Influence of COVID-19 lockdown and hunting disturbance on the activity patterns of exotic wild boar (Sus scrofa) and axis deer (Axis axis) in a protected area of northeastern Argentina

Nicosia, Gabriela; de Miguel, Andrés; Fumagalli, Augusto; Diego-Arnaldo, Romina B.; Gürtler, Ricardo E.

doi:10.1007/s10344-023-01725-8

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 63 publications

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“…This period was right after the most stringent COVID-19 related lockdown in Belgium, in which all non-essential travel was prohibited (data from this lockdown period was excluded from the analysis). Both positive and negative impacts of COVID-19 related suppression of human activity on the detectability of a species have been observed ( Anderson, Waller & Thornton, 2023 ; Nicosia et al, 2023 ; Procko et al, 2022 ). In our study area, human activity, especially hiking, increased during the stringent lockdown of April–May 2020.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When and where? Day-night alterations in wild boar space use captured by a generalized additive mixed model

Bollen,

Casaer,

Neyens

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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Wild boar (Sus scrofa), an abundant species across Europe, is often subjected to management in agro-ecosystems in order to control population size, or to scare them away from agricultural fields to safeguard crop yields. Wild boar management can benefit from a better understanding on changes in its space use across the diel cycle (i.e., diel space use) in relation to variable hunting pressures or other factors. Here, we estimate wild boar diel space use in an agro-ecosystem in central Belgium during four consecutive “growing seasons” (i.e., April–September). To achieve this, we fit generalized additive mixed models (GAMMs) to camera trap data of wild boar aggregated over 1-h periods. Our results reveal that wild boar are predominantly nocturnal in all of the hunting management zones in Meerdaal, with activity peaks around sunrise and sunset. Hunting events in our study area tend to take place around sunrise and sunset, while non-lethal human activities occur during sunlight hours. Our GAMM reveals that wild boar use different areas throughout the diel cycle. During the day, wild boar utilized areas in the centre of the forest, possibly to avoid human activities during daytime. During the night, they foraged near (or in) agricultural fields. A post hoc comparison of space use maps of wild boar in Meerdaal revealed that their diurnal and nocturnal space use were uncorrelated. We did not find sufficient evidence to prove that wild boar spatiotemporally avoid hunters. Finally, our work reveals the potential of GAMMs to model variation in space across 24-h periods from camera trap data, an application that will be useful to address a range of ecological questions. However, to test the robustness of this approach we advise that it should be compared against telemetry-based methods to derive diel space use.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

When and where? Day-night alterations in wild boar space use captured by a generalized additive mixed model

Bollen,

Casaer,

Neyens

et al. 2024

PeerJ

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Frequent flight responses, but low escape distance of wild boar to nonlethal human disturbance

Wielgus,

Henrich,

Fiderer

et al. 2024

Ecol Sol and Evidence

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Human activities can affect the behaviour and fitness of wildlife. However, the response of animals to nonlethal human activities has not been well‐studied in wild boar, Sus scrofa, even though it is a widespread species in Europe and has become of increasing concern because of crop damages and its vector capacity for diseases. We study the behavioural responses of GPS‐collared wild boar to nonlethal experimental human approaches in the Bohemian Forest Ecosystem along the border between Germany and the Czech Republic. We describe and quantify the flight responses of the animals and assess whether they vary with the distance to recreational paths and the occurrence of hunting in the area. We show that wild boar were disturbed and displaced by human approaches on foot in 69% of the trials, but the average flight initiation and escape distances were relatively small (93 and 256 m, respectively). The probability of a flight response decreased with distance from the paths and increased with the ruggedness of the terrain. In the non‐hunting zone, the flight initiation distances and flight durations were shorter than in the hunting zone. Our results suggest a weak effect of nonlethal human disturbances on the movement of wild boar, although the animals were sensitive to the perceived risk in relation to recreation infrastructure and hunting. For the management of diseases such as African swine fever, it can be concluded that nonlethal disturbances are unlikely to accelerate the spread of the disease due to far‐distance movements. Guidelines for restrictions in case of an outbreak might be adjusted accordingly.

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Spotlight hunting of invasive deer (Axis axis) selects for individuals with greater reproductive value in a protected area of north-eastern Argentina

Gürtler,

Nicosia,

Delaloye

et al. 2024

Eur J Wildl Res

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Influence of COVID-19 lockdown and hunting disturbance on the activity patterns of exotic wild boar (Sus scrofa) and axis deer (Axis axis) in a protected area of northeastern Argentina

Cited by 4 publications

References 63 publications

When and where? Day-night alterations in wild boar space use captured by a generalized additive mixed model

When and where? Day-night alterations in wild boar space use captured by a generalized additive mixed model

Frequent flight responses, but low escape distance of wild boar to nonlethal human disturbance

Spotlight hunting of invasive deer (Axis axis) selects for individuals with greater reproductive value in a protected area of north-eastern Argentina

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