Diet of wild boar <i>Sus scrofa</i> in Western Europe, with particular reference to consumption of agricultural crops

Schley, Laurent; Roper, T. J.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2907.2003.00010.x

Cited by 449 publications

(416 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The diet of wild boars in mountain ecosystems is not well studied, but the evidence suggests a clear relationship between rooting activity and the foraging for nutrient-rich foods such as animal proteins and plant storage structures (Baubet et al 1997;Schley and Roper 2003). Two of the local effects of grazing can explain the differences in wild boar rooting activities among stocking types and rates: faecal droppings differ between sheep and cattle because cattle produce larger scats and sheep disperse smaller pellets widely and in smaller quantities (Aldezabal et al 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does wild boar rooting affect livestock grazing areas in alpine grasslands?

Bueno

Barrio²,

García‐González³

et al. 2010

Eur J Wildl Res

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Interactions between traditional livestock management practices and wildlife activities are important in the conservation of many mountain ecosystems including the summer rangelands in the Spanish Central Pyrenees, where rooting by wild boar (Sus scrofa) is a large disturbance that can reduce the amount of area available to grazing livestock. This study explored the likely impact of wild boar rooting on Pyrenean grasslands. It quantified the extent of wild boar rooting in livestock grazing areas and determined whether wild boars selected or avoided areas depending on the type of livestock and stocking rates. Wild boar rooting affected 16% of livestock grazing area and occurred in sites that were grazed by cattle, rather than by sheep. In addition, a preference for areas that had intermediate stocking rates was found. The relationship between the increase in the number of wild boars and trends in livestock management suggests that the extent of wild boar rooting will increase especially in cattle grazing areas, and therefore, the area available for cattle grazing in Pyrenean mountain rangelands would decrease significantly.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does wild boar rooting affect livestock grazing areas in alpine grasslands?

Bueno

Barrio²,

García‐González³

et al. 2010

Eur J Wildl Res

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“…Wild boars and feral pigs forage in large home ranges in which they can exploit an enormous variety of food sources (Gundlach 1986;Schley and Roper 2003). Under such conditions, individuals would beneWt from good spatial memory skills and a high Xexibility in behaviour (Held et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial learning in pigs: effects of environmental enrichment and individual characteristics on behaviour and performance

et al. 2008

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This study investigated the eVects of both environmental enrichment and individual behavioural characteristics on spatial cognitive capabilities of pigs, using a novel latent spatial learning paradigm based on Tolman's detour experiments (1948). Pigs were housed either in 'barren' pens or in pens enriched with straw bedding from birth. Pigs were restrained in a Backtest at 10 and 17 days postpartum. Based on their escape behaviour in this test, which has been shown to reXect their behavioural style, six 'high-resisting'(HR) and six 'low-resisting' (LR) pigs were selected from each housing environment (n = 24 in total). At 12 weeks of age, pairs of pen mates (LR and HR) were exposed to a maze three times (exploration trials). Pigs were then placed individually in the maze, and social reinstatement proved to be a strong incentive to Wnd the exit leading to the home pen. We subsequently blocked the direct route to the exit, forcing animals to Wnd a detour (memory test 1, MT1). This test was repeated once to investigate the relative improvement, i.e. detour learning (memory test 2, MT2). Housing condition and Backtest response strongly aVected exploration patterns. In spite of this, no eVects on performance during the subsequent memory tests were found. Performance was substantially improved in MT2, indicating that once a goal is apparent, pigs are able to solve a complex spatial memory task easily. In conclusion, social reinstatement provided a good incentive to complete a spatial task, and the substantial improvement in performance between MT1 and MT2 stresses the need for task complexity when testing spatial memory in pigs. Housing conditions or individual behavioural style did not aVect spatial memory during MT1 or MT2. However, housing environment and behavioural style strongly aVected explorative behaviour of pigs in an unfamiliar maze during both exploration trials and memory tests. This implicates that apparent eVects of environmental enrichment on spatial learning and memory in pigs might reXect diVerences in explorative patterns rather than in cognitive processes.

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“…Previous studies have demonstrated that a significant proportion (61-96%) of a feral pig's diet consists of organic plant material (Schley and Roper, 2003). Most notably, Gimenez-Anaya et al (2008) demonstrated that 33% of pig diet in Spain was underground roots and rhizomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential for dissemination of Phytophthora cinnamomi by feral pigs via ingestion of infected plant material

Williams

Fenwick

et al. 2013

Biol Invasions

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IntroductionCollectively, invasive animals, plants and microbes are a major threat to ecosystems worldwide, yet the compounding impact of invasive species is not widely recognised (van der Putten et al., 2007). Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) present an undefined threat to native ecosystems worldwide through their potential to spread secondary invasive species such as pathogens and weeds. While many animals are capable of acting as vectors for a number of disease agents including microbial pathogens, the nonfastidious diet, foraging habits and home range of feral pigs brings them in direct contact with invasive plant pathogens such as Phytophthora cinnamomi in many of the temperate regions of the world thus increasing the potential cumulative impact of both pigs and pathogens on native and horticultural plant communities (Feio et al., 1999;Martin and Dale, 2001).Feral pigs are a widespread pest species that are present throughout many regions and habitat types of the world (Tierney and Cushman, 2006), and they have been implicated in the decline of 257 and 8 plant and bird species, respectively, in the United States (Gurevitch and Padilla, 2004). They also impact on agricultural production and in Australia alone damage due to feral pigs is estimated to cost in excess of $107 million per annum (McLeod, 2004). The highly invasive plant pathogen P. cinnamomi infects over 3000 plant species worldwide including many agricultural, ornamental and forest species (Erwin and Ribeiro, 1996;Hardham, 2005). Shearer et al. (2004) estimated that 2284 (40%) of the 5710 plant species in the South-West Botanical Province of Western Australia are susceptible to P. cinnamomi infection. The pathogen has been estimated to cost the Australian economy $1.6 billion over the course of a decade (Carter, 2004). Despite the introduction of both feral pigs and P. cinnamomi in many temperate habitats worldwide, very little is understood of the compounding potential of these two highly destructive and invasive species. Anecdotally, feral pigs have long been implicated in the spread of P. cinnamomi although relatively little data exists to support these claims.The non-fastidious diet of feral pigs typically incorporates a significant proportion of plant material including woody root material and underground structures (Masters, 1979;Choquenot et al., 1996;Giménez-Anaya et al., 2008), which are the primary sites for infection with P. cinnamomi in susceptible plants (Hardham, 2005;Hardy et al., 2007). Such foraging behaviour presents a means of pathogen dispersal in addition to the transport of contaminated soil. This study investigated the potential for pigs to disseminate viable P. cinnamomi in their faeces following the ingestion of infected plant material. As such we demonstrate the ability of P. cinnamomi to survive passage through the pig digestive tract and the potential for long distance dispersal of the pathogen by feral pigs in native forest ecosystems. Methods Determining pig gastrointestinal passage rate; experimental and pig maintenancePig f...

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Diet of wild boar Sus scrofa in Western Europe, with particular reference to consumption of agricultural crops

Cited by 449 publications

References 39 publications

Does wild boar rooting affect livestock grazing areas in alpine grasslands?

Does wild boar rooting affect livestock grazing areas in alpine grasslands?

Spatial learning in pigs: effects of environmental enrichment and individual characteristics on behaviour and performance

Potential for dissemination of Phytophthora cinnamomi by feral pigs via ingestion of infected plant material

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