Somatic variability in wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in different areas of Central Italy

Abstract

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

Selected Biometric Characteristics of Wild Boar (Sus Scrofa Ferus) in North-East Romania

“…The morphmetric parameters observed in all age-class categories fall within their ranges found in Europe (Amici et al, 2010;Ježek et al, 2011), but a slight lower than the ones obtained in Romania (Oroian et al, 2010(Oroian et al, , 2012. Our results indicate a sexual dimorphism of wild boars starting with their second year of life.…”

The phenotypic characterization of wild boar population in Transylvania "Sus Scrofa Ferus"

“…Amici (2010) confirms that different morph types of wild boar are detectable in some different areas of Central Italy. These morph types are differentiated on the basis of height and length measurements (head-body length, height at withers and hind-foot length); body weight can be relevant only for animals over three years of age.…”

“…Chest perimeter in these Tab. 1 The average and dispersion indices of conformation characteristics in males over 3 years old Phenotypic correlations between the specimens were calculated to observe the meaning and the degree of interdependence between the values of the two characteristics. Correlations are specific to the traits estimated, which means that the values of correlation coefficients vary from one couple of characteristics to another, even within the same animal population.…”

Effect of weight, sex and hunting period on fatty acid composition of intramuscular and subcutaneous fat from wild boar

“…Today, wild boar (Sus scrofa) Linnaeus 1758 and its semi-domestic relative, the feral pig, are on the increase throughout Europe and other parts of the world, and occupy a wide variety of habitats in different zones (Geisser and Reyer, 2005;Melis et al, 2006;Herrero et al, 2006;Acevedo et al, 2006;Amici et al, 2010). Wild boar, a pure species that today is found in the mixed forests of Lithuania, is the most common terrestrial mammal from the Middle Neolithic (Stančikaitė et al, 2009).…”