conditioned to avoid using the bait sites, which has been suggested in other studies 22,24 . This is good news for elimination programs that use bait visitation as a strategy to detect wild pigs.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…We also found that wild pigs used bait sites more during evening and nocturnal periods, which coincides with nocturnal behaviors, particularly for persecuted animals. Efforts to remove wild pigs have resulted in modification of behaviors to avoid detection by becoming more nocturnal 59 and increasing movement rates [22][23][24] . Snow et al 60 reported that wild pig visitation rates to bait sites for a hunted population in south-central Texas peaked between 1900-0200 h. However, shifts in behaviors have not been reported for all populations of wild pigs 61 and www.nature.com/scientificreports/ therefore it may depend on the intensity of persecution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Environmental predictors associated with the current distribution and potential future spread of wild pigs have been well documented 3 , 4 , 16 . Anthropogenic drivers of the current range of wild pigs include crop production 17 – 19 , habitat alteration 1 , 20 , 21 , hunting 22 – 24 , and the deliberate and illegal transport and release of wild pigs 1 , 25 , 26 . Climatic factors, landscape structure, desire for hunting opportunities, and public perception of the risks associated with wild pigs all play a role in their distribution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors and costs associated with removal of a newly established population of invasive wild pigs in Northern U.S.

Fischer

Snow

Wilson

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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the human-mediated spread of exotic and invasive species often leads to unintentional and harmful consequences. invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are one such species that have been repeatedly translocated throughout the United States and cause extensive damage to natural ecosystems, threatened and endangered species, agricultural resources, and private lands. In 2005, a newly established population of wild pigs was confirmed in Fulton County, Illinois, U.S. In 2011, a statewide wild pig damage management program involving federal, state, and local government authorities directed a concerted effort to remove wild pigs from the county until the last wild pig (of 376 total) was successfully removed in 2016. We examined surveillance data from camera traps at bait sites and records of wild pig removals during this elimination program to identify environmental and anthropogenic factors that optimized removal of this population. our results revealed that wild pigs used bait sites most during evening and nocturnal periods and on days with lower daily maximum temperatures. increased removals of wild pigs coincided with periods of cold weather. We also identified that fidelity and time spent at bait sites by wild pigs was not influenced by increasing removals of wild pigs. Finally, the costs to remove wild pigs averaged $50 per wild pig (6.8 effort hours per wild pig) for removing the first 99% of the animals. Cost for removing the last 1% increased 84-fold, and averaged 122.8 effort hours per wild pig removed. Our results demonstrated that increased effort in removing wild pigs using bait sites should be focused during periods of environmental stress to maximize removal efficiency. These results inform elimination programs attempting to remove newly established populations of wild pigs, and ultimately prevent population and geographic expansion. There has been a dramatic surge in invasive wild pig (Sus scrofa) populations, geographic range, and ecological and economic impact in the United States over the last three decades 1-4. Wild pigs cause millions of dollars in damage annually 5-7 , negatively affecting native habitats, endangered species, agricultural crop and livestock production, and transmitting diseases 1,8,9. To counter these negative impacts, state (e.g.,

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Factors and costs associated with removal of a newly established population of invasive wild pigs in Northern U.S.

Fischer

Snow

Wilson

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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“…For example, a 2-year old sow with her piglets covered a distance of at least 500 km within two months 19 . Reports on daily distances travelled by wild boars differ considerably in the literature 20 – 22 and vary, for example, from 2.7 km to 6.8 km and partly more than 12 km depending on sex, age, season or available resources, but also affected by the animal habitat such as urban area or primeval forest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voluntary locomotor activity promotes myogenic growth potential in domestic pigs

Kalbe

Zebunke

Lösel

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Self-determined physical activity is an essential behavioural need and can vary considerably between individuals of a given species. Although locomotion is suggested as a prerequisite for adequate function of skeletal muscle, domestic pigs are usually reared under limited space allowance. The aim of our study was to investigate if a different voluntary locomotor activity leads to altered properties in the muscle structure, biochemistry and mRNA expression of selected genes involved in myogenesis and skeletal muscle metabolism. Based on a video tracking method, we assigned pigs to three categories according to their total distances walked over five observed time points: long distance, medium distance, and short distance. The microstructure and biochemistry parameters of the M. semitendinosus were unaffected by the distance categories. However, we found distance-dependent differences in the mRNA expression of the genes encoding growth (IGF2, EGF, MSTN) and transcription factors (MRF4, MYOD). In particular, the IGF2/MSTN ratio appears to be a sensitive indicator, at the molecular level, for the locomotor activity of individuals. Our results indicate that the myogenic growth potential of pigs under standard rearing conditions is triggered by their displayed voluntary locomotor activity, but the covered distances are insufficient to induce adaptive changes at the tissue level.

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“…Variation in conditions could result in variation in the area of influence. The area of influence may vary due to a combination of biological limitations such as movement behavior (Baber and Coblentz, 1986;Saunders and McLeod, 1999;Fischer et al, 2016), or environmental factors such as resource availability (Saunders et al, 1993;Caley, 1994), weather (Wyckoff et al, 2006), and trap type or duration of trapping (Caley, 1994;Williams et al, 2011). Understanding effects of these factors on area of influence is not only relevant to obtaining better estimates of disease control impacts but also to planning efficient resource allocation for risk assessment and responding to disease outbreaks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating population density for disease risk assessment: The importance of understanding the area of influence of traps using wild pigs as an example

Davis

Leland

Bodenchuk

et al. 2017

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

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Population density is a key driver of disease dynamics in wildlife populations. Accurate disease risk assessment and determination of management impacts on wildlife populations requires an ability to estimate population density alongside management actions. A common management technique for controlling wildlife populations to monitor and mitigate disease transmission risk is trapping (e.g., box traps, corral traps, drop nets). Although abundance can be estimated from trapping actions using a variety of analytical approaches, inference is limited by the spatial extent to which a trap attracts animals on the landscape. If the "area of influence" were known, abundance estimates could be converted to densities. In addition to being an important predictor of contact rate and thus disease spread, density is more informative because it is comparable across sites of different sizes. The goal of our study is to demonstrate the importance of determining the area sampled by traps (area of influence) so that density can be estimated from management-based trapping designs which do not employ a trapping grid. To provide one example of how area of influence could be calculated alongside management, we conducted a small pilot study on wild pigs (Sus scrofa) using two removal methods 1) trapping followed by 2) aerial gunning, at three sites in northeast Texas in 2015. We estimated abundance from trapping data with a removal model. We calculated empirical densities as aerial counts divided by the area searched by air (based on aerial flight tracks). We inferred the area of influence of traps by assuming consistent densities across the larger spatial scale and then solving for area impacted by the traps. Based on our pilot study we estimated the area of influence for corral traps in late summer in Texas to be ∼8.6km. Future work showing the effects of behavioral and environmental factors on area of influence will help mangers obtain estimates of density from management data, and determine conditions where trap-attraction is strongest. The ability to estimate density alongside population control activities will improve risk assessment and response operations against disease outbreaks.

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Effects of simulated removal activities on movements and space use of feral swine

Cited by 13 publications

References 30 publications

Factors and costs associated with removal of a newly established population of invasive wild pigs in Northern U.S.

Factors and costs associated with removal of a newly established population of invasive wild pigs in Northern U.S.

Voluntary locomotor activity promotes myogenic growth potential in domestic pigs

Estimating population density for disease risk assessment: The importance of understanding the area of influence of traps using wild pigs as an example

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