Book of Abstracts

Transcription

Book of Abstracts

Book of Abstracts
York
United Kingdom
1-4 September 2010
CONTENTS
Oral Presentations .............................................................................................................. 6
Session 1 - General........................................................................................................................... 6
S.W. Jack - PIGS, pigs everywhere...What you don't know CAN hurt ............................................ 6
J. L. Corn et al. - Mapping the distribution of feral swine in the United States ............................. 6
A. Meindl-Boehmer et al. - Classical Swine Fever in wild boar: the impact of infectious diseases
in wildlife on livestock and wildlife management and constraints encountered ........................... 7
H. J. Megens et al. - The Porcine HapMap projects: genome-wide analysis of pig, wild boar and
suiforme diversity ......................................................................................................................... 8
Session 2 - General........................................................................................................................... 9
G. Massei and D. Cowan - Too many pigs? A review of control methods for wild boar and feral
pigs ............................................................................................................................................... 9
M.Boadella et al. - Monitoring tuberculosis in Eurasian wild boar from the Iberian Peninsula by
ELISA ............................................................................................................................................. 9
E. Baubet et al. - Patterns of wild boar dispersal in North-Eastern part of France ...................... 10
O. Keuling - Habitat use of wild boar in a forest-agro-ecosystem in Northern Germany ............ 11
Session 3 (parallel) - Diseases ........................................................................................................ 12
J. Vicente et al. - Habitat use, field epidemiology and risk factors related to wild boar -livestock
interactions in Spain ................................................................................................................... 12
S. Kramer-Schadt et al. - Wild boar ecology, disease dynamics, and habitat geography –
managing Classical Swine Fever (CSF) ......................................................................................... 13
T. Alexandrov et al. - Control and eradication of classical swine fever in wild boar:case report . 13
M. Lange et al. - Assessing CSF disease control measures using an individual-based model....... 14
Session 4 (parallel) Ecology and behaviour ................................................................................... 15
V. Tolon et al. - Impacts of refuges on wild boar - hunters spatial interactions and wild boar
mortality ..................................................................................................................................... 15
C. Guillermo Bueno - Wild boar impact on Alpine grasslands ..................................................... 15
J. Kamler et al. - Importance of field crops and additional feeding for wild boar in the Czech
Republic ...................................................................................................................................... 16
L. Scillitani et al. - Movements of wild boar in relation to landscape vegetation type and human
disturbance in Italy ..................................................................................................................... 17
Session 3 (parallel) - Diseases - continued..................................................................................... 17
P. van Hooft et al. - Patterns of disease in European wild boar .................................................. 17
M. Hartley - Contingency planning for notifiable diseases in feral boar in the UK ...................... 18
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S. Rossi et al. - Oral vaccination of wild boar against Classical Swine Fever: how to monitor
vaccination effect using epidemiological data? .......................................................................... 19
M. Sage et al. - Oral vaccination of wild boar against Classical Swine Fever: field evaluation of
different baits consumption by camera trapping in North-Eastern France habitats ................... 19
Session 4 (parallel) - Ecology and behaviour - continued .............................................................. 20
P. Sarmento et al. - Habitat occupancy of wild boar in Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve (Central
Portugal). A camera trapping approach ...................................................................................... 20
C. Prévot - Influence of artificial feeding on spatial utilisation patterns of the wild boar ( Sus
scrofa L.) ..................................................................................................................................... 21
H. Thurfjell - Wild boar reactions to disturbance, final and preliminary results .......................... 22
S. Servanty et al. - Population dynamics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) in two contrasting
environmental and management situations ............................................................................... 22
Session 5 - General......................................................................................................................... 23
R. M. Engeman - Indexing principles and a paradigm widely applicable for indexing feral s wine
(and other animal populations) .................................................................................................. 23
M. Gentle - Alternative toxins for feral pig (Sus scrofa) management in Australia? .................... 24
S. Cahill et al. - Wild boar habituation to humans and suburban landscapes: local perspectives
on an increasingly global phenomenon with complex management implications ...................... 24
M. J. Bodenchuk et al. - Feral hog damage to agriculture in Texas, USA: natural resource ......... 25
S. Cellina and U. Hohmann - Data on wild boar in Europe .......................................................... 25
Session 6 (parallel) - Ecology and behaviour ................................................................................. 26
M. F. Cuevas et al. - Ecological strategies of the wild boar (Sus scrofa), in the Monte Desert,
Argentina .................................................................................................................................... 26
E. S. Bertolotto et al. - Sex and age differences in anti-predator behaviour in a wild boar
population .................................................................................................................................. 27
U. Hohman - On the issue of reproductive suppression in wild boar females and its manag ement
implication .................................................................................................................................. 27
O. L. Revutskaya and E. Ya. Frisman - Model analysis of the forage reserve and the snow depth
influence on the wild boar population dynamics in the Russian Middle Priamur ye .................... 28
Session 7 (parallel) - Genetics ........................................................................................................ 29
A. Panoraia - Fine scale genetic structure of wild boar in Greece ............................................... 29
M. Scandura et al. - MtDNA phylogeography of the European wild boar: the effect of postglacial dynamics……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30
L. Iacolina et al. - Genome-wide assessment of Genetic diversity in European wild boar .......... 31
L. Paule et al. - Large-scale differentiation of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations: is there
intraspecific structure? .............................................................................................................. 32
Session 6 (parallel) - Ecology and behaviour - continued .............................................................. 32
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I. Ebihara - The ecological characteristics of snare hunting of Ryukyu wild boar in Iriomote
Island, the South of Japan........................................................................................................... 32
Y. Kodera - Reproduction of wild boar in the Iwami district, Shimane prefecture, Western
Japan .......................................................................................................................................... 33
A. Schlageter and D. Haag-Wackernagel - Investigation of the effectiveness of deterrent systems
against wild boar Sus scrofa........................................................................................................ 34
Session 8 (parallel) - Population management and Density estimation ....................................... 35
C. Rosell et al. - Use of fauna passages by wild boar: some change is observed ......................... 35
A. Monaco et al. - Impact and effectiveness of two different hunting techniques on wild boar. 36
B. Franzetti et al. - Mission accomplished: assessment of wild boar populations across Italy .... 37
Session 9 (parallel) - Human dimension ........................................................................................ 37
B. J. Higginbotham - Using landowner education and outreach to address wild pig damage and
abatement .................................................................................................................................. 37
J. Dutton and H. Clayton - Public perception of wild boar in the Forest of Dean, England,
potential implications for their future management .................................................................. 38
B. Bobek et al. - Population of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Split of Vistula River and its conflict with
man ............................................................................................................................................ 38
C. Wilson - Wild boar in England: monitoring a novel species when the novelty has worn off ... 39
Session 8 (parallel) Density estimation and Population management – continued…………………. 40
K. Kolodziej et al. - Faecal DNA-typing to estimate wild boar population size - the fight with
genotyping errors ....................................................................................................................... 40
C. Ebert et al. - Genotyping fresh faeces for use in wild boar population estimation in Germany –
the story continues… .................................................................................................................. 40
R. Plhal et al. - Comparison of four methods for estimation of wild boar population density in
forest environment..................................................................................................................... 41
C. Nores et al. - Wild boar counting on drives: testing a method ................................................ 42
Poster Presentations ........................................................................................................ 43
1. R. Bunting et al. - feral pigs and volcanoes: a hot topic ........................................................... 43
2. L. J. Boggeln et al. - Delivering baits to wild boar: which season is best? ................................ 43
3. M. Furenbratt - The prevalence of parasites of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in faeces, a pilot study in
Sweden ....................................................................................................................................... 44
4. C. Heimo et al. - Wild boar impact on the herbaceous cover in a mountainous habitat ......... 44
5. R. Gill and G. Brandt - Estimating density of British Wild Boar populations using thermal
imaging ....................................................................................................................................... 45
6. M. Upson et al. - Impacts of feral boar on woodland flora and invertebrates......................... 45
7. G. Watola et al. - The spatial and temporal scale of wild boar rooting in English woodlands . 45
8. A. Náhlik et al. - Winter food choice of wild boar in two different habitats ............................ 46
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9. C. Nores - Wild boar abundance and altitude ......................................................................... 47
10. B. Pokorny et al. - Presence and frequency of different lesions an d anomalies of wild boar
(Sus scrofa L.) mandibles in Slovenia .......................................................................................... 47
11. P. K. Birtsas et al. - Prediction of habitat suitability for wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in Rodopi
mountains Greece ...................................................................................................................... 48
12. A. Touloudi et al. - Prevalence of selected viral and bacteriological disease agents in wild
boar from Greece ....................................................................................................................... 49
13. V. Siat et al. - Monitoring wild boar crossing over fenced motorways using camera -trapping:
what effect of hunting with hounds on the risk of disease spreading? ....................................... 50
14. M. Stergar et al. - Long-distance dispersal in adult female wild boar: a case study .............. 51
15. S. Campbell and G. Hartley - Wild boar distribution in Scotland ........................................... 52
16. T. Podgórski et al. - Factors influencing home range size in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in various
habitats of Poland....................................................................................................................... 52
17. F. J. Cano-Manuel et al. - Infectious diseases in wild boar population of Sierra Nevada,
Spain ........................................................................................................................................... 53
18. F. Navas et al. - Does the presence of wild boar in protected wetlands affect sensitive
species? ...................................................................................................................................... 54
19. S. Bertolino et al. - Is the wild boar an important nest predator in wetland areas? An
experiment with dummy nests ................................................................................................... 54
20. M. Scandura et al. - Disentangling the genetic make-up of the Sardinian wild boar by
different classes of genetic markers ........................................................................................... 55
21. S. Marques et al. - Impact of roads on wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations in Central and
Northern Portugal ...................................................................................................................... 56
22. D. Merta et al. - Distribution of birth date, condition and fecundity of wild boar (Sus scrofa)
piglets in South-Western Poland ................................................................................................ 57
23. A. Giménez-Anaya et al. - Long-term wild boar monitoring in the Pyrenees reveals a positive
trend........................................................................................................................................... 58
24. B. Bobek et al. - Carcass weight, condition and fertility of adult wild boar (Sus scrofa)
harvested in South-Western Poland ........................................................................................... 58
25. W. Rembacz and L. Wisniowska - Age, structure, carcass weight and condition of wild boar
harvested in North-Western Poland ........................................................................................... 59
26. W. García Jiménez et al. - Tuberculosis in wild boar: the effect of climate and population
density ........................................................................................................................................ 59
27. P. Fernández-Llario et al. - The importance of feeding management in the control of
tuberculosis in wild boar ............................................................................................................ 60
28. F. Gethöffer - Reproduction characteristics of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Lower Saxony,
Germany ..................................................................................................................................... 61
29. O. Keuling - Movement pattern of wild boar in autumn – how endangered is the maize? ... 62
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30. R. López et al. - Wild boar capture methodology (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus 1758) in a suburban
area: the case of Las Rozas de Madrid (central Spain) ................................................................ 62
31. S. Adriani et al. - Traumatic deaths and commercial trade of dogs for wild boar (Sus scrofa)
drive hunting: preliminary results of a survey in Rieti Province (Italy) ........................................ 63
32. S. Adriani et al. - Characteristics of the dogs used for drive hunting of wild boar (Sus scrofa):
a survey in the province of Rieti ................................................................................................. 64
33. C. Lutton et al. - Risk factors associated with wildlife-livestock transmission of bovine
tuberculosis in Spain ................................................................................................................... 65
34. Zs. Bíró et al. - Impacts of fenced areas for wild boar on nature conservation ..................... 66
35. N. Velickovic et al. - Genetic structure of wild boar from the South Pannonian Region ........ 66
36. I. C. Barrio - Description of floristic successional stages from wild boar rooting ................... 67
37. D. Újváry and L. Szemethy - The effect of different feeding arrangements on the behaviour
of wild boar kept in captivity ...................................................................................................... 67
38. J. Bosch et al. - Estimating wild boar population ................................................................... 68
39. B. Frank and A. Monaco - Good management is not only wildlife management:
understanding public preferences for wild boar management in a protected area of central
Italy............................................................................................................................................. 69
40. A. C. Frantz et al. - How ‘wild’ are British wild boar?............................................................. 70
41. C. H. Salvador - The timeline of Sus scrofa wild forms invasion in South America................. 70
42. C. Baltingzer et al. - Forest-dwelling ungulates and seed dispersal: a comparative approach
to three different species: roe deer, red deer and wild boar ...................................................... 71
43. M. Sage et al. - Oral vaccination of wild boar against Classical Swine Fever: a large scale
study of baits survival in North-Eastern France habitats............................................................. 71
List of participants ............................................................................................................ 73
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Oral Presentations
Session 1 - General
PIGS, pigs everywhere...What you don't know CAN hurt
S. W. Jack
MSU CVM Berryman Institute, USA
Email: [email protected]
Feral hogs have been described as the largest (and perhaps most pervasive) invasive
vertebrate species in North America. Their impact extends beyond environmental damage
to human and animal health and includes economic threats. This presentation will focus on
infectious disease threats posed by feral swine. First, there are those diseases that are
transmissible to humans (zoonotic diseases). Then, there are diseases that might impact
agricultural and pet animals (e.g. swine, cattle, dogs, etc.) and other wildlife. A third avenue
of impact is economics (e.g. through lost production, trade restrictions, etc.). This
presentation will review these considerations and offer a review of swine -related diseases
(e.g. brucellosis, leptospirosis, influenza, pseudorabies, classical and African swine fevers,
foot and mouth disease and various vesicular diseases).
Mapping the distribution of feral swine in the United States
J. L. Corn 1, T. R. Jordan 2 and M. Madden2,
1
Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, College of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Georgia, USA, 2Center for Remote Sensing and Mapping Science, Department
of Geography, University of Georgia, USA
The Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study (SCWDS) began producing maps of the
distribution of feral swine in the United States in 1982. National maps were produced in
1982, 1988 and 2004 using data provided by the state and federal natural resources and
agriculture agencies of the United States. In 2008 we implemented the National Feral Swine
Mapping System (NFSMS). The NFSMS is a web-based interactive data collection and
mapping system being used to archive and display area data for the distribution of feral
swine in the United States. Data on established populations of feral swine are provided by
agency personnel who work directly with the map on the NFSMS server using interactive
mapping routines and Google Map protocols. With these tools, the managers are able to
add new locations, revise existing ones or delete areas where feral swine are no longer
present. Distribution data submitted by agency personnel are evaluated by SCWDS on a
continual basis, and the digital geodatabase and distribution map are updated with verified
additions on a monthly basis. The NFSMS is accessed via the internet at
http://feralswinemap.org/. States reporting feral swine populations increased from 17 in
1982 to 28 in 2004. Since initiation of the NFSMS in 2008 over 400 changes to the national
feral swine map have been submitted and as of early 2010 a total of 36 states reported
established feral swine populations.
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Classical Swine Fever in wild boar: the impact of infectious diseases in wildlife on livestock
and wildlife management and constraints encountered
A.Meindl-Boehmer1, S.Blome2, K.Depner2, V.Guberti3, S.Rossi4, C.Staubach 5, H.H.Thulke6 and
F. Koenen 7
1
University of Vetinary Medicine Hannover, Germany, 2Institute of Diagnostic Virology,
Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany, 3Instituto Nazionale per la Fauna Selvatica, Italy,
4
National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, France, 5Federal Research Institute for
Animal Health, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute, Institute of Epidemiology, Germany,
6
Department of Ecological Modelling, UFZ (Umweltforschungszentrum), Centre for
Environmental Research Leipzig-Halle, Germany, 7Veterinary and Agrochemical Research
Centre (VAR), Department of Virology, Belgium
Wild boar are susceptible to many infectious diseases of livestock such as Classical Swine
Fever (CSF), African Swine Fever (ASF), Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) or Aujeszky`s disease
(AK). This species might also play an important role as epidemiological reservoir for
zoonoses such as Trichinella, Brucella, Leptospira or Hepatitis E virus. CSF is a well known
example of a disease, which is difficult to manage and eradicate in the wild, having a high
impact on livestock health. In the past CSF infections in wild boar populations were self limiting, whereas during recent outbreaks encountered in several European countries (e.g.
France, Germany, Slovak Republic) the infection tended to become endemic. The increased
size of European wild boar populations and their wide geographical distribution have
increased the risk of wild boar becoming epidemiological reservoirs and spreading the virus
to livestock. In Germany about 65 % of the primary outbreaks in domestic pigs in the 1990s
were due to direct/indirect contacts to infected wild boar. To protect the domestic pig
population and prevent severe economic losses, several countries have developed
strategies for the early detection and subsequent eradication of CSF in wild boar.
Surveillance in wild animals is often based on strategies developed for livestock, which
might be suboptimal or even inadequate when applied to wildlife. Here host population
sizes can only be roughly estimated by hunting bag data or the spring census done by
hunters. Detailed information regarding population density, age structure and spatial
distribution is usually lacking and data on partially distinct metapopulations is not available.
Sampling intensity often cannot increase adequately to follow disease incursion and spread
in sufficient detail. Adapting sampling to the needs encountered in different disease
situations (e.g. free, infected, under control) might solve practicability caveats. Recently,
eradication of CSF in wild boar populations has been achieved in conjunction with mass
vaccination of wild boar by repeated oral administration of a modified live vacci ne. Yet
many questions remain: e.g. criteria for choosing the most suitable eradication strategy
according to the infected population, whether or how hunting activities should be involved,
the timing and the number of vaccination campaigns needed, the numb er and spatial
distribution of vaccine baits delivered in the field, and last but not least criteria of when an
infected wild boar population can be defined as “CSF free" and when to stop vaccination.
These questions urgently need to be solved for the future.While methods to control CSF in
wild boar are in principle available, for other diseases such as ASF or FMD eradication
strategies and methodologies are lacking and the consequences of an introduction of such a
disease into wildlife cannot be foreseen at all! Probably the impact on the livestock sector
would be dramatic. In order to provide answers to open questions, to develop better
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monitoring and surveillance strategies and to improve eradication programmes, close
cooperation and interaction of wildlife biologists, veterinarians, virologists, ecologists,
modellers, statisticians and many more professions is a necessity!
The Porcine HapMap projects: genome-wide analysis of pig, wild boar and suiforme
diversity
H. J. Megens1, R.P.M.A. Crooijmans1, G.Larson2, M.Scandura3, L.Iacolina3, M.Apollonio 3,
G.Bertorelle4, A.Triantafyllidis5, P.Alexandri5, W.Muir6, G.Semiadi7, M. Perez-Enciso8, A.
Archibald 9, M.A.M. Groenen 1 and L.B. Schook10
1
Wageningen University, Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen, The
Netherlands, 2Durham University, Department of Archaeology, UK, 3University of Sassari,
Italy, 4University of Ferrara, Italy, 5University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 6Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana, 7Puslit Biologi LIPI Indonesia, 8ICREA-Universitat Autonoma
Barcelona, Spain, 9The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS, Univeristy of Edinburgh, Roslin, UK,
10
University of Illinois, Institute for Genomic Biology, Urbana, IL, USA.
The near-completion of the pig genome sequence, the availability of a genome-wide
porcine, high-density SNP assay, and the introduction of next-generation sequencing
technologies are currently revolutionizing the genetics of Sus scrofa and related species. The
Illumina Porcine 60K SNP chip, designed by the International Suiforme Genomics
Consortium (ISGC) is capable of genotyping 60,000 SNPs in a single assay. It has enabled
whole-genome characterization of linkage disequilibrium and haplotype structure in
commercial and local pig breeds, as part of the Porcine HapMap project, which is also
coordinated by the ISGC. The Porcine HapMap project has furthermore resulted in
characterization of whole-genome patterns of variation, including signatures of selection
associated with domestication and breed formation, demographic events such as
population bottlenecks, and the complex origin of domesticated populations by examining
patterns of haplotype sharing. From the start the Porcine HapMap project sought to include
non-domesticated Suidae, and the 60K assay was successfully applied to the wild boar.
Currently around 2,400 individual pigs and wild boar have been successfully genotyped
using the Illumina porcine 60K SNP chip. The pigs represent more than 60 distinct breeds,
both local and commercial, and over 100 separate populations, from around the world. Over
600 individual wild boar were genotyped, representing more than 30 different wild boar
populations distributed throughout Eurasia. In addition, museum and archaeological
samples were included to provide a wider insight into domestication and geographic history.
Applying the 60K assay to other Old World Suidae, including the other species in the genus
Sus as well as African warthogs, bushpigs, red river hog and the enigmatic Babyrousa,
allowed the estimation of the ancestral allele for most of the 60,000 SNPs, and estimation of
the origin and relative age of the porcine SNPs. To further investigate the degree of
sequence divergence and allele sharing between Sus scrofa and closely related species, we
sequenced (Illumina GA2) the complete genomes of two island species: Sus verrucosus,
occurring only on Java, and Sus celebensis, endemic to Sulawesi. A guided assembly of the
genomes of these two species, based on ~7-8x genome coverage data, was done using the
Sus scrofa genome, demonstrating the value of this resource for comparative suiforme
genomics. Genome-wide patterns of divergence and allele sharing between these three
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species revealed correlation with recombination frequency and balancing vs. direction al
selection, and provides a framework to further investigate patterns of selection during
speciation and domestication.
Session 2 - General
Too many pigs? A review of control methods for wild boar and feral pigs
G.Massei and D.Cowan
Food and Environment Research Agency, UK
Wild boar and feral pigs (hereafter collectively referred to as wild pigs), are among the most
widely distributed mammals in the world and have the highest reproductive output
compared with other ungulates. Data derived from hunting statistics in several European
countries indicate that in the past four decades the species increased in numbers and
distribution throughout Europe. Similar trends were also recorded in the US and Australia.
Wild pigs occupy an extremely wide spectrum of habitat types ranging from semi-arid
environments to tropical forests, mountains, marshes and oceanic islands and have recently
been observed in suburban areas. The study presents a review of lethal and non -lethal
control methods used to manage wild pig populations, with particular focus on novel
methods, such as fertility control or delivery of baits containing pharmaceuticals to control
pig numbers or spread of diseases. The review indicated that successful eradications of wild
pigs from islands have been achieved by combining different control methods and by
establishing post-eradication monitoring to ascertain that the eradication had been
completed. Conversely, on the mainland, and in countries where wild pigs have long been
established, the management of human-wild pig conflicts often relies on population size
reduction through hunting and poisoning or on wild pig exclusion through fencing and
diversionary feeding. In the majority of instances, population control is not based on
previous knowledge of local densities or on predicted impact of control on population size.
Based on these results, we propose a framework of criteria to guide decisions regarding the
suitability of different options to manage human-wild pig conflicts in different contexts.
Monitoring tuberculosis in Eurasian wild boar from the Iberian Peninsula by ELISA
M.Boadella1, P.Acevedo2, J.Vicente1, J.de la Fuente1 and C.Gortázar1
1
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), Spain, 2Biogeography, Diversity,
and Conservation Research Team, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences,
University of Malaga, Spain
The Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) is the most widespread and generally also the most
abundant wild ungulate in large portions of the European continent and its continuing
expansion raises concerns regarding the control of diseases shared with livestock. In southwestern Europe Mycobacterium bovis is the most frequently detected mycobacteria in wild
boar, with local prevalence ranging up to 52%. Overabundant populations living in
Mediterranean habitats of south-western Europe are considered true wildlife reservoirs for
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M. bovis. We set up tools to detect contact of free ranging wild boar with M. bovis and
applied them for disease surveillance at peninsular scale. We hypothesized that antibodies
against M. bovis would be more prevalent in wild boar from TB endemic regions of central
and southern Spain. A modified ELISA technique, using M. bovis purified protein derivative
(bPPD) as coating antigen and protein G as conjugate showed a fair sensitivity (79%) and
excellent specificity (100%) in detecting infected wild boar. We also showed that the
responsiveness of known M. bovis negative wild boar to the Mycobacterium avium specific
PPA3 antigen was very low, suggesting little contact of this suid with M. avium
paratuberculosis (MAP) in south-western Europe. This ELISA was used for testing 1701 wild
boar sera, sampled in 20 regions of the Iberian Peninsula between 1999 and 2010. Factors
affecting serum antibody prevalence were analyzed by means of generalized linear models.
The global seroprevalence was 27% and local prevalence ranged from 0 up to 50%. As
expected, the higest prevalence was observed in the TB endemic regions of central and
southern Spain. However, isolated positive sera were also found in peripheral regions,
pointing out areas where increased surveillance is urgently needed. Time trend analysis
detected significant local declines and local increases of antibody prevalence. We showed
that in wild boar, in contrast to many other mammalian species, antibodies against M. bovis
can be detected reliably with serology tests. The bPPD ELISA test has the advantage of
cheapness and good specificity and therefore, is a good tool for large-scale surveys. The
detection of significant variations in time further support the use of ELISA testing as a means
of monitoring the effects of eventual disease control operations. The authors thank M.
Durán, A. Oleaga and many colleagues at IREC for making the sampling possible. This is a
contribution to MCINN Plan Nacional research grant AGL2008-03875 and FEDER, and to EU
grant TB-STEP 212414. Studies on diseases shared between domestic animals and wildlife
are also supported by grants and contracts from INIA and Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y
Medio Rural y Marino (OAPN and SDGSPP), and Grupo Santander - Fundacion Marcelino
Botin.
Patterns of wild boar dispersal in North-Eastern part of France
E.Baubet, S.Brandt and J-M.Gaillard
Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, France
Increasing wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) populations in France as well as in Europe are causing
multiple sources of problems like damage to crops fields, sanitary problems or collisions.
Modelling of wild boar demography implies to get knowledge on the demographic
parameters that directly influence population size, including survival, reproduction and
dispersal patterns. We investigated dispersal patterns of wild boar from a long term study of
the intensively monitored population in Arc-en-Barrois, in North Eastern part of France.
Overall, almost 2,000 wild boar have been marked and recovered during hunting, allowing
us to assess the magnitude of dispersal in relation to age, sex, and year. Moreover, we
looked for the influence of juvenile mass on dispersal patterns. These results are discussed
in relation to population management, but also in the light of evolutionary ecology.
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Habitat use of wild boar in a forest-agro-ecosystem in Northern Germany
O.Keuling
Institute for Wildlife Research, University for Veterinary Medicine, Foundation, Germany
A lot of wild boar Sus scrofa research has been done in the last decades. Much is known on
wild boar space use, however very few of the data were analysed regarding habitat
utilisation. Thus, habitat usage is often discussed without statistically reliable data. I
analysed radiotelemetric data of 26 wild boar groups from a lowland wild boar population in
Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, northern Germany from 2002 to 2006. The study area of 200
km² was richly structured: agriculture took 40 % field crops with a low proportion of maize
fields, and 23 % grassland, forest was 34 %. I assigned the localisation data to different
habitat types in ESRI ArcView3.2 and analysed use-availability with Chi-square tests, Baileyintervals (Cherry 1996) and Jacobs´ index (Jacobs 1974). The different wild boar family
groups showed individual habitat utilisation. All groups avoided open habitats for daytime
resting; deciduous, mixed and coniferous forest stands without spruce were used as
available. Stands with appreciable proportions of spruce were preferred by most of the
groups for daytime resting. The habitat category “coniferous forest with spruce” was
preferred constantly year round, most other forest stands were used as available with slight
fluctuations. Only beech stands were avoided in winter but preferred in autumn. In summer
wild boar also used habitats outside the forest for daytime resting and some groups
preferred rapeseed. Weather had hardly any detectable impact on the choice of daytime
resting sites, merely beech stands were avoided in cold and snowy weather. During night
time forest stands were more or less used as available with a tendency for preference in
winter. Agricultural habitats and grass-land were mainly avoided during night time in winter,
but used as available in summer. Reed was preferred the whole year. There were only few
differences in habitat utilisation before and after harvest. Rapeseed was preferred before
harvest, and maize was preferred after the harvest of other cereals. I detected no
preference of one specific crop species. Forest utilisation increased aft er harvest, revealing
differences particularly between age classes. I could detect only marginal differences
between the sexes in space and habitat utilisation. The results of the total study reflect an
interaction between habitat types, season, and nutritional needs on most behavioural
patterns. Wild boar groups react flexible and individually in space and habitat use, activity
and social behaviour on several seasonal internal and extrinsic factors, e.g. availability of
resources. The omnivore wild boar is enabled easily to adapt to various environments. Its
wide eco-ethological plasticity enables the species to colonize new habitats and enlarge its
distribution even into sparsely wooded regions.
11
Session 3 (parallel) - Diseases
Habitat use, field epidemiology and risk factors related to wild boar-livestock interactions
in Spain
J.Vicente1, E.Maio1, P.Acevedo2, J.A.Barasona1, R.Soriguer3, J.M.Sánchez Vizcaíno4,
B.Martínez-López4, V.Rodríguez-Prieto4, L.De Juan 4, B.Romero4, S.Rodriguez Campos4 and
C.Gortázar1
1
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos (IREC), Spain, 2Biogeography, Diversity
and Conservation Research Team, Department of Animal Biology, Faculty of Sciences,
University of Malaga, Spain, 3Estacion Biologica de Doñana (CSIC), Sevilla, Spain, 4VISAVET,
Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
Understanding the specific factors determining disease spread and persistence across wild
populations is needed in order to predict the consequences of wildlife - livestock
interactions. This knowledge is also needed for implementing disease control actions on
wildlife and the environment. Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations are growing in the
Iberian Peninsula, especially in Central and South Spain. Hunting management may convey
risks for both wildlife and livestock, therefore becoming an important socioeconomic
problem. Recent research has evidenced the involvement of management factors (among
others) on the sanitary status of wild boar populations across Spain. Nonetheless, there is
no information concerning the pattern of persistence and spread in local contiguous
populations under different management and epidemiological risks, which can determine
the degree of interactions between individuals at the population and inter-population level,
and between wild boar and domestic livestock. Here we provide the first insights into
habitat use, field epidemiology and risk factors related to wild boar - livestock interactions in
South Central Spain by integrating GPS-GSM monitoring technology and field epidemiology.
During 2009 and 2010 we captured and tagged 15 wild boar in the Montes de Toledo range,
South-central Spain. Adult and juvenile wild boar were provided with a GPS -GSM collar and
piglets were marked with transponders. We also sampled over 300 wild ungulates (mainly
wild boar and red deer, Cervus elaphus) during the 2009/10 hunting season for blood and
tissues in order to establish the prevalence of selected diseases. Data on livestock health
were obtained from the official veterinary services. These data were integrated and
analyzed regarding the local patterns of disease persistence and transmission in wild
ungulates. A preliminary analysis on habitat use by wild boar shows a wide range in home
range area, which varies with management (i. e. food provision) and the presence of
barriers such as big game fencing. Nonetheless, our results evidenced the capacity of wild
boar to undercross fences. Maximum distances travelled in a day were up to 14 km. Ranging
by wild boar coming from hunting areas in cattle grazing areas was detected. These aspects
are crucial for disease control in wildlife and useful to design epidemiological management
units depending on the pathogen, hosts, environment conditions and anthrop ogenic factors.
This is also relevant in order to design broad scale preventive and/or reactive sanitary
policies. This multidisciplinary study is providing knowledge on the role of wild boar as
potential disease reservoirs for diseases that can seriously compromise livestock health, but
also regarding the sustainable use of wild ungulates by hunting, and regarding public health.
12
Wild boar ecology, disease dynamics, and habitat geography – managing Classical Swine
Fever (CSF)
S.Kramer-Schadt1, N.Fernandez2, M.Lange3 and HH.Thulke3
1
Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany, 2 Dept of Applied Biology,
Estacion Biologica de Donana, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientıficas, Spain,
3
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig – UFZ, Dept. of Ecological Modelling,
Germany
The dynamics of wild boar populations in Europe are influenced by diseases. To investigate
the increasing wild boar populations as a potential disease reservoir and to explore more
complex hypotheses on the interaction between pathogen morbidity, host ecology and
spatial parameters, we developed a spatially-explicit, ecologic-epidemiological wild boar
simulation model. Therein, we introduce Classical Swine Fever (CSF) virus infection, an
economically very important disease of suidae, as a reference pathogen. We model
variability of the disease course at the individual level causing transient infections or killing
infected animals, with the lethally infected having a variable life-expectancy. We first align
the model with theoretical results from mean-field approaches. We test and rank different
hypotheses of CSF persistence in wild boar populations. The model is chec ked for plausibility
with field data from a long-term outbreak in Germany. We consider the specific case of
Denmark, where we evaluated the probability of both successfully reintroducing wild boar
into Denmark and limiting their contact with domestic pig farms to which they might spread
disease. We compared model predictions with the geographic distribution of farms to
achieve a spatial assessment of the contact risk. We highlight how the resulting geographic
risk map may support management decisions.
Control and eradication of classical swine fever in wild boar: case report
T.Alexandrov 1, P.Kamenov 1, D.Stefanov 2 and Klaus Depner 3
1
Animal Health Directorate, National Veterinary Service of Bulgaria, 2Regional Veterinary
Office, Municipality of Tutrakan, 3Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for
Animal Health, Germany
E-mail: [email protected]
The main aims of controlling Classical Swine Fever (CSF) in wild boar are to reduce the risk of
transmission of the disease to domestic pigs, to prevent the “endemic phase evolution” or
to reduce the endemic phase duration. Since often the source of infection of CSF in wild
boar is difficult to be determined, the investigation and prevention of disease spreading is
very difficult to achieve. While the disease will fade out in small wild boar populations
(between 1000 and 1500) it may become endemic in larger population. The persistence of
CSF depends on epidemiological and ecological factors such as the proportion of individuals
that recover from infection, the occurrence of chronic infections, the social structure and
dimension of the population. In particular CSF may persist several years among areas
comprising more than 2000 shot wild boar. Given that CSF virus transmission is supposed to
depend on the number of susceptible wild boar and that hunting is able to reduce the
population size (after births) to half per year, hunting may be considered as a simple and
direct way to manage the number of wild boar and reach CSF eradication. Anyway there is
13
little evidence that hunting may have been an efficient management tool. Intensified, but
non-discriminatory hunting, has never been shown to be efficient neither in controlling nor
in eradicating CSF, unless in very small and geographically isolated populations. The main
drawback comes from the complex population dynamics and the interference between
practical hunting schemes and the age dependence of CSF epidemiology in the wild boar
populations. Thus hunting alone is not sufficient to cut the virus t ransmission chain; instead
it may even result in enhanced virus perpetuation. The attempt to focus hunting on high risk
classes i.e. particular age (juvenile) or sex (breeding female) has not proven feasible.
Additionally, targeting the hunting to the immune or less susceptible subpopulation by the
removal of adult wild boars (especially if combined with vaccination measures) did not
accomplish the aim of the fully eradicating disease. Hunting is not efficient for CSF control
but is needed for sampling. A scientific opinion has been presented by EFSA (Panel on
AHAW ) on “Control and eradication of Classic Swine Fever in wild boar”. According to this
opinion the absence of hunting does not produce significant changes in virus persistence or
spread; small increase in hunting rates (<60%) can promote virus persistence and spread;
and very high, impractical, hunting rates (>70-80%) would reduce significantly the virus
spread by local extinction of wild boar. Therefore control measures should not be based on
hunting alone if hunting rates of > 70-80% can not be achieved. A case study from Bulgaria is
presented in which trapping wild boar instead of hunting is used to control and eradicate
CSF.
Assessing CSF disease control measures using an individual-based model
M.Lange1, S.Kramer-Schadt 2 and H.H.Thulke 1
1
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig – UFZ, Dept. of Ecological Modelling,
Germany, 2Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany
Classical Swine Fever (CSF) is a dreaded viral disease in wild boars (Sus scrofa) and domestic
pigs. It can cause huge economic impact on individual farmers and national economies,
mainly by export restrictions and preventive culling due to EU legislation (EU Council
Directive 80/217/EEC). The management of the disease became even more complicated in
the last decades due to endemicity in wild boar populations in several European countries.
Huge effort is paid on CSF control in wild boar populations by means of oral mass
vaccination, but few is known about the efficacy of the applied measures in order to control
or even eradicate the infection. Furthermore, virulence as a crucial parameter for disease
dynamics varies widely between CSF virus strains and is highly uncertain. We imple mented a
spatially-explicit, individual-based wild boar population model, and coupled it with a CSF
virus model on the level of individual traits. The model accounts for social behaviour of boar
family groups as well as individual variations in disease out comes. Over a range of case
mortality and duration of the infectious period (the virulence), we tested alternative spatial
baiting strategies. We compared these scenarios regarding the performance of the
management measured by final size of the infected area and long-term persistence. Our
analysis revealed reasonable difference between the success of alternative spatially baiting
strategies. The investigation showed that artificial immunisation can facilitate disease
persistence under certain conditions. We found that high success in virus eradication as well
as prevention of disease spread was only possible with preventive vaccination in terms of
14
baiting in front of the epidemic wave. Astonishingly, we found that buffered vaccination
effort is completely sufficient to exploit the effect of vaccination of the entire area which
translates the strategical needs into a practical management plan. A buffer radius
corresponding disease spread distance of one year revealed suitable to fully exploit the
potential of oral mass vaccination. Although preventive baiting strategies are not
implemented in the field due to EU legislation, but with the availability of marker vaccines in
sight, we recommend preventive, i.e. buffered baiting of the infected area.
Session 4 (parallel) Ecology and behaviour
Impacts of refuges on wild boar - hunters spatial interactions and wild boar mortality
V.Tolon, J.Martin, S.Dray, A.Loison, C.Fischer and E.Baubet
Lab. Ecologie Alpine - Univ. of Savoy & Lab. Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive – University of
Lyon 1, France
To avoid mortality, prey generally tend to dissociate their long-term habitat use from
predators, but predators tend to match prey habitat use at the same time to maximise their
gain. In this spatial interaction, environmental constraints on predator movement offer the
opportunities for prey to outdistance the risk source in a durable way (i.e. refuges) and
increase their survival. If this spatial mismatch between prey and predator reduce the
vulnerability of all prey, its effect on mortality should be almost apparent for classes of
individuals usually preferred by the predator, and vanish progressively as the preference
decreases. We tested these hypotheses on a special case considering wild boar as prey and
hunters with their dogs as predators, at different distance from a protected area. In this
system, predators (i.e. hunters) show a large preference for large individuals. Predator
habitat selection was estimated using trajectories of hunting dogs equipped with GPStransmitters, while wild boar habitat selection was assessed from radio-tracked individuals.
We observed, as expected, a transition from matching to mismatching patterns between
wild boar and dogs long-term habitat selections as the proximity of the reserve increases.
The survival of adults (larger individuals) increased as expected with this mismatch, but
survival of younger age classes followed an unexpected decrease at the same time. The
spatial avoidance of individual classes usually preferred by the predator therefore lead to an
increase mortality of other categories, presumably through changes in predator selectivity.
Our results confirmed that refuges strongly modified the predator-prey spatial interaction,
leading potentially to deep changes in their numerical dynamic.
Wild boar impact on Alpine grasslands
C. Guillermo Bueno
Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Spain
Wild boar populations have been increasing from the sixties in nearly all th eir distribution
range, and their disturbances have increased accordingly. Despite this trend, little is known
about their impact on some protected habitats, such as alpine grasslands, which are
15
extremely sensitive to soil disturbances. In the framework of a recently finished PhD project
we analyzed the major effects of wild boar rooting on the landscape and community
structure of Pyrenean alpine grasslands to explore their reach and potential management
implications. At the landscape level we found that close to 7% of the alpine grasslands
studied were disturbed (from more than 5100 hectares of alpine grasslands mapped).
Disturbances were heterogeneously distributed and were mainly determined by the
structure of grasslands, grazing management and soil moist ure. We hypothesizes that the
selection of feeding habitat, followed by the conditions of the soil to be uprooted and
human management, are the main underlying factors that shape the distribution of wild
boar rooting in alpine grasslands. Disturbed areas occurred in dense plant communities
closely related to cattle, instead of sheep, grazing activities. This would affect extensive
husbandry and local economies in the area, since the number of cattle is increasing relative
to sheep and would therefore diminish grassland availability to remnant livestock. At the
plant community level, soil properties, soil seed banks, and floristic composition within and
outside the five most disturbed communities (that cover 98% of the extent of the
disturbances) were analyzed. Disturbances showed higher rates of fertilization (especially N
(mainly NO3), P, Ca, Na, and Mg) and higher soil compression. Moreover, seeds from deeper
layers were moved to top layers of the soil favouring the recovery of species with persistent
soil banks which are adapted to withstand moderate rates of disturbance. Community
diversity was increased by increasing the number of ruderal species within disturbances.
The effects on community structure were more obvious in low-grazed communities, being
moderate and highly-grazed communities more prone to recover from them. In conclusion,
wild boar disturbances deeply affect the structure of alpine grasslands and the
understanding of their effect would need further research over time and possibly
management measures to control their extent especially in protected high valuable low grazed plant communities.
Importance of field crops and additional feeding for wild boar in the Czech Republic
J.Kamler, M.Lišková and R.Plhal
Mendel University Brno, Faculty of forestry and wood technology, Czech Republic
The wild boar (Sus scrofa) today is widespread in the Czech Republic; its population shows a
steadily increasing trend and the wild boar has become the most significant ungulate game
species. High densities of wild boar in agricultural areas have naturally brought about an
increase in damage to farm crops, which, in some places, even threatens the agricultural
economy. Existing control of the wild boar by traditional hunting is insufficie nt and the
government has little possibilities of how to ensure the higher hunting bag. A contributing
cause to the explosion of wild boar is high food supply. During vegetation period, the wild
boar spend a high amount of time in fields, and during winter they are intensively fed by
hunters. Good food supply can assist in high reproduction of wild boar. The aim of our study
was to evaluate the importance of field crops in the stomach contents of hunted wild boar.
We found out that non-native food form more than 80% of the diet of wild boar. There was
a low difference between vegetation period and winter season in the diet composition
because most wild boar fed all year on cereals. We conclude that both farmers and hunters
significantly improve the food of wild boar and support their high reproduction. The system
16
of wild boar hunting in the Czech Republic, based on shooting on feeding places, does not
lead to the control of wild boar population growth. It is important to limit the density of
feeding places (maximum about 1 place per 300 ha) and also to limit the quantity of food.
Movements of wild boar in relation to landscape vegetation type and human disturbance
in Italy
L.Scillitani1, D.G.Preatoni2 and A.Monaco3
1
University of Padova, department of Animal Science, viale dell’Università 16, Italy,
2
Department of Environment, Health and Safety, University of Insubria, Italy, 3Regional Park
Agency (A.R.P.), Italy
Movement paths of animals are shaped by individual behavioral responses to multiple
components of the environment, including landscape heterogeneity, presence of predators
and competitors and human disturbance. Understanding which landscape features may
influence movement behavior can provide useful insights for the comprehension of the
internal use of the home range and therefore can be useful for improving the management
of a species. In particular studying which factors shape wild boar movements can be
particularly relevant, as the species cause important damages to agriculture, can act as a
vector of several diseases and can disperse over large distances as a consequence of high
hunting pressure. We analyze here the movement patterns of 35 wild boars (10 family
groups and 15 subadult males) fitted with a VHF radio and located every 15 minutes, during
the entire length of their nocturnal active phase. A total of 78 complete tracks were
collected. The study was conducted between 2003 and 2005 in the northern Apennine
(44°16'49.32'' N 11°28' 37.49'' E). The study area was characterized by a patchy
environment constituted of fields and orchards (48% of the total area) interspersed with
shrub-land and woodland. We tested the influence of land use, topography, distribution of
artificial feeding and presence of hunting on the movement pattern exhibited by wild boar,
in relation to age, sex and group size. We hypothesized that movements of wild boars would
reflect the distribution of forage patterns, both artificial feeding and agricultural fields.
Also, we expected to find that movements of wild boar would be affected by human
occurrence mainly during the hunting season, during which wild boars should avoid
anthropic features such as buildings and roads.
Session 3 (parallel) - Diseases - continued
Patterns of disease in European wild boar
P.van Hooft 1, D.GoedBloed1, H.Prins1 and R.C.Ydenburg1,2
Wageningen University, Resource Ecology Group, The Netherlands, 2Simon Fraser
University, Biological Sciences, Canada
Wildlife diseases are considered to be an important risk factor for public health and
livestock safety. Strikingly little is known about the spatial distribution and dynamics of
diseases in natural populations. It is difficult to study pathogens directly because of their
17
small size and biology. Our current knowledge of epidemiology is based on theoretical
mathematical models. However, technical developments in the field of molecular ecology
allow investigation of these dynamics in more and more detail. No studies, to our
knowledge, have related population genetic parameters, genetic diversity and connectivity
directly to pathogen prevalence or transmission. Empirical investigation of these
relationships would improve the use of such parameters in host -pathogen modelling and
disease control policy. In this study we aim to combine wild boar population genetic data,
landscape feature data and disease antibody tests to identify the main factors that influence
spatial variation in pathogen prevalence. We study the relationship between population
size, density, connectivity and disease prevalence in a continuous study area in parts of the
Netherlands and neighboring districts of Western Germany. The use of Single Nucleotide
Polymorphism (SNP) markers has gained popularity over the last decades. SNPs are stable
polymorphisms within a population, which are by approximation evenly spread over the
genome with a frequency of one per 300-2000bp; an important character, as many unlinked
nuclear loci are needed to estimate population genetic parameters with confidence. We
analyzed ~80 wild boar samples in a pilot study using a 60k pig SNP panel recently
developed by Illumina Inc. and the International Porcine SNP Chip Consortium. Wild boar
DNA was isolated from full blood obtained by routine disease monitoring programs. Serum
was extracted from partially overlapping sample material and used for ELISA antibody
testing. We screened the samples for two non-notifiable swine pathogens: Porcine
Circovirus and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Our results look promising and show a good
applicability of this technology. Genetically similar individuals form geographically separated
clusters, indicating a well-defined population structure. This is supported by medium-great
divergences between the clusters, as seen in Fst values. The large amount of SNPs used in
this study present hitherto unknown possibilities for analysis of population parameters, and
open the door to understanding wildlife disease dynamics.
Contingency planning for notifiable diseases in feral boar in the UK
M.Hartley
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
This presentation will describe the development of the Feral Boar Exotic Notifiable Disease
Control Strategy for Great Britain. This will highlight the implementation of European Policy
requirements in GB, identifying how the specific ecology of feral boar in GB affects effective
implementation. The scientific evidence requirements in order to define policy will be
indicated with a description of how these needs were met and the role of the Feral Boar
Advisory Group will be explained. Finally the challenges of field operations will be discussed.
18
Oral vaccination of wild boar against Classical Swine Fever: how to monitor vaccination
effect using epidemiological data?
S. Rossi1, B.Forot 1, M-F.Le Potier2 and A.Bronner3
1
Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, France, 2Laboratoire national de
référence pour les pestes porcines, Agence Française de Sécurité Sanitaire des Aliments,
France, 3Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche, direction générale de l’alimentation,
France
Classical swine fever (CSF) is a viral disease that may persist for years in the European Wild
Boar (Sus scrofa) representing a threat to the pig farming economy. In order to control CSF
infection in wild boar in the Vosges mountains, oral vaccination has been implemented since
August 2004 according to the process developed by Kaden et al. (2000), i.e., using a live attenuated vaccine that, as the natural infection, generates the production of protective
antibodies. We studied the effect of vaccination on animal immunity by examining the
serological status of all hunted wild boar from the infected area from 2003 up to 2009.
Using exploratory multidimensional analyses, we explored the effect of environmental and
landscape factors such as the forest structure, the proximity of crops, the proximity of
oak/beech fruits and the intensity of the vaccination treatment. After the first vaccination
campaign the proportion of immune wild boar was 50%. It progressively increased during
the first year of vaccination in order to reach a maximum level of 80 to 90% in animals more
than one year and 30% to 50% in young animals. In spite of the vaccination efforts, CSF has
spread along the green corridors. Disease intensity was lower in areas were a higher
vaccination pressure has been implemented, but vaccination pressure has no detectable
effect on the persistence infection. Our results suggest that vaccination has been efficient in
reducing disease intensity and has helped to control CSF, but could not fully prevent CSFV
invasion and persistence. Some hypothesis may be proposed regarding the relative efficacy
of vaccination. We also propose new approaches in order to estimate the proper effect of
vaccination independently from natural infection.
Oral vaccination of wild boar against Classical Swine Fever: field evaluation of different
baits consumption by camera trapping in North-Eastern France habitats
M.Sage1, V.Siat 1, C.Ballesteros2, S.Bloome3, G.Puthiot 1, J.L.Hamann 4 and S.Rossi1
1
Game and Wildlife Agency / Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, unité
sanitaire de la faune, Gerstheim&Gap, France, 2Instituto en recursos cigeneticos, Ciudad
Real, Spain, 3Fredrich Loeffer Institut, Riemser Island, Germany, 4Game and Wildlife Agency/
Office national de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Cnera cervidés sangliers, France
The European Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) is a major reservoir host for pathogens that affect
humans and domestic animals. In spite of the long-term oral vaccination implemented in
different European countries since the 90’s, Classical Swine Fever (CSF) may persist. The low
proportion of vaccinated piglets may be one reason for CSF persistence within vaccinated
populations. Baits (Riemser®) including liquid CSF vaccine are used since 2004 for their initial
palatability to domestic pigs and captive wild boar. In laboratory conditions, piglets 3 to 6
months old were shown to eat more frequently smaller spherical baits with a diameter of 3
19
cm than the Riemser ® vaccine baits used in the field vaccination. However, whatever the
used bait (Riemser ® or smaller spherical bait), to date, no data are available to quantify
vaccination efficacy or, in particular, bait acceptance by young wild boar in the field. More
recently, another bait has been developed in Spain for piglet vaccination against bovine
tuberculosis and exhibit promising results in Mediterranean areas. The objective of this
study was to evaluate by camera trapping the acceptance of these three baits in the field, in
an area were vaccination against CSF has been implemented since 2004. This study was
performed at different seasons in two uptake sites in the Vosges mountains (north-eastern
France) exhibiting different habitat context. To avoid piglets-adults possible competition, 10
artificial selective feeders where adults could not enter, were randomly put in the two
uptake sites. Bait consumption, in and out each feeder, was determined from examining
pictures taken with digital game cameras with infrared illumination. In total, more than
170.000 pictures were analysed. The relative frequency of selective feeder visits by different
animal species was determined at each site. Non-target species such as Eurasian badgers
(Meles meles), Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), mustelids sp. and bird sp. were frequently
observed consuming baits. However, our results demonstrated that, neither small spherical
baits, nor Riemser® vaccine baits were consumed by young wild boar less than 10 months,
while adult and subadult animals eat them only occasionally. Additionally, Spanish baits
were not consumed neither by piglets or adults. These results possibly arise because t he
natural and artificial food resources were high generating a low interest of wild boar for
baits. New solutions including new baits prototypes and vaccination time tables are thus to
be explored in the future in this eco-region. Then, our results suggest that a specific solution
should be explored for each eco-region depending on wild boar local food availability and
habits.
Session 4 (parallel) - Ecology and behaviour - continued
Habitat occupancy of wild boar in Serra da Malcata Nature Reserve (Central Portugal). A
camera trapping approach
P.Sarmento, J.Cruz, C.Eira and C.Fonseca
Departamento de Biologia & CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
The heterogeneous landscape of Serra da Malcata NR provides a continuum of forest cover
with low human disturbance which constitute a suitable habitat for wild boars. During 2005 2007, we conducted 7 camera-trapping campaigns, with a total of 186 stations, which
allowed us to covered a significant area. These surveys, designed for sampling carnivore
species, resulted also in the detection a considerable number of wild boars. We used these
data to developed habitat occupancy models, with detection/non-detection data with the
software package PRESENCE (http:// www. mbr-pwrc.usgov/software.html), utilizing single
species-single season models, including covariate effects. With this study we generated
crucial data for wild boar management by assessing the species abundance, and habitat
associations. This data could constitute the first assessment, for Portugal, of these variables
in an area where game practices were abandoned since the last 30 years.
20
Influence of artificial feeding on spatial utilisation patterns of the wild boar ( Sus scrofa L.)
C.Prévot
Service Public de Wallonie – DEMNA, Belgium
The aim of artificial feeding (“dissuasive” feeding) is to keep the wild boar in the forest, in
order to prevent agricultural damages. This practice is controversed since it might be
diverted from the original prevention aim into massive baiting by some hunters. The
Walloon legislation allows artificial feeding only as a prevention tool. When decided by the
hunter it must be performed all year long with cereals, but without any limitation in
quantity. In consequence, we notice a large disparity in feeding modalities (food quantity)
through Walloon hunting territories. Our study areas are located in Famenne and Ardenne.
Famenne is characterised by a high carrying capacity, with geographically homogeneous
artificial feeding and free to limited access to agricultural meadows. Ardenne is
characterised by a lower carrying capacity, with geographically heterogeneous artificial
feeding (according to the hunting territory) and no access to agriculture. When food is
provided the quantities are roughly similar. We first compared the artificial feeding patterns
of use and found differences according to the study area : the mean daily time spent by an
individual on a feeding place is higher in Ardenne than in Famenne (3 hours versus 30
minutes - Kruskal-Wallis test : H=17 ; df=1; p=0,000). Moreover, the use is more regular in
Ardenne (wild boar have the same pattern of use every day and every month) than in
Famenne (wild boars are going on a feeding place 1 day on 2). In order to better understand
the relevance of artificial feeding, we attempted to answer two questions : (1) does the
artificial feeding generally influence wild boar spatial use ? (2) does the artificial feeding
influence meadow use ?
(1) Artificial feeding and spatial use. In Famenne (n = 11 individuals fitted with GPS), we
compared the distance covered on a cycle of 24h (178 daily paths from noon to noon, path
length by steps of 15 minutes). There was no difference between path lengths when feeding
places were visited or not (G=2,665 df=1 p=0,103). When visiting a feeding place, we found
no relationship between time spent on the feeding place and the path length (G= 0,016 p =
0,822). In Ardenne within the same forest area we compared annual home ranges between
one area with artificial feeding (n= 10 females fitted VHF or GPS) and one area without
artificial feeding (n = 8 females fitted with VHF or GPS). The size of annual home ranges is
twice higher in the study area where no artificial feeding is provided (n = 90 locations for
each individuals ; Kernel 95% : median size = 5,3 km² versus 2,8 km² ; Test of Kruskal-Wallis
K95 H=4,93 df=1 p=0,026 – MCP 100% :Test of Kruskal-Wallis MCP H=7,59 df=1 p=0,006).
In Famenne we found no evidence of the impact of artificial feeding on spatial use contrary
to Ardenne where home ranges are much larger in absence of artificial feeding. The
diversity of food resources could explain such a difference (agriculture interspersing with
forest in Famenne versus continuous closed forest in Ardenne).
(2) Does artificial feeding have any influence (direct or indirect – positive or negative) on
meadow use? Based on GPS data from 11 individuals (178 daily paths) with access to
meadows in Famenne we tested for the time spent and the occurrence on meadow;
according to the time spent, the class of attending rate and the occurrence on feeding area
and the distance between daily resting place and the closest meadow. The time spent or
occurrence on meadow did not vary according to the distance to the resting place (time
spent on meadow H=2,42 df=4 p=0,660 – occurrence (meadow visited or not) G=0,020
21
df=1p=0,888 binary logistic regression ), nor according to the time spent on a feeding area,
even if we found a close correlation in winter (1st January-30 April ; R²=82,7%). The time
spent on meadow varied according to the month (H=21,07 df=11 p=0,033) ; season*year
(H=20,92 df=6 p=0,002) ; class of attending rate (χ²=8,48 df=3 p=0,037) and occurence
(H=9,59 df=1 p=0,002) on feeding area.
So, when a wild boar visit an artificial feeding area, he spend a longer time in meadows.
These preliminary results highlight a possible effect of artificial feeding on the use of
agricultural areas such as meadows with marked seasonal effects. If confirmed, the use of
agricultural meadows could be linked to artificial feeding rather than distance to the resting
place.
Wild boar reactions to disturbance, final and preliminary results
H.Thurfjell
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden
Wild boar (Sus scrofa, L,) will react to disturbance, either because it perceives a danger, or
because a behaviour of predator avoidance may be inherited. Disturbance may include
nonlethal attacks by larger predators, in Europe this would mainly include humans ( Homo
sapiens, L.) and wolves/dogs (Canis lupus, L.), but also more modern phenomenon such as
traffic may have similar effects. With the aid of GPS-collared wild boar, I have studied their
movement during foraging in exposed habitats, where they utilize space to minimize
distance to cover, thus reducing predation risk. I looked at the effects of traffic on wild boar
crossing roads, showing that wild boar indeed assess traffic as a risk, changing behaviour
accordingly. Finally I looked at direct disturbance in form of drive hunts where dogs are the
threat and the utilization of the refuge homerange after hunting. The results show that wild
boar suffer more than direct negative effects after drive hunts, resulting in a reduction of
the temporal core-area of the refuge-homerange compared to the original homerange. Wild
boar does not only avoid predators by inherited behaviours, they are able to perceive other
forms of new threats as well, and adjust behaviour accordingly.
Population dynamics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa) in two contrasting environmental and
management situations
S.Servanty1, J-M.Gaillard2, F.Ronchi3, S.Focardi3, E.Baubet 4 and O.Gimenez1
1
Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR 5175, campus CNRS, France, 2CNRS,
UMR 5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Université Claude Bernard Lyon
1, France, 3Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca Ambientale, Italy, 4Office National
de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, CNERA Cervidés Sangliers, France
Management of wild boar populations is a serious and expensive problem and the “high
potential for generating troubles”, which characterises this species may be linked to its
peculiar life-history traits. Indeed, compared to similar-sized ungulates, this species exhibit
uncommon life-history traits. Here, we investigated how population growth rate (λ) and
critical life history stages varied between two wild boar populations monitored for several
22
years, which markedly differ, notably in management. To do so, we performed a matrix
perturbation analysis. Annual growth rates were 21.9% and 8.3% in the weakly and highly
hunted populations, respectively while the ratio between the elasticity of adult survival and
the elasticities of reproductive parameters was 1.06 and 0.28, respectively. These ratios are
very low compared to similar-sized ungulates and highlights that changes in recruitment
would have a higher impact on growth rates than changes in survival. Moreover, this impact
would be greater in the highly hunted population. The weakly hunted population had a
slower life-history than the heavily hunted population despite its higher population growth
rate. Compared to similar-sized ungulates, generation times in both populations were much
lower than expected. We provide empirical evidence that a man-induced high mortality can
lead to a speeding up in the life-history cycle of wild boar.
Session 5 - General
Indexing principles and a paradigm widely applicable for indexing feral swine (and other
animal populations)
R.M. Engeman
National Wildlife Research Center, USA
Monitoring animal populations is an essential component of wildlife research and
management. Population indices can be efficient methods for monitoring populations when
more labour intensive density estimation procedures are impractical or invalid to apply.
Moreover, many management objectives for population monitoring can be couched in an
indexing framework. Indexing procedures obtain maximal utility if they exhibit key
characteristics, including being practical to apply, being sensitive to changes or differences
in the target species’ population, having an inherent variance formula and allowing for
precision in index values, and relying on as few assumptions as possible. Additional useful
characteristics include being able to simultaneously monitor multiple animal species and to
describe spatial characteristics of the species monitored. Here, a general paradigm is
presented that promotes the characteristics that make indices most useful and specific
observation methods for monitoring feral swine are given. Observations are made at
stations located throughout the area of interest. Stations can take many forms, depending
on the observations, and range from a variety of tracking plot designs to camera traps.
Observations are made at each station on multiple occasions for each indexing session. No
assumptions of independence are made among stations, nor among observation occasions.
Measurements made at each station are required to be continuous or unboundedly
discrete. The formula for a general index (GI) to describe population levels is presented
along with its variance formula is derived. Issues relevant to the application of this
methodology, and indices in general, are discussed.
23
Alternative toxins for feral pig (Sus scrofa) management in Australia?
M.Gentle
Biosecurity Queensland, Australia
The feral pig is arguably one of the most destructive exotic animals introduced into
Australia. Estimates have put the Australian feral pig population at up to 23 million, and
they can cause significant economic damage through crop loses, livestock predation,
damage to infrastructure and disease spread, environmental damage through habitat
destruction and wildlife predation and social impact through disease spread, and
destruction of public facilities. Perhaps of greatest concern is their potential to harbour or
spread exotic diseases. Current management of feral pigs centres on chemical control (using
toxins), which although theoretically effective, is crying out for a new approach. This
presentation discusses the current options available for the management of feral pigs in
Australia and the future developments.
Wild boar (Sus scrofa) habituation to humans and suburban landscapes: local perspectives
on an increasingly global phenomenon with complex management implications
S.Cahill1, F.Llimona1, L.Cabañeros1, E.Casas2, G.Massei3, F.Calomardo 1 and S. Lavin2
1
Estació Biològica del Parc de Collserola, Servei de Medi Natural, Consorci del Parc de
Collserola, Spain, 2Servei d’Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Facultat de Veterinària de la
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, 3Wildlife Management Programme, The Food
and Environment Research Agency, UK
The paralleled expansion in recent decades of both wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations and
urbanised areas has brought this species into increasingly close contact with people. Until
recent years conflicts arising because of this situation were still rather anecdotic, but now
they are both widespread and numerous, with similar situations occurrin g in Europe, Asia
and North America. In cities in countries as diverse as Spain, Poland, Japan, the United
States or Germany, wild and feral boar cause varied problems such as damage to public and
private gardens, traffic accidents, and usually just general nuisance but occasionally also
attacks on people or domestic pets. Wild boar habituation to such areas is often facilitated
by the proximity of wooded and agricultural areas and the increasing presence in these of
wild boar, but habituation has especially been facilitated by changing attitudes of some
urban residents towards wildlife, who often take a benign view towards wild boar and even
encourage them by direct feeding, thus modifying their behaviour, as well as increasing
fertility and reducing mortality rates. However, attitudes in this regard are ambivalent and
many residents consider them a nuisance that should be eradicated, although at the same
time they often oppose sacrifice of the animals. This gives rise to serious complications for
the management of habituated wild boar, with many people in favour of their presence,
others against, and others ambiguous. Nevertheless, not managing wild boar conflicts in
urban areas is becoming less of an option for various reasons: as well as the aforementioned
conflicts, increasing density and also aggregation of groups of habituated wild boar in urban
areas may even have consequences for disease transmission to humans or other wildlife.
Parasites, bacteria and viruses can be transmitted either through direct contact, or indirectly
24
via infected urine or faeces in places frequented by people or pets. In low density wild-living
wild boar populations, diseases hitherto considered as of little significance either to humans
or domestic livestock are now of growing concern. As such, sanitary control of habituated
wild boar is increasingly necessary, and in some cases it may even be considered inadvisable
to consume meat from wild boar that live in urban areas given that they often feed on
domestic rubbish or other uncontrolled waste. However, removal of habituated wild boar is
both costly and complex: the use of live arms is often not an option in urban areas, most of
which are usually non-hunting areas, and residents often oppose even the use of
tranquilizer darts to remove individuals. Although used in some problem areas, trapping can
sometimes be inefficient, and immunocontraceptive fertility control methods have yet to
reach an approved field-use level for this species. This presentation summarises the main
characteristics of wild boar habituation and its current management and ecopathological
implications, as well as public and media perception, both in Collserola Park (Barcelona) and
other varied habituation hotspots located around the globe.
Feral hog damage to agriculture in Texas, USA
M.J.Bodenchuk, T.J.Muir, R.M.Smith and B.Leland
USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, USA
Feral hogs cause over $52M USD in damage to agricultural crops and pastures in Texas
annually and landowners spend an additional $7M USD in control costs for this damage.
Despite their best efforts, landowners in some parts of the State are losing the battle as hog
populations expand. Damage to field crops, such as wheat, corn and rice can be managed by
decreasing numbers of hogs as well as reducing the biomass of hogs on the landscape.
Predation risks to newborn livestock can be managed by reducing hogs prior to livestock
birthing. Disease risks to livestock can be managed by spatial separation as well as
understanding the epidemiology of the diseases. The Texas Wildlife Services Program
conducts feral hog management to assist landowners meet agricultural goals. Methods of
control, efficacy of control and landscape features that assist or hinder control method s are
discussed.
Data on wild boar in Europe
S.Cellina1 and U.Hohmann 2
MDDI - Environment Department, Luxembourg, 2Department of Wildlife Ecology, Research
Institute for Forest Ecology and Forestry, Germany
Although it is economically one of the most important game species in Europe, reliable data
on wild boar are hard to get. Even with considerable effort of research, comparable values
on population distribution or harvest data, animal weight or reproduction cannot be found
for the whole area covered. In a workshop at the 7th international symposium on wild boar
and other suids 2008 in Sopròn, a table with data available from the countries/regions of
the participants has been set up. Data from this table is presented, and one aim is to update
contacts and available data at the present symposium, and improve networking between
25
the researchers. National and international initiatives to increase the availability of
information on wild boar data and hunting bags in Europe are presented.
Session 6 (parallel) - Ecology and behaviour
Ecological strategies of the wild boar (Sus scrofa), in the Monte Desert, Argentina
M.F.Cuevas1, R. Ojeda1 and F.Jaksic 2
1
Grupo de Investigaciones de la Biodiversidad (GiB) IADIZA, CCT Mendoza CONICET,
Argentina, 2Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity (CASEB), Pontificia
Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile
Arid and semiarid ecoregions of Argentina are undergoing rapid habitat conversion because
of grazing, logging, agriculture, and disturbance caused by invasive species. The wild boar
(Sus scrofa) was introduced in Argentina in 1906 for hunting purposes. Its impact on
biodiversity is well known around the world, but knowledge about its ecology is scarce, this
being the first ecological study of the wild boar in the Monte desert biome of Argentina. The
objectives of our study were to characterize two aspects of the wild boar ecology (habitat
use and food use) and their impact on vegetation and soil properties in a seasonal and
heterogeneous environment. The study was conducted during 2008 and 2009 in the Man
and Biosphere Reserve of Ñacuñán. Transect surveys were conducted two times of the year
(during the wet and dry seasons). Wild boar signs (tracks and rooting) were recorded within
5 m of either side of each transect. At each sign we recorded information on habitat and
anthropogenic variables. The faeces found were collected for diet analysis. To measure the
disturbance generated by wild boar rooting we compared the percentage of plant cover and
soil hardness and moisture between rooted and non-rooted soils. During both seasons, at
the habitat level, the wild boar showed preference on Larrea shrubland for feeding, avoiding
Prosopis woodland and sand dunes. At the microhabitat level they were associated with
high cover of herbs and distance to the nearest water source during the wet season.
Instead, during the dry season we found a positive association of wild boar with shrub < 1 m
and with litter cover, and a negative association with herbaceous cover. Ninety-four percent
of the diet consisted of plant matter and 6% was animal tissue. Herbs composed the bulk of
the diet, representing almost 45% of the total items found in the faeces. Rooted soils
showed significantly less hardness and higher moisture than non-rooted soil. Disturbance by
wild boar rooting altered the percentage of cover of perennials grasses, shrubs and herbs in
both seasons except for Pitraea cuneato-ovata, which had high cover in rooted soil during
the wet season. The Larrea shrubland is the habitat associated with herbaceous cover,
which is the main food item in the wild boar diet. This suggests that wild boars select their
habitat for foraging depending on the availability of food during the wet season. The success
of colonization by P. cuneato-ovata in rooted soil could then be due to soil physical
characteristics modified by the wild boar, for example, reduced compaction and increased
moisture in those sites. This does not happen during the dry season, where the humidity
does not vary between treatments.
26
Sex and age differences in anti-predator behaviour in a wild boar population
E.S.Bertolotto, S. Grignolio and M.Apollonio
Department of Zoology and Evolutionary Genetics, University of Sassari, Italy
We studied the influence of predation on wild boar spatial behaviour in a protected area,
where two predators, i.e. wolves and foxes, were present. Both preyed upon wild boar with
a strong preference for piglets. Moreover around the area hunting was allowed and this
caused a clear “reserve effect” that could benefit wolves and foxes. In a broad study,
conducted from 2002 to 2010 we followed 198 wild boars using telemetry. Home range size
was influenced by daylight and by age and sex of boars. Females had smaller home ranges
than males in all age classes and wild boars shown larger home ranges during the night. No
seasonal differences were pointed out. A digital map was created mapping all the dense
vegetation areas and allowed us to measure the proximity of wild boar locations to refuge
areas represented by dense shrubs. This intensive study was performed between 2006 and
2008, using radio-locations of 81 wild boars. Sub adult and adult females stayed closer to
shrub patches than males. Females and males piglets were the closest to shrubs especially
during the resting phase. This was consistent with their higher predation risks that lead
them to stay inside the shrub land irrespectively from their distance from rich areas. Wild
boars were nearer to shrubs during the day, dawn and dusk. During the night they were
active and moved around looking for food and other resources. Females preferred areas
closer to shrub lands during spring that correspond to the birth period, while males come
closer to shrubs in autumn and winter.
On the issue of reproductive suppression in wild boar females and its management
implication
U.Hohmann
Department of Wildlife Ecology, Research Institute for Forest Ecology and Forestry,
Germany
In some social mammals dominant alphas can suppress reproduction of other group
members. This could be the response to competition for scarce resources like for food
which limits reproductive output of the group. This might result in cooperative breeding
systems where mostly philopatric non-breeding females help to raise the offspring of the
dominant, often related female. Although wild boar live in matrilineal groups, mechanisms
of any reproductive skew had not been proved yet in published field data. A recent
questionnaire of some European wild boar experts indicates also that such a mechanism
might not exist in wild boar. Nevertheless, many hunters and wildlife biologists believe that
dominant females suppress reproduction in yearling female group members. We found that
supporters of the reproductive suppression hypothesis where located mostly in Central and
Eastern Europe and assume often two different mechanisms: a) Dominant females prevent
young females from oestrus or b) Dominant female prevent fertile young female from
mating (e.g. by aggressive behavior towards approaching males). As this hypothesis had
become a basic paradigm in hunting guidelines and regulations, the effect on current
population control in Europe could be crucial. Although the importance of hunting adult
27
female as an effective population control measure is widely accepted in wildlife
management, supporters of the reproductive suppression hypothesis come to a contrary
conclusion. They promote a protection of dominant females which in practice might carry
the risk to decrease hunting rate of adult females. In Germany for example where a
population decrease has been officially intended, hunting regulations in many states
demand an increasing portion of older females in the hunting bag of 10 % – 20 %. But on the
other hand 6 out of 13 federal states prescribe a hunting ban on dominant females
(“Leitbachenschonung”). In fact, the portion of shot older females in the hunting bag usually
does not exceed 6 %. This might be partly the result of hunting ban on dominant females.
Within this presentation I will discuss the issue of the probability of reproductive
suppression in wild boar.
Model analysis of the forage reserve and the snow depth influence on t he wild boar
population dynamics in the Russian Middle Priamurye
O.L.Revutskaya and E.Ya. Frisman
Institute for Complex Analysis of Regional Problems, Far-Eastern Branch, Russian Academy
of Sciences, Russian Federation
In the paper we are giving a quantitative analysis of the long-term registration data for the
population size of the wild boar (Sus scrofa ussuricus Heude, 1888) in the Russian Middle
Priamurye (by the example of the Jewish Autonomous Region (JAR)). The influence o f the
forage reserve (acorns of Mongolian oak Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb. and cedar nuts
Pinus koraiensis Siebold et Zucc.) and the snow depth on the wild boar number dynamics is
analysed. The approach, based on mathematical modeling, is used for th e description of the
population size dynamics tendencies. The models verification is carried out; and the present
day wild boar population condition is estimated. To estimate the population’s reproductive
potential, intensity of the forage reserve and snow depth influence on the survival of
individuals we have used modified versions of the population model by Ricker. The Ricker
model use, if not taking external factors into account, allows finding the average population
number. According to this model, the wild boar number equilibrium value is equal to 2700
individuals in JAR. Under natural fluctuation of external conditions the population loses its
equilibrium, and its number oscillates around the corresponding stationary level. To
describe number fluctuations, the Ricker model has been supplemented with the external
factors estimations. As a result of modeling the wild boar number dependence on the
available forage reserve (the cedar nut) is shown. In fact, fluctuations of food resources are
followed by observed oscillations in the number (with some lag). The prospective number of
wild boar will be from 2500 (in case of a lean year) to 2900 individuals (if year is yield) next
year. As a consequently of the forestry area decrease, due to felling and fires, th ere is the
wild boar reduction of number, and this reduction also takes place with a two – three year
tardiness. It is shown a dependence of the wild boar number on snow depth in the JAR
Hunters and Fishers Society territory. According to the Ricker model parameters
estimations, the population’s reproductive potential (i.e. the annual reproduction rate
without limitation) amounts to 2.6. The value of survival rate ranges from 0.3 (the snow
depth is equal 50 cm) to 0.6 (the snow depth is equal 20 cm). The mo deling results precisely
reflect the registration data. In this way it is shown that a change in the wild boar number is
28
determined by a cedar nut yield and snow depth in the years, prior to reproduction. A lean
year and a lot of winter precipitations unfavorable influence the population preservation.
The animals have to migrate in search of better fodder conditions. Thus for preservation of
the population in such years it is necessary to move to the strategy of rigid periodic limits of
hunt, and feeding animals up. This research was supported by the Russian Foundation for
the Fundamental Research, the project 09-04-00146-а, by the Far Eastern department of
the Russian Academy of Science, the projects 09-I-OBN-12, 09-III-А-09-498.
Session 7 (parallel) - Genetics
Fine scale genetic structure of wild boar in Greece
A.Panoraia
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Biology, University Campus, Greece
Geographic distributions of European temperate species have been strongly affected by
Quaternary climatic fluctuations and ice ages. The organisms responded to climatic
oscillations by local extinction in northern regions and survival in southern refugia during
the glacial maxima and by northward range expansions during interglacial, warmer periods.
For species that had multiple Pleistocene refugia, genetic differences between populations
acquired in those refugia may be an important factor contributing to heterogeneity. Refuge specific polymorphism has been used to reconstruct postglacial range expansion routes in
many taxa. In most cases, the Balkans were the main source of European populations,
because of the absence of major geographical barriers to the north, compared to the Alps
and the Pyrenees for the remaining widely recognized refugia in the Italian and Iberian
peninsulas, respectively. Moreover, the Balkans have played an important role as a bridge
for the colonization of Europe with species that have been restricted to Asia Minor during
Pleistocene glaciations, mainly due to the fact that Europe and Anatolia were connected
through extended land bridges during the last glaciation event. The patterns of genetic
diversity in the widely distributed European wild boar (Sus scrofa) were also shaped by
postglacial colonization events from one or more southern refugia. This widely distributed
terrestrial mammal is one of the most important game species in Greece and several
additional processes regarding human activities since the last glaciation have affected its
distribution. In the past it was subjected to local extinctions and translocations but recently
its density and geographical distribution have increased in such extent that accurate
management is required. Understanding the ancient and recent processes that contributed
in the present genetic structure of Greek wild boar is however of major importance in
implementing accurate management plans. To this end, tissue samples were collected from
581 wild boars and 28 domestic pigs from 20 different geographical regions across the
species distribution in Greece. All samples were genotyped by PCR amplification of 10
microsatellite loci, while a part of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (D -loop)
was sequenced in 232 individuals. MtDNA analysis revealed the presence of 82 ha plotypes
with 65 of them found only in wild individuals. Our data were combined with mtDNA data
from previous studies. All Greek wild boar haplotypes belong to the E1 European wild boar
haplogroup. Moreover, haplotypes from Central Greece formed a distinct cluster within the
E1 group. Bayesian admixture analysis of multilocus microsatellite genotypes showed that
29
there seems to be a subpopulation structure in the overall sample. Our results suggest that
i) northern Greece populations show the signs of a postglacial expansion, ii) central Greece
populations were blocked within this region from more northerly neighbors, iii) the eastern
Aegean islands populations originated from Asia Minor, iv) signs of human mediated gene
flow among wild populations and/or wild populations and domesticated pigs can be
detectable, though they do not seem to have had big impact on Greek wild boar genetic
diversity and differentiation. This study was financed by the 4th Hunting Federation of
Sterea Hellas.
MtDNA phylogeography of the European wild boar: the effect of post-glacial dynamics
M.Scandura1, L.Iacolina1, D.Biosa1, S.Torres Villaca2, F.Zachos3, J.Kirschning3, P.Celio Alves4,
L.Paule5, C.Gortazar6, Z.Mamuris7, W.Jedrzejewski8, T.Borowik8, V.Sidorovich9, J.Kusak10,
P.Piatti11, L.Schley 12, M.Apollonio1 and G.Bertorelle2
1
University of Sassari, Italy, 2University of Ferrara, Italy, 3Christian-Albrechts University Kiel,
Germany, 4CIBIO, Vairao, Portugal, 5University of Zvolen, Slovakia, 6IREC, Ciudad Real, Spain,
7
University of Larissa, Greece, 8Mammal Research Institute, Bialowieza, Poland, 9Natl. Acad.
Sci., Minsk, Belarus, 10University of Zagreb, Croatia, 11Lab. Cam. Comm., Torino, Italy, 12Serv.
Cons. Nature, Luxembourg
Genetic structure in natural populations is a key prerequisite for many evolutionary
processes, including speciation. In many terrestrial species, the geographic distribution of
DNA lineages was heavily affected by the climatic fluctuations that occurred during the
Quaternary, although the impact of human populations, especially on harvested species,
might have blurred the pattern in more recent times. After a general reduction at the
beginning of last century, the European wild boar (Sus scrofa) has undergone a strong
recovery after the II World War, reoccupying many areas where it had disappeared. Wild
boar populations are managed by humans and certain activities (like translocations) can
severely affect the genetic make-up of local stocks, distorting the phylogeographic signal at
a wider scale. We report on the analysis of the mitochondrial Dloop region of 827 wild boars
from throughout Europe. Sequences provided 60 different haplotypes that were split into
three deeply divergent clades, two European (E1 and E2) and one East-Asian (A). Only the E1
lineage is widespread in Europe, while the E2 lineage is only found in mainland Italy and
Sardinia. The comparison with haplotypes that have been found in domestic pigs allowed to
consider the occurrence of East-Asian sequences as result of a genetic introgression from
domestic pig breeds into wild populations. Median-joining network analysis of E1
haplotypes revealed that most haplotypes differ for a limited number of mutational steps
(1-3), and that a low proportion of shared haplotypes exists among areas hypothetically
interested by glacial refugia (Iberia, Italy, Balkans). Geographically coherent groups were
identified by SAMOVA. Accordining to mismatch distributions, neutrality tests and Bayesian
skyline plots. the signature of a post-glacial expansion resulted evident in some European
populations but not in others. Alternative scenarios of post-glacial expansions and recent
translocations were evaluated using the ABC (Approximate Bayesian Computation)
approach.
30
Genome-wide assessment of Genetic diversity in European wild boar
L.Iacolina1, H-J.Megens2, M.Scandura1, P.Alexandri3, A.Triantafyllidis3, D.Groedbloed4,
G.Larson5, R.Crooijmans2, L.Rund6, M.Perez-Enciso7, B.Muir8, G.Bertorelle9, M.Apollonio1,
A.L.Archibald10, M.Groenen 2 and L.Schook 6
1
University of Sassari, Dip. Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, Italy, 2Wageningen
University, Animal Breeding and Genomics Centre, Wageningen, The Netherlands,
3
University of Thessaloniki, Greece, 4Wageningen University, Resouce Ecology Group, The
Netherlands, 5Durham University, Department of Archaeology, UK, 6University of Illinois,
Institute for Genomic Biology, USA, 7ICREA-Universitat Autonoma Barcelona, Spain, 8Purdue
University, West Lafayette, Indiana, 9University of Ferrara, Dipartimento di Biologia ed
Evoluzione, Italy, 10The Roslin Institute and R(D)SVS, University of Edinburgh, UK
The dissection of complex traits and the reconstruction of the demographic and selective
history of a species requires significant numbers of genetic markers for statistical
corroboration and hypothesis testing. Improvement in next-generation sequencing
techniques, has recently led to the discovery of hundreds of thousands of SNPs, albeit
mostly in commercial pig breeds, of which approximately 60,000 can be efficiently assayed
by means of the Illumina 60K beadchip. This assay, although not primarily designed for wild
boar population genetics, was found to detect high numbers of segregating loci in European
wild populations. We genotyped approximately 500 wild boars from 19 different European
countries with the aim of elucidating patterns of diversity and differentiation, investigating
hybrid zones and studying the effects of inbreeding, local extinctions and restocking. Various
PCA-like methods displayed a high degree of congruence with European geography; two dimensional representations of such analyses can be almost interpreted as virtual maps of
Europe. The East-West gradient clearly differentiates the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and the
Balkans, and is likely to be related to the isolation of refugial areas during the last glaciation.
These major genetic groups partially include the populations located in the corresponding
northern areas, possibly as a consequence of post-glacial northern expansions. The 'Iberian'
cluster, for example, encompasses all the Western European populations, and the 'Balkans'
cluster includes all the Central-Eastern European populations up to the Finno-Russian
border. Some level of genetic divergence along the South-North axis can be identified from
the second principal component, which is, however, strongly affected by the populations
located in Central-Southern Italy and Sardinia. Sardinia seems to harbor specific genetic wild
boar diversity, possibly due to population bottlenecks and/or specific selection pressures
typical in insular populations. Local adaptations are further investigated for signatures of
selection across the genome. A few European populations showed clear signs of a mosaic
origin. The genomic composition of a population in Switzerland, for example, is likely
affected by restocking and migration events. These complex patterns of admixture are
further analysed using various genome-wide ancestry mapping procedures based both on
allele frequency and haplotype sharing. Demographic parameters can be estimated, but
caution is required in their interpretation given the ascertainment bias introduced by the
SNPs isolation process. Nevertheless, the Illumina 60K SNP chip proved to be an efficient
tool for studying genetic variation patterns in wild boar populations.
31
Large-scale differentiation of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations: is there intraspecific
structure?
L.Paule1, J. Bakan1, R. Kühn2, I. Nikolov2, I. Romšáková1 and D. Krajmerová1
1
Faculty of Forestry, Technical University, Zvolen, Slovakia, 2Technical University MünchenWeihenstephan, Freising, Germany
The natural distribution of wild boar (Sus scrofa) covers the entire continental Europe; it is
missing in British Isles, Scandinavia and northern part of the European Russia. The
intraspecific taxonomy recognizes numerous subspecies, while in central and south -eastern
Europe five subspecies should occur: S.s. scrofa, S.s. atilla, S.s. lybicus, S.s. meridionalis and
S. s. algira. In total, 950 wild boar individuals originating from central and south -eastern
Europe (Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Austria, Italy, Hungary, Romania,
Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia and Turkey) served as experimental material. Thirteen
microsatellites of nuclear DNA composed in four multiplexes: (1) S008, SW986, SW1129; (2)
SW1701, SW828, SW1517; (3) SW1465, SW1492, SW1514, SW2532; (4) SW461, SW2021,
SW2496 were used to study the genetic structure and differentiation wild boar populations
and to search for links with the occurrence of individual subspecies. Using the Bayesian
approach (STRUCTURE) the populations were grouped into three distinct groups: the
western group (Germany, Czech Republic and Western Poland) the Eastern group (Bulgari a)
and central group (Slovakia, Romania, eastern Poland, Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia). Sharp
differentiation of wild boar populations was between Slovakia and the Czech Republic and
also between the southern and northern Bulgarian populations, which migh t indicate that in
Western Slovakia and Bulgaria are suture zones of distinct genetic lineages. The paper was
financially supported by research grant APVV-18-032105. Key words: Sus scrofa, genetic
diversity, microsatellites, differentiation, phylogeography.
Session 6 (parallel) - Ecology and behaviour - continued
The ecological characteristics of snare hunting of Ryukyu wild boar in Irio mote Island, the
South of Japan
I.Ebihara
National Museum of Ethnology, Japan
The southern area of Japan is a range of subtropical islands called the Ryukyu archipelago.
Ryukyu wild boar (Sus scrofa riukiuanus), a subspecies of the Japanese wild boar (Sus scrofa
leucomystax) found in the main islands of Japan, inhabit some of the Ryukyu islands. In the
region, Ryuku wild boar is a main game of the islander’s hunting because of the lack of other
large animals in the region. Most of them practice traditional wild boar hunting and share
the meat with relatives and friends, and others are professional hunters who sell the meat
for money. The enforcement of regulations governing ‘traditional’ hunting practices is an
important issue for wildlife management, and information about these hunting practices in
relation to the natural environment and local socio-culture is necessary. The objective of
this presentation is to demonstrate the ecological characteristics of Ryukyu wild boar
hunting by analysing the snare hunting practice in Iriomote Island on the basis of my
32
ethnographic fieldwork data. As per government regulations, hunting in Japan requires a
hunting license issued after official lessons, and it is only permitted in the hunting period
(usually from November to February) set by each prefecture. There are approximately 100
licensed hunters in Iriomote Island. Most of them use snare traps to capture wild boars in
the forests, which cover large areas of the island. Each hunter or group of hunters has its
own customary trapping territory which they regularly patrol after intensive trap -setting
work done in the beginning of the hunting period. Research conducted over the hunting
periods of three years reveals that both the trap placement and total number of snares are
changed according to the hunters’ perceptions of the natural forest conditions and
predictions of wild boar movement. Further, the capture rate (number of captures per trap)
changes annually for individual and group hunters and is different for each hunter or group
of hunters. In other words, the total number of traps laid does not always equ al the number
of captures, and therefore, the capture rate remains uncertain. One of the reasons for this
could be that the cultural attitudes of the hunters limit their hunting area and the number
of traps laid to some extent. When considering hunting regulations in the context of wildlife
management, it is important to examine not only the ecological impact of hunting in terms
of the wild boar population, but also the ecological characteristics of hunting in terms of its
relationship with the local environment and cultural background.
Reproduction of wild boar in the Iwami district, Shimane prefecture, Western Japan
Y. Kodera
Utsunomiya University, Japan
As with nutritional condition, knowledge of the reproductive characteristics provides a
biological frame of population management. In the Iwami district of Shimane prefecture,
the food habits of wild boar population have been studied since 1994. However, studies of
the reproductive output have not yet been carried out. The purposes of this study were the
arrangement of information and understanding of the reproductive characteristics of wild
boar inhabiting the Iwami district. The study was conducted in the Iwami district, Shimane
prefecture, western part of Japan. The annual rainfall was 1,326.5 - 2372.0 mm and the
average temperature was 15.4 - 16.5 degrees centigrade. The maximum snow depth was 0 34 cm. Female wild boar, which were captured by leg snare between May 1997 and
February 2004, were measured by the Kidney Fat Index (KFI) and sorted according to
whether they were pregnant or not. Pregnant females were detected and the number and
weight of embryos and foetuses were checked. The number of days after conception was
estimated by weight of embryos and foetuses, as a solution of the following numerical
formula:
y = (-7E-07x5 + 0.0002x4 - 0.0197x3 + 1.0148x2 - 26.801x + 277.06) / 1200 * 800
x: The number of days after conception
y: The weight of wild boar embryo and foetus
This formula was revised using the regression curve of weight of embryos and foetuses of
domestic pig and the number of days after conception. 623 females were captured in the
study area and 555 of them were adults. 28 pregnant females were observed through the
33
year apart from August and November. The average litter size of all pregnant females was
5.14±1.30 (±SD). The mean litter size less than 60 days after conception was 5.25±1.66 and
over 60 days and after conception was 4.92±1.04. The sex ratio of embryos and foetuses
was 22:29 (male : female), and there was no sex differences (Chi-square test, n.s.). The
months of conception of 20 pregnant females were presumed to be between December and
March. Two females conceived in June. Three conceived in August, October and between
October and November respectively. The monthly distribution of conception was unimodal
with the peak of conceiving occurring from December to February. The greater part of the
pregnant females conceived during low temperatures and in the short daylight season,
however some conceived during high temperatures and more than 12 hours daylight.
Investigation of the effectiveness of deterrent systems against wild boar Sus scrofa
A.Schlageter and D.Haag-Wackernagel
Institute of Anatomy, Department Biomedicine, University of Basel, Switzerlan d
During the last two decades wild boar populations have grown rapidly in Switzerland and
the range of the species has increased steadily, covering major areas of the country today.
Wild boars cause considerable damage to fields and grassland, but also pose a potentially
high threat to livestock, as carrier of the pathogenic agent of the classical swine fever, which
may be transmitted to domestic pigs and can cause huge financial losses. Together with the
regulation of the populations by means of hunting, the protection of fields and livestock is
therefore crucial for preventing major economic losses. Field protection is normally
achieved by putting up electric fences. However, these are expensive and require regular
and time-consuming maintenance for functioning. Alternatively, several deterrent systems
basing on optic-, acoustic-, olfactory-, and gustative effects are available, most of which
lacking scientific proof of efficacy. In our study we investigated the effectiveness and the
sustainability of several deterrent systems in field experiments with free ranging wild boars.
We conducted field experiments at three locations in the Canton Basel-Land, an area in the
Northwest of Switzerland, characterized by its highly structured and patchy landscape,
where wild boar populations achieve high densities. Deterrents investigated were solar
blinkers, an odour repellent imitating a mixture of several predator stenches, and a
gustative repellent that claims to deter wild boars by its acetous taste. Preliminary results
suggest that wild boars behave very cautiously concerning changes in their natural habitat.
However, after a short period of neophobic effect, deterrent systems lose their
effectiveness and wild boars surmount the optic, olfactory, and gustative barriers regularly.
Our results contribute to an assessment of legal foundations and common practice of
hunting, field protection, and compensation payments by governmental veterinary- and
game authorities.
34
Session 8 (parallel) - Population management and Density
estimation
Use of fauna passages by wild boar: some change is observed
C.Rosell1,2, F.Navàs1, Q.Carol1, M.Fernández Bou,1 and S.Romero de Tejada3
1
MINUARTIA, Estudis Ambientals, P/ Domènech, Spain, 2Dept. Biologia Animal (Vertebrats),
Fac. Biologia, Universitat. de Barcelona, Spain, 3Parc Natural Aiguamolls de l’Empordà,
Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya
Wild boar is the main species involved in road accidents in Spain and other Mediterranean
countries and is responsible for an increasing fraction of the total number of accidents
caused by ungulates in other European countries. Perimeter fencing and fauna passages are
the measures that are most commonly used to reduce this conflict. Monitoring the use of
fauna passages allow us to identify key factors to improve their effectiveness. From 2009 to
2010, a project has been carried out to evaluate the use of 8 fauna passages under a road
that crosses a wetland area. One of these passages was continuously monitored for a year
to analyze the changes observed during different periods and the composition of the groups
that used the structure in comparison with those observed in the natural area. During 2008 2009, we monitored a further 29 structures (most of them adapted culverts) located under
roads that cross forests and cropland areas. The animal crossing of the structures was
recorded by remote cameras activated by means of infrared and motion sensors and by
registering footprints in marble dust beds. The dimensions and other variables of each
structure were also recorded and landscape features were analyzed by means of a
geographic information system (GIS). The specific 10 m wide underpass that was monitored
for a whole year was intensively used by wild boar. 830 crossings of wild boar groups were
analyzed with a mean of 2.32 wild boar group crossings registered per day. A mean of 2.66
individuals per group (range 1-10) was observed. The same passage was monitored 8 years
ago (Spring- Autumn 2001), just after its construction, and only 5 crossings of one family
group was found to use this structure. This shows that this area’s wild boars have become
habituated to the use of the new structure. Wild boar crossing, with low frequency, was also
detected in other underpasses in the same road, some of which are culverts. Regarding the
data obtained from 29 other fauna passages located in forests and cropland sites, wild boar
crossings were only detected in 10% of these structures, all of which were adapted culverts,
and the crossing frequencies were very low. The use of culverts was not observed at all in
previous monitoring of 110 structures that was carried out before 2005. These results reveal
a slight but progressive increase in wild boar crossing frequencies in small underpasses,
particularly adapted culverts, which could be a reflect of the adaptive behavio ur of this
species. Nevertheless, all the underpasses in which wild boar crossing was registered are
located at strategic points of the ecological network, in areas where roads intersect with
biological corridors or nature reserves. This highlights the importance of location as a key
factor to ensure the use of fauna passages by wild boar. The project is part of the R+D+i
project ‘Evaluation of habitat fragmentation due to transportation infrastructures impacts
on wildlife in Mediterranean wetlands’, supported by the Ministry of Environment and
Marine and Rural Affairs.
35
Impact and effectiveness of two different hunting techniques on wild boar
A.Monaco1, L.Scillitani2, C.Pellati3 and S.Toso 4
1
Regional Park Agency (ARP) – Regione Lazio, Italy, 2University of Padova, Department of
Animal Science, Italy, 3via Alessandro Manzoni 4, Italy, 4Institute for Environmental
Protection and Research (ISPRA), Italy
Wild boar is a major pest for agriculture, can have a negative impact on biodiversity and can
act as a vector of important livestock diseases. However, it is a species typical of Italian
zoocenosis and it has a high economic value as a game species. The hunting technique
mostly employed for wild boar in Italy is the drive hunt that is carried out by a hunting team
and involves a pack of hounds of different breeds. There are several negative consequences
related to the adoption of this method. Firstly, drive hunt can affect the demographic
structure of the hunted populations, because it does not always allow the hunters to
choose which animal to shoot. Secondly, it can have a negative impact on wild boar spatial
behaviour. In a study conducted on 20 radio-tagged wild boar belonging to 10 different
family groups, we recorded an increased spatial instability during the hunting season. Wild
boars frequently disturbed left their habitual range and moved even considerable distances
away. As a consequence of this displacement, local density of wild boar may be altered, and
the risk of disease transmission and crop damages increase. Finally, drive hunts usually
encompass large areas and in many cases the dogs employed are not trained to selectively
hunt wild boar. This can cause severe disturbance to coexisting species, in particular to
other ungulates and large carnivores. In the northern Apennine an alternative hunting
method, called “girata” has been recently introduced. The “girata” imply the use of a single
well-trained dog, which is kept on a long leash for the entire length of the hunt. The dog
tracks, discovers and put up the wild boars that are driven towards the guns. The number of
hunters involved is usually lower than in the drive hunt, and also the size of the hunted area
is smaller. Therefore the disturbance level induced is minor in comparison with drive hunt,
and the adoption of this method should minimize the impact on wild b oar behaviour and on
coexisting species. For an effective management it is crucial to determine the optimal
hunting technique which can maximize the harvesting and at the same time minimize the
impact on population demography and behavior. Since for wild boar a management priority
is to reduce overall numbers, we made a comparative analysis of this two hunting methods,
by comparing their selectivity of harvesting in relation to age and sex classes, their
effectiveness and the overall costs. In average drive hunt is not effective for maximizing
harvesting: we found no correlation among the number of hunters and the achieved
hunting bag, and only a weak correlation between the number of dogs employed and the
number of wild boars harvested; furthermore the overall costs are pretty high. On the
contrary, the “girata” allow a higher selectivity and imply lower costs and in the meantime
provide a higher quantity of meat per participant. We recommend therefore the adoption of
the “girata” as the preferred wild boar harvesting technique, in particular in areas where
species with high relevance for conservation, such as the Brown bear, are present.
36
Mission accomplished: assessment of wild boar populations across Italy
B.Franzetti, M.Scacco, V.La Morgia, R.Calmanti, A.Calabrese, S.Focardi and F.Riga
I.S.P.R.A. (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca Ambientale), Italy
The wild boar (Sus scrofa) is of keen economic and social interests (hunting business,
compensation for damages, disease reservoir and related concern for pig-farming and public
health). Therefore, to mitigate problems and to improve sustainable hunting, reliable
population estimates would be relevant for planning effective management strategies.
However, this species is well known to be difficult to count (and much more to assess), even
at high population density: its nocturnal activity and its preference for densely vegetated
habitats seriously limit detectability and affect the performance of standard sampling
techniques. Since 2001 we used line transect sampling, which takes variable detectability
into account, to assess densities of wild boar in different habitat types across Italy (from the
Apennines to a Mediterranean island). We carried out night surveys in 4 protected areas
(two regional and two national parks), walking along a network of tracks and forest roads
and using a portable thermal imager for animal detection. We covered a minimum of 65 to a
maximum of 145 km on foot, collecting 22-158 groups per survey. The encounter rate
ranged from 0.25 to 2 wild boars per km. Densities ranged from 8.1 (CV=31% and Pa=0.55)
to 10.7 (CV=36% and Pa=0.58), 11.4 (CV=17% and Pa=0.43) till 51.4 boars/km2 (CV=15% and
Pa=0.49). We found that this method can be suitable for sampling elusive species such as
the wild boar thorough a range of different survey conditions, even in dense habitats
(Mediterranean maquis) and at different population densities. However, the equipment
costs can largely limit its use but we show that spreading purchase prices over years and
study areas largely reduces average survey cost.
Session 9 (parallel) - Human dimension
Using landowner education and outreach to address wild pig damage and abatement
B.J.Higginbotham
Texas AgriLife Extension Service, USA
Landowners receiving damage to agricultural and urban/suburban landscapes are in need of
research-based information on the control of wild pigs. The Texas AgriLife Extension Service,
a part of the Texas A&M University Land Grant System, recognized the need to measure the
impacts of management and damage abatement efforts by going beyond a “body count” of
wild pigs removed. Therefore, survey data were collected from landowners who received
information from Extension personnel on best management practices of abating pig
damage. Landowners were asked to characterize pig damage/control efforts and the
associated impacts of educational outreach program efforts. Educational program impacts
were measured by administering surveys to landowners attending 109 wild pig
management educational outreach programs from 2006-2009. Survey respondents
(n=4,369) attending programs characterized wild pig damage, landowner-initiated control
efforts and economic impacts. Approximately 98% increased their knowledge of wild pigs
and their management, assigned a value of $5.1 million to the information received and
37
planned to adopt an average of 3.0 new management practices each. Respondents also
assigned a Net Promoter Score of 54.2% to the Texas AgriLife Extension Service as a
recommended source of information for wild pig management. These
cooperator/landowner-generated data are particularly valuable for briefing agency
policymakers and officials on identified needs in order to direct resources toward
appropriate and efficient control and educational outreach efforts. Characterizing,
quantifying and addressing damage via measured impacts of control/education efforts are
the first steps in building your case for a call to arms in the on-going war against wild pigs.
Public perception of wild boar in the Forest of Dean, England, potential implications for
their future management
J.Dutton and H.Clayton
University of Worcester, UK
In the UK wild boar (Sus scrofa) were present as a native faunal species until the late 13th
Century when the last boar were hunted to extinction. However, following escapes from
wild boar farms and illegal releases in the 1990’s there have been viable free -living
populations in Kent/Sussex and the Forest of Dean areas of England. In the Forest of Dean a
group of up to 15 wild boar escaped a farm near Staunton in the late 1990’s. This population
was further supplemented by an illegal release of approximately 40 wild boar in late 2 004.
The current population in this area is estimated to be between ‘in excess of 50’ to
approximately 1000, with a variety of estimates between these two figures. In the areas
where significant feral populations of this once native species exist, their lo ng-term impact
is unknown. To date there are conflicting claims as to their impact, from the damage caused
by their rooting behaviour and danger to the public and their dogs to the potential benefits
to the flora and forest ecosystems. The public reception to the reoccurrence of this species
has been mixed. Media attention has led to sensationalised reports of attacks on dogs and
habitat destruction alongside reports of boar being hand-fed and by the celebration of the
return of a ‘lost’ species. The lack of awareness of any clear management strategy being
implemented by the Forestry Commission, who manage the majority of the area, has also
led to confusion and disquiet. This paper will examine the public perception of the wild
boar, which was investigated in 2009/2010. The implications of these perceptions will be
discussed in terms of what they might mean to the future management of boar within the
Forest of Dean.
Population of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Split of Vistula River and its conflict with man
B.Bobek, J. Furtec, M. Wojciuch-Płoskonka and M. Ziobrowski
Department of Ecology, Wildlife Research and Ecotourism, Pedagogical University of
Cracow, Poland
The Split of the Vistula River (northern Poland) covers 166 square kilometres from which
29.5% is forest habitat. The remaining land is comprised of sandy dunes on the Baltic beach,
farmland and residential areas. There are mainly pine (Pinus sylvestris) forests where forest
38
floor is dominated by Vaccinium myrtilis and V. vitis idea. The area is inhabited by 15
thousand residents but in summer there are additionally about 160 thousands visitors. Over
the last years the population of wild boar was increasing which resulted in conflict with
humans. Several attacks on humans took place. Additionally the animals are rooting
beeches during daylight hours and make a lot of damage to gardens. The population of wild
boar is hunted but in recreational centres the animals are trapped. In February 2010
population numbers estimated by analysis of data from collect hunt was estimated at 291
individuals i.e. 63.4 animals/ 1000 ha of forest. In order to know public attitude towards
man – wild boar conflict we have interviewed 100 residents and 100 visitors. According to
the visitors, the wild boar is a tourist attraction (45% responders), but they are also harmful
animals (34%). Most visitors (55%) do not know how to solve this problem. Residents also
indicated (47%) that wild boar is a tourist attraction, but most of them agreed that wild boar
is a harmful animal as well. In order to solve man – wild boar conflict, they suggested
reducing wild boar numbers. We suggested reducing wild boar numbers to the level of 30
animals/ 1000 ha, trapping “city” wild boar and after sterilization putting the animals into 10
– 15 ha enclosure, where wild boar could be shown to the visitors.
Wild boar in England: monitoring a novel species when the novelty has worn off
C.Wilson
Natural England, UK
The European wild boar Sus scrofa was driven to extinction in Britain by over-hunting and
habitat loss some time between the 13th and the 18th centuries. Despite several small -scale
attempts to reintroduce the species it remained, until recently, largely absent from the wild.
Following the development of commercial wild boar farming in the 1980s, escapes from
farms began to occur and, as a result of escapes and some apparently deliberate releases, a
small number of feral populations has now become established in England. This paper uses
information reported to the Wildlife Management and Licensing Service by the public, and
collated from other sources, to review the escapes and releases that have occurred, likely
founder population sizes, where information is available, and the development and current
status of the animals in the wild. Groups of animals in the wild are classed as ‘populations’ if
they are believed to consist of at least around 30 animals, where breeding is known to have
taken place in the wild, and they have been present for several years. In at least two
populations, in The Weald (Kent and Sussex) and the Forest of Dean (Gloucestershire), the
animals now occur in substantial numbers (>100). Where animals are present in smaller
numbers, but are, nevertheless, known to have bred in the wild, they are classed as
‘colonies’. At least two colonies are present that have been existence for a number of years
(west Dorset and Devon). In some other areas animals have only been present for a short
time, in small numbers, or are not believed to have bred in the wild. Reports are sorted at
appropriate spatial and temporal scales in an attempt to describe the species’ establishment
and spread over time.
39
Session 8 (parallel) Density estimation and Population management
- continued
Faecal DNA-typing to estimate wild boar population size - the fight with genotyping errors
K.Kolodziej 1, H.Schulz1, C.Ebert2, U.Hohmann 2, D.Huckschlag2 and R.Schulz 1
1
University of Koblenz-Landau, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Germany, 2Research
Institute of Forest Ecology and Forestry, Germany
Non-invasive DNA-techniques have been used successfully to obtain population size
estimates of different species. We developed a modified CaptureMarkRecapture -approach
for population size estimation of wild boar based on individual genotyping of fresh faeces.
As there is no sound method for absolute population counts in free living wild boar,
reference values for the validation of this new approach are missing. Therefore, we tested
different routines to reduce genotyping errors and assess error rates. We optimized storage
and extraction methods and PCR-procedure for a maximum amplification rate. We applied a
multi-tubes approach, post-amplification checking and different correction procedures to
reduce genotyping errors. We tested family groups (female and embryo tissue) to achieve
the minimum number of required microsatellite markers to distinguish even close relatives.
The first population estimations from two trials in south western Germany resulted in
population estimates considerably higher than previously assumed by hunting statistics. For
a further method validation, we repeated the genotyping of a subsample of 30 already
analysed faeces using the same procedure. To assess the error rate we verified the results.
We obtained a genotyping error rate of 74 % mainly due to drop out errors. As a
consequence, we used more strict criteria for the multi-tube approach and increased the
repetition number of homozygous samples. An additional method validation was the
implementation of a blind test to achieve the reliability of the genotyping and error
checking procedure. The effectiveness of these strategies will be discussed.
Genotyping fresh faeces for use in wild boar population estimation in Germany – the story
continues…
C.Ebert 1,2, D.Huckschlag1, K.Kolodziej3, T.F.Schikora4, H.K.Schulz3 and U.Hohmann 1
1
Research Institute for Forestry and Forest Ecology Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany,
2
Department of Wildlife Ecology and Management, Albert-Ludwigs-University, Germany,
3
Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany, 4 Institute for
Palaeanthropology, Germany
For an efficient wild boar management, reliable and accurate population estim ates are
urgently needed. Traditional methods like hunting bag analyses or classical capture-markrecapture are often biased, lack accuracy or are not feasible. Non-invasive genetic methods,
which have been applied until now for a number of different species, may offer a solution
for this problem. In a study on wild boar in south western Germany, non -invasive genetic
sampling is tested using wild boar faeces collected in the field. Genotyping of faeces
samples yields information about individual identity, w hich can be analysed in a capture40
recapture framework. First sampling trials were carried out between 2006 and 2008. The
results of these trials indicate that one key issue for successful application of the method is
obtaining a sufficient sample size, i.e. coverage of the sampled population. Furthermore, the
laboratory analysis of wild boar faeces still holds methodological difficulties. The usability
and accuracy of population estimates strongly depends on the reliability of the genotyping
results. Genotyping errors like allele dropout or false alleles can compromise the individual
identification and thus introduce bias to population estimates. To assess the present state of
the method, results of two field sampling seasons are shown and the derived population
numbers are evaluated in the context of genetic and management issues.
Comparison of four methods for estimation of wild boar population density in forest
environment
R.Plhal1, J.Kamler1 and M.Homolka2
1
Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Czech Republic,
2
Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Czech Republic
Wild boar is an autochthonous animal species of the Czech Republic that has significantly
increased its population density over the last years and thus causes severe damage to
agricultural crops. However, objective methods for sustainable management of wild boar,
especially for estimation of its population density and intensity of regulation, are still lacking
in the Czech Republic. Wild boar differs markedly from the other free-living ungulates in its
spatial activity and food selection, which limits applicability of the experiences and methods
used for other species. Four methods of wild boar population census in forest environment
were compared in this study. Comparison of the methods was performed on an area of
2 256 ha, circumscribed by both natural and man-made migration barriers that restrict wild
boar migration to a great extent. Wild boar abundance was estimated by snow-track
counting, driving census (driving the animals out of their hiding places), phototrapping and
hunting bag survey. All field methods were used in the winter season 2009 – 2010, the
hunting bag data were from the period 1997 - 2009. Wild boar abundance assessed by the
hunting bag survey was 5.5ind/km 2, by snow-track counting it was 5.8 ind/km 2, by
phototrapping 6.6 ind/km2 and by driving census during drive hunts 7.8 ind/km 2. The results
revealed that if correctly performed, all of the tested methods are applicable in practice for
estimation of wild boar abundance. Phototrapping seems to be the most accurate method;
it requires special equipment and is time-consuming, however, it provides also information
on the structure of population. Combination of methods is advisable.
41
Wild boar counting on drives: testing a method
C.Nores1, A.Segura2 and O.Rodríguez 3
1
INDUROT, Universidad de Oviedo, Campus de Mieres, Spain, 2ICAB, Departamento de
Biología de Organismos y Sistemas, Universidad de Oviedo, Spain, 3Instituto de Investigación
en Recursos Cinegéticos (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Spain
We have analyzed a method to obtain wild boar densities based in drive counts in Redes
Biosphere Reserve, a low hunting pressure area (377 km 2) located in Asturias (Northern
Spain). Hunting drive counts are easy to plan and inexpensive. Our aim was testing the limits
of their applicability and optimizing their results. Results from the drive counts (i.e. densities
of wild boar) were not normally distributed and could only be compared using nonparametric statistics. However, conventional density representation (Mean±SE) can be used
for descriptive purposes. In our conditions small drive count areas overestimated densities
of wild boar whilst drive counts conducted in large areas underestimated our results. In our
study area (dominated by deciduous woodland), results from autumn drives counts were
biased by a lower detectability than winter drives. The methodology to estimate densities of
wild boar required the following five steps: 1) Selecting a number of independent drive
hunting areas (separated >3 km) covering a representative sampling. More than 1 beater/25
ha of drive count area or a distance <140 m between beaters are needed. 2) Measuring the
area of refuge habitat inside the area covered by the drive count. 3) Counting the number of
the observed wild boars in each sample and divide the number by the area of refuge habitat
within each drive count area. 4) Calculate the mean and the standard error of the estimated
density of wild boar within refuge habitat of all samples. 5) Extrapolate this estimated
density to the whole refuge habitat in the study area. The formal precision obtained was
low (CV between 80-100%). Results from an iterative method with independent samples
showed that when 10 samples were used the 85% of the possible estimates were biased
more than 10% of the mean of iterations; when 20 samples were used the biased estimates
larger than this threshold was reduced to 65% of iterations. Finally, when 30 samples were
used this bias affected only the 30% of iterations. Formal precision can be reduced if two
different strata are considered: drives in which wild boar were not detected (0 data) and
drives in which animals were counted (positive data). Estimating the number of wild boars
within the whole area covered by the drive counts results in a higher estimated density of
wild boar when compared to the estimated density obtained by when using only the refuge
area within the area covered by the drive count. The reason for this is that an extrapolation
of the density of wild boar over the whole area covered by drive counts assumes that the
whole study area has the same habitat structure than the areas covered by the driv e counts.
42
Poster Presentations
1. Feral pigs and volcanoes: a hot topic
R.Bunting1, G.Massei2, J.Scriber Daley 1, L.Rogers-Ryan3, S.Roy2 and J.Millett4
1
Department of Environment, Government of Montserrat, 2The Food and Environment
Research Agency, UK, 3Physical Planning Unit, Government of Montserrat. 4Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds, UK
Evacuations of small holdings due to volcanic activity in the late 1990's led to the
establishment of feral pig populations on Montserrat, West Indies. The Centre Hills in
Montserrat are a global biodiversity hotspot with high levels of endemism. Feral pigs have a
direct environmental impact through predation, feeding on plants, seed dispersion, and soil
disturbance. The aims of this study were: 1. To monitor distribution and relative abundance
of feral pigs in the Centre Hills; 2. To design and implement an Action Plan to mitigate the
impact of feral pigs in the Centre Hills. We established a network of 23 motion- activated
camera traps over an area of 21 km2 and monitored pig visits. Data were expressed as
number of visits/camera/100 days. From July 2009 to February 2010 we obtained 1,998
active camera days. Pigs (n=56 visits) were recorded on with an average of 4.63(+SD 8.46)
visits/camera/100 days . 13 cameras did not record any feral pig visits. Pigs are concentrated
in the South where there is no public access due to ongoing volcanic activity. Pig activity is
low in the middle of the Centre Hills. However, population expansion or volcanic eruptions
may lead to increased feral pig incursions into the Centre Hills. Eradication is unfeasible due
to access restrictions to the South. In February 2010, a workshop with stakeholders
including NGO's, Government agencies, hunters and landowners agreed an Action Plan
based on g that round shooting with dogs and trapping to control feral pigs. Monitoring
using the camera traps will continue to measure the effect of removal of pigs.
2. Delivering baits to wild boar: which season is best?
L.J.Boggeln, G.Massei, J.Coats, R.Quy and D.Cowan
The Food and Environment Research Agency, UK
The success of baiting campaigns aimed at delivering contraceptives and vaccines against
diseases depends on bait uptake by the target population. Factors that affect bait uptake
include sex, age, time of year, density of bait stations and bait uptake by non -target species.
We tested a wild boar-specific bait delivery system, the BOS (Boar-Operated-System), to
determine 1. proportion of BOS used by free-living wild boar in different seasons, 2. bait
uptake by non-target species and 3. potential intra-group competition that could prevent
bait uptake by some individuals. Visits to BOS varies in different seasons, bait uptake by
non-targets was never observed and wild boar in a group fed simultaneously from the BOS.
We discuss how the BOS can be used to optimise bait uptake by free-living wild boar.
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3. The prevalence of parasites of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in faeces, a pilot study in Sweden
M.Furenbratt
University of Halmstad, Sweden
The wild boar was reintroduced in Sweden 1976 after being extinct for almost three
centuries. In 2008 the population in Sweden was estimated to at least 60 000 individuals
and growing strongly. In areas with dense populations foraging boars cause notable damage
to agriculture and nature reserves. To limit damages to crops, many farmers use
supplemental feeding to lure the wild boars away from the fields. This feeding tends to be
extensive; in some Swedish estates estimated to 96-100 tonnes grain year -1. At the feeding
places large numbers of individuals gather simultaneously on a relatively small area, and as
the food is presented directly on to the soil, these feeding sites are a perfect habitat for
parasite translocation, especially so for parasitic helminths. No data on wild boar parasites is
published from Sweden up till now. I sampled three hunting/farming estates in Sweden, all
using supplemental feeding but with different methods. The estates also had different boar
density. Faecal samples from all three estates included specimens of whipworm (Trichuris
suis), nodular worm (Oesophostomum dentatum), threadworm (Strongyloides ransomi),
lungworm (Metastrongylus sp.) and coccidia (Isospora suis). Roundworm (Ascaris suum) was
only detected at the two southern estates, both with relatively high boar density. All
locations differed widely in faecal parasite load. Parasite density differed strongly between
months and between samples. Although boars from different regions were found to have
relatively similar parasite fauna, it was evident that the prevalence, species diversity and
individual burden of infection increase from north to south in Sweden. One possib le
explanation for this is the use of continuous feeding locations or locations rotated in a yearly
manner in the south while the northern location use a mixture of old and new feeding
places (and has a lower population density). It is known that increased populations of wild
boars means a higher risk of spreading helminths. Thus, it is also apparent that not changing
feeding places will further increase this risk as the food is presented directly on to the soil,
forming a perfect place for translocation and a good habitat for acquiring parasites.
4. Wild boar impact on the herbaceous cover in a mountainous habitat
C.Heimo, C.Fischer and P.Prunier
HEPIA (HES-SO Genève), Switzerland
Wild boar populations have increased markedly during the past two decades around the
Western edges of the Jura mountains in France and Switzerland. The species is present in all
forested habitats and its pressure on the cultivated areas, mainly during the foraging
activities, has an important economic impact. Signs of wild boar activities are visible even at
the highest altitudes, at over 1500 meters, in subalpine meadows. In this kind of habitats
their activities have not only an impact on the quality and quantity of the fodder, but also
potentially on the botanical associations and thus on the biodiversity. Aim of our study is to
investigate which associations are the most attractive to the wild boars, to quantifiy the loss
of fodder value due to the foraging activities, and to develop a survey pr otocol in order to
monitor the evolution of the vegetation after disruption. As a first tool, we have the
44
opportunity to compare a vegetation map made in the 1970s with a more recent one
(2008), drawn forty years later. This gives a picture of where and how the vegetation
changed. Further, we map all identified disturbance linked to the activity of wild boars and
superimpose them to the former maps. Finally, we have delineated plots of 5 x 5 m in
disturbed and undisturbed meadows, in order to investigate how the vegetation will evolve,
at the species communities level as well as at the coverage and biomass level.
5. Estimating density of British Wild Boar populations using thermal imaging
R.Gill and G.Brandt
Centre for Human and Ecological Sciences, Forest Research, Alice Holt Lodge, UK
In recent years wild boar have became re-established as a wild animal in Britain. Methods of
estimating and monitoring have therefore been sought to inform policy and management
decisions. A joint FERA/FR project was started in 2009 to test and develop methods for
estimating abundance. Thermal imaging, in combination with distance sampling has been
successfully used to estimate deer densities in woodland habitats in Britain, so a similar
approach was tried on wild boar in three woodland sites (Beckley, The Dean and Penyard
Park). Initial results indicate that boar can be readily detected using thermal imaging,
although apparently less frequently at greater distances, yielding a narrower d etection
function than those usually obtained for deer. Densities, and therefore precision were found
to be rather low in all three sites. Further investigations are being carried out to check for
evidence of avoidance bias, using data from both GPS telemetry and from signs.
6. Impacts of feral boar on woodland flora and invertebrates
M.Upson1, D.Williams2, N.Straw2, R.Harmer2 and A.Kewitt 2
MSc in Conservation and Forest Protection, Imperial College, UK, 2Forest Research, Alice
Holt Lodge, UK
Methods to evaluate feral boar impacts on woodland biodiversity (plants and invertebrates)
were investigated during summer 2009 and 2010. Sampling approaches were determined
from pilot studies in 3 sites in 2009, and the methods determined as most cost effective and
appropriate used to evaluate impacts on plants and invertebrates in 12 woods during 2010.
7. The spatial and temporal scale of wild boar rooting in English woodlands
G.Watola, S.Fox, M.Lambert, J.Coats, G.Massei and D.Cowan
Food & Environment Research Agency, UK
Free-living wild boar are native to the UK but went extinct a few centuries ago. Wild boar
escaped from farms have recolonised parts of the UK in the last decades. Wi ld boar obtain a
significant proportion of their diet by feeding on bulbs, roots, earthworms and other food
items below the ground. This activity also results in disturbance to the local ecosystem,
45
which may impact on soil, plant and animal communities. The aim of this pilot study is to
analyse spatial and temporal patterns of rooting in areas where wild boar have been
present for several years. In July 2009, 420 permanent circular plots (10m radius) were
established, distributed in five woods (three in the Forest of Dean, two in the Weald). The
plots are uniformly distributed along a grid superimposed on each wood, at a density of one
plot per 1.25ha. In each plot various parameters (the proportion of area affected by recent
rooting, age of rooting, the depth of rooting and the nature of rooting) were measured, in
addition to canopy type, shrub and field layer composition, slope and elevation at each plot.
Plots were surveyed in July 2009, December 2009 and March 2010 to determine the extent,
frequency and timing of rooting. Preliminary results indicate widespread but localised
rooting where boars are present. 20% of all plots have so far been rooted, some more than
once. Rooting frequency varies between wood, season and canopy type. The rooted area of
affected plots also varies between woods and season. The information on the timing and
distribution of rooting could be used subsequently to predict theoretical impacts of boar on
the species and communities which are typical of the different habitats.
8. Winter food choice of wild boar in two different habitats
A.Náhlik, T.Tari and G.Sándor
Institute of Wildlife Management and Vertebrate Zoology, University of West Hungary,
Hungary
Food choice of wild boar was investigated in two areas of Hungary with different habitat
types and management practices. The first territory lied in north-west of Hungary in the flat
agricultural area called “Hanság”. Hard broadleaved forests, alder (Alnus glutinosa) and
poplar (Populus sp.) stands are characteristic for the area. With drainage canals and some
lakes located in the area, the water supply is plentiful. All year round, significant quantities
of supplemental food are provided for hunting purposes, mainly consisting of maize and
wheat. The other area lies east of the previous, in the Transdanubian Mountains called
“Gerecse”. High ratio of forested area is to be found. Forests consist mainly of oak in areas
at lower altitudes, hornbeam mixed with oaks higher up in the mountains and beeches on
sites of highest altitude. Habitats are almost totally wooded. Supplementary food is given
scarcely. We collected 20-20 stomachs of boar from each territory during the winter drive
hunts. From “Hanság” stomachs of 3 males, 8 females and 9 young and from “Gerecse”
stomachs of 2 males, 9 females and 9 young were collected. Plants were identified as
follows: maize (main source for supplementary feeding), other crops, acorns and other tree
seeds, green parts of plants, roots and food of animal origin. The different food items were
dried out and weighted. In “Hanság” area ratio of maize and other crops given
supplementary amounted to more than 60% and percent of roots was also high. Oppositely,
in “Gerecse” the highest amount in the food was represented mainly by gree n plants, than
animal food items, roots and tree seeds. There were differences also between food choice
of females and young vs. males, the latter having been eaten much less crops given
supplementary. Summarized, it was stated that a determining part of the food of wild boar
beside supplementary feeding consists of maize and other crops. Males always consumed
less supplementary food because their undercover way of living. In the lack of
supplementary food wild boar searched for food items of high metabolic energy, such as
46
green plants, food of animal origin and tree seeds still to be found after autumn
consumption.
9. Wild boar abundance and altitude
C.Nores
Universidad de Oviedo, INDUROT, Campus de Mieres, Spain
In an area of Northern Spain characterized by strong altitudinal gradients (430 km 2 ranging
between 100 to 2648 m.a.s.l.) the density of wild boar has been sampled by 20 drive counts
in diurnal shelter areas in a National Park (Picos de Europa National Park, which correspo nds
to 58% of the study area) and two game preserves (Cabrales and Onís, which correspond to
42% of the study area). Mean altitudes of drive count areas range from 259 m to 1100
m.a.s.l. A significant negative logarithmic correlation was obtained between t he density of
wild boar shelter sites in the sampled points and altitude, the explained variance being 42%.
This means that wild boar density (D±SE) is higher in the game preserves (7.09±1.57
w.b./km2) where hunting is allowed, than in the National Park (3.00±0.47 w. b./km 2) where
hunting is forbidden, even when annual culling in the game preserves is 24% of the
estimated population. Due to this altitude-dependent gradient of density, if we split the
samples into two altitudinal strata (above and below 500 m) we find that estimates are
more precise than if we consider all the samples together as a whole, because the
Percentage Relative Precision parameter, which reaches 38.6% without stratifying, is
reduced by using two strata up to 31.3%.
10. Presence and frequency of different lesions and anomalies of wild boar ( Sus scrofa L.)
mandibles in Slovenia
B. Pokorny1, H. Poličnik1, M. Zaluberšek1, D. Konjevid2, K. Severin2, A. Slavica2, M. Stergar3
and I. Jelenko 1
1
ERICo Velenje, Ecological Research and Industrial Cooperation, Slovenia, 2Department of
Game Biology, Pathology and Breeding, University of Zagreb, Veterinary Faculty, Croatia,
3
Department of Forestry and Renewable Resources, Biotechnical Faculty, University of
Ljubljana, Ljubljana
In Slovenia, mandibles of all ungulates shot or found dead have to be collected for the
purpose of wildlife management. These mandibles can provide useful information on
ecological status of populations, including presence, distribution, frequency and severity of
some anomalies, affections or injuries of jaws/teeth. All of them can lead to the dysfunction
of the chewing system and might have a negative influence on the health status of a single
animal or even on the viability of populations. Moreover, insights into the presence and
distribution of some of anomalies may also be very interesting for understanding of the
evolutionary development of wild ungulates. In 2008, more than 10,000 mandibles of wild
boar, shot in entire Slovenia, were collected. For the purpose of this preliminary study
mandibles (all age categories, both sexes) from seven hunting districts of Slovenia were
analysed. Assessment of spatial distribution and prevalence of several different
47
anomalies/lesions, such as enamel hypoplasia, presence/absence of the first premolar (P 1)
or any other supernumerary tooth, hypodontia, tooth rotation, deformation or discoloration
of the tooth, bone fractures or deformations, and malocclusions, was carried out. Presence
and the distribution of these affections have generally random (dispersed) pattern in
Slovenia, and are usually not affected by any parameter of habitat quality. The only lesion,
which occurs in relatively high number throughout Slovenia, but with a clear tendency of
grouping in particular hunting grounds / regions, is enamel hypoplasia. Enamel hypoplasia is
a defect/lesion in tooth enamel that results in less quantity of enamel than normal and is
demonstrated as a rough, pitted surface of a tooth. It can occur either on a sin gle tooth or
on multiple teeth. It can be a result of both genetic disorders or environmental factors that
interfere with tooth formation, i.e. trauma to the teeth and jaws, infections during
pregnancy or infancy, poor pre-natal and post-natal nutrition, hypoxia, exposure to toxic
substances and a variety of hereditary disorders. Both factors influence the presence of
enamel hypoplasia also in wild boar population in Slovenia; indeed, distribution of
hypoplasia shows high tendency of grouping in cohorts (family groups) with the same
genetic disposition and same environment. The influence of habitat on the presence and
severity of enamel hypoplasia has previously already been found in the case of Slovene roe
deer population (e.g. very obvious “hot spots” of these lesions in humid habitats close to
main Slovene rivers), which demonstrates that environmental stressors prevail against
genetic ones. However, some further attempts are needed to provide clear insight into
cause-response relation between habitat quality/characteristics and the prevalence of
enamel hypoplasia in wild boar populations.
11. Prediction of habitat suitability for wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in Rodopi mountains
Greece
P.K. Birtsas1,2, C. Billinis3,4 , A. Touloudi3,4, E. Tsachalidis5 and A. Giannakopoulos3
1
Wildlife Laboratory, Department of Forestry and Management of Natural Environment,
Technological Education Institute of Larissa, 2Hunting Federation of Macedonia and Thrace,
Evripidou 4, 54635 Thessaloniki, Greece 3Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology,
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Thessaly, Trikalon 224, GR -43100 Karditsa,
Greece, 4Institute of Biomedical Research and Technology, Larisa, Greece. 5Department of
Forestry and Environmental Management and Natural Resources, Democritus University of
Thrace, GR-68200, Orestiada, Greece
Wild boar is an ungulate with the largest distribution in Greece and all over the world as
well. Wild boar in Greece is native and a popular big game species. In 1988, it was
successfully reintroduced in the region of Peloponnesus, from where it had been extinct
since 1830. Despite the relatively high density and the increasing trend in many counties,
the ecology of the species is not well studied. Wild boar has significant role in natural
ecosystems, high hunting interest, wide ecological demands, high adaptability and its
seasonal use of different habitats makes this species appropriate for conservation planning.
Wild boars may be also carriers of several pathogens and impact on other populations of
wildlife, domestic animals and people. To evaluate habitat suitability we used Geographic
Information System (GIS) and Mahalanobis distance (D 2) a multivariate approach based on
174 wild boar signs (scats, tracks, feeding places, etc) from transects and hunting activity (32
48
drive census) in the Rodopi Mountain in NE Greece from 2008 and 2009. Moreover, we
conducted an initial evaluation of the influence of wild boar population increased density
with various pathogens. Serologic surveillance and microbiological techniques were
performed on various samples (sera, tissue samples) collected from hunted wild boar, for
the detection of various selected pathogens and were spatially correlated with the habitat
suitability classes and harvest density. The most suitable habitat class occupied 1.757 Km 2
(19,02%) of the study area (9.236 Km2). Almost half of the most suitable habitats were
associated with dense maqui formations and mixed agro-forestry systems (oak-meadows)
and the less suitable associated with intensive agricultural landscapes. Long term
monitoring on additional various parameters such as population status, harvest data, etc.,
will be necessary to gain knowledge for effective game and disease management.
12. Prevalence of selected viral and bacteriological disease agents in wild boar from
Greece
A. Touloudi1, 2, P.K. Birtsas3, 4, V. Spyrou5, A. Giannakopoulos1, G. Valiakos1, 2, C. Iacovakis1, 2,
C. Sokos1,2, A. Katsafadou 1, 2, K. Tsokana1, 2 and C. Billinis1,2
1
Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of
Thessaly, Trikalon 224, GR-43100 Karditsa, Greece, 2Institute of Biomedical Research and
Technology, Larisa, Greece, 3Wildlife Laboratory, Department of Forestry and Management
of Natural Environment, Technological Education Institute of Larissa, 4Hunting Federation of
Macedonia and Thrace, Evripidou 4, 54635 Thessaloniki, Greece. 5Department of Animal
Production, Technological Education Institution, Larissa, Greece
We report the first results from an ongoing survey for multiple viral and bacteriological
pathogens of domestic pigs, in Greek wild boars. Blood and organ samples were collected
from wild boars (Sus scrofa) shot during the hunting seasons of 2006 - 2008. So far, sera
have been tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the presence of antibodies
against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), porcine circovirus type – 2
(PCV-2), bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV),Influenza A virus, H3N2 influenza virus, Maedi
Visna virus, Aujesky virus, Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (AP), Mycoplasma
hyopneumoniae (MHY), Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, Chlamidoplila abortus, Neospora
caninum, Toxoplasma gondii and Trichinella spirallis. Further, we have also examined organ
samples by a PCR method for PCV-2. Antibodies against PCV-2, BVDV, Auzesky, Maedi Visna
virus, Salmonellosis, Toxoplasma gondii, AP and Trichinella spirallis were detected in 24%,
89%, 21%, 9%, 4%, 3% 76% and 3% of the tested sera, respectively. All sera were negative
for the presence of antibodies against PRRS, Influenza A, H3N2 virus, MHY, Mycobacterium
paratuberculosis, Chlamydophila abortus and Neoplasma caninum. Twenty percent of the
tissue samples were positive in PCV-2 by PCR. This is a continued survey for multiple viral
and bacteriological pathogens of domestic pigs, in Greek wild boar. Our results suggest that
wild boars are potentially involved in the epidemiology of BVDV, in Greece. Previous studies
have also reported seropositivity of wild boars for BVDV, a fact ascribed either to the
existence of another pestivirus or the likely reservoir role of wild boars for BVDV. Further,
our results indicate that wild boars may also act as a reservoir for PCV-2. PMWS has been
reported in a group of Eurasian wild boars raised under free-range conditions. PCV-2 is
associated with a debilitating disease called post weaning multisystemic wasting syndrome
49
(PMWS), in domestic pigs. We have recently diagnosed PMWS, based on the detection of
porcine circovirus 2 (PCV-2) DNA in various organs – including the uterus – and on
histopathologic lesions, in a European female wild boar in Greece. These results indicate
that wild boars may be carriers of several pathogens for domestic pigs in regions where
domestic pig farms are neighbouring with hunting areas. Diseases also have a serious
negative effect on wild boar dynamics and comprise a high risk for human health and
livestock. The results of our study can link wildlife managers and veterinary expertise to
manage diseases through measures and practices. Domestic pig free grazing should be also
taken into consideration for future stock breeding establishment especially in areas with
wild boar occurrence.
13. Monitoring wild boar crossing over fenced motorways using camera-trapping: what
effect of hunting with hounds on the risk of disease spreading?
V.Siat 1, S.Rossi 1 and C.Saint-Andrieux2
1
Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Unité sanitaire de la faune,
Gerstheim&Gap, France. 2 Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Cnera
cervidés sangliers, Gerstheim, France.
Contagious diseases, such as classical swine fever (CSF) in Wild Boar, may spread along
natural corridors. Motorways with fences are one of the physical barriers that can slow or
stop disease spread by limiting animal movements, and are thus used to delimit the edges
of areas officially declared infected. Sanitary authorities may also adopt measures su ch as
hunting restrictions with the aim of limiting the risk of infected animal crossing and
potential disease spread. Previous studies have demonstrated that collective hunting with
dogs may enhance animal movements and favour wild boar crossing over moto rways,
particularly when specific passageways are devoted to game species. However few study
has been yet conducted to study the specific effect of collective hunting with dogs (versus
without dogs) on the probability of crossing of wild species over motorways. We conducted
a study in the Vosges Mountains (north-eastern France) where CSF has emerged since 2003.
We focused our attention on the edges of the motorway “A4” (Paris-Strasbourg), that
delimits the Southern border of the infected area, where collect ive hunting with dogs has
been forbidden from 2004 up to 2009. North to the motorway A4 60% of animals are
seropositive because of oral vaccination, we have thus studied the occurrence of
seropositive wild boar south to the motorway to define the area at risk for wild boar
crossing. We have then monitored the crossing of wildlife from October 2008 up to March
2010 using numeric camera-traps (Reconnyx® and Camtracker®). We monitored 8
passageways crossing the motorway and comprising ways devoted to wildlife, water pipes
and roads. Hunting activities (treatment) of each week were registered through
questionnaires to hunters in a 2km buffer zone around each passageway. We expected that
wild boar would cross more frequently during the period of collective huntin g regarding
other periods, and more frequently during the periods of collective hunting with dogs
compared to collective hunting without dogs. More than 1200 pictures of wildlife were
recorded during the study period and were analysed. Collective hunting w ithout dogs
occurred from October 2008 to February 2009 and from October to November 2009.
Collective hunting with dogs occurred from December 2009 up to February 2010. Individual
50
hunting occurred from May to September 2009, and there was no hunting in Mar ch and
April 2009. Contrary to red foxes and wild cats, wild boar and other ungulates very seldom
crossed the passageways that were not devoted to wildlife; Then whatever the nature of
passageways, wild boar crossing was not increasing during the period with collective
hunting (with or without dogs). We detected no particular effect of the dogs during
collective hunting whatever the wild species. We thus conclude that in this area the
motorway is a quiet efficient barrier to wild boar crossing, and that hun ting treatment was
not a major factor for wild boar crossing. We discuss these result s regarding the
management of wildlife diseases and of the green corridors.
14. Long-distance dispersal in adult female wild boar: a case study
M.Stergar1, I.Jelenko2, B.Pokorny2 and K.Jerina1
1
Biotehnical Faculty, Department of Forestry, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. 2ERICo
Velenje, Environmental Research & Industrial Co-operation Institute, Slovenia
An increase in the spatial expansion and density of wild boar populations has been reported
lately in Slovenia and other countries as well. These changes may be partly due to dispersal
traits. Long-distance juvenile dispersal occurs in wild boar populations (over 250 km;
Andrzejewski and Jezierski, 1978), and female dispersals are reported more often than in
some other polygynus ungulate species. Here we present the case of a wild boar sow longdistance dispersal, which deviates from all known wild boar behaviour patterns. In May
2009, we captured a two year old sow and her piglets. The sow was collared with a GPS
transmitter and her piglets were ear tagged. In the spring period the sow remained in the
forest, while during summer months shifted her home range into corn fields. After corn
harvest in autumn she returned to the forested area. Within the next two weeks she
increased her initial home range from 700 to 1500 ha. She suddenly left her previous home
range in the beginning of October. In less than two months she travelled more tha n 500 km
and was shot along with the three piglets 60 km from the capture site. This behaviour was
surprising given that no similar information about long-distance adult female dispersal in
wild boar was found in the literature. In general we can relate this behaviour with
population status and density. For example, Truve et al. (2004) found a weak density
dependant dispersal rate in both sexes while dispersal distances were not correlated with
population density. Furthermore, long distance female dispersal has been reported in
expanding presaturation brown bear populations (Swenson et al. 1998). Since the wild boar
population in our study area is presaturated this could be favourable condition for the
female dispersal to occur. Resource competition related to territorial behaviour and
anthropogenic disturbance (e.g. increasing hunting pressure in autumn) could be the trigger
mechanisms for dispersal decision. Such information is important for understanding of the
basic biology of the species, especially with regard to its efficient spatial expansion, as well
as in the scope of successful management, which has to be improved for this highly adaptive
and dynamic species.
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15. Wild boar distribution in Scotland
S.Campbell and G.Hartley
Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA),Pesticide Usage & Wildlife Management
Section, UK
A desk-top exercise using surveys, and published material from a wide variety of sources,
was undertaken to attempt to identify the presence of wild boar in Scotland.
16. Factors influencing home range size in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in various habitats of
Poland
T.Podgórski1, G.Baś3, W.Jędrzejewski1, H.Okarma3, L.Soennichsen1,2, S.Śnieżko3 and
B.Jędrzejewska1
1
Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Science, Poland, 2Leibniz Institute for Zoo
and Wildlife Research (IZW), Germany, 3Institute for Nature Conservation, Polish Academy
of Sciences, Poland
Home range size within the species can be influenced by wide range of factors operating at
a level of individual (sex, age), population (density, social structure), and geographic
distribution (climate, abundance and distribution of food, landscape structure).In wild boar,
home range size has been shown to be highly variable among different locations yet without
clear geographical pattern. Similarly, sex-related differences in the home range size were
reported only for some populations. Mechanisms underlying high spatial plascitcity of the
species remain poorly understood.We report on the study on space use by wild boar in four
different areas of Poland, namely: lowland temperate forest (Białowieża Primeval Forest in
NE Poland), mountain forest (Beskid Sądecki Mountains, S Poland), urban area (Kraków City,
S Poland), and agricultural landscape (S Poland). Home range size estimates (MCP 100% and
LoCoH 95%) were obtained from 52 animals captured, radio-tagged, and followed in years
2006-2009. Unexpectedly, home ranges showed remarkably small variation in size among
the study sites. The largest home ranges were observed in the mountain landscape whereas
the smallest in the urban area. We applied generalized linear mixed model to estimate the
relative importance of several factors (such as sex, age, home range habitat structure, area
characteristics) in determining the size of the home range. Our results suggest that both
individual’s intrinsic and environmental variables played a role in determining home range
size in wild boar, however with greater effect of the intrinsic factors (e.g. sex, age).
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17. Infectious diseases in wild boar population of Sierra Nevada, Spain
F.J.Cano-Manuel1, E.J.Granados1, L.León2, M.J.Cubero 2, M.González2 P.Fandos1,
R.C.Soriguer3, J.M.Pérez 4 and R.Cadenas de Llano1
1
Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, 2Departamento de Sanidad Animal,
Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad e Murcia, 3Estación Biológica de Doñana, CSIC,
4
Departamento de Biología Animal, Vegetal y Ecología, Universidad de Jaén
Sierra Nevada Range Mountain is at the southernmost European continent, with a area over
2,000 km2, of which 1,719 km 2 are legally protected as part of a national park and a natural
park. Wild boar and Iberian ibex are the most characteristic wild ungulates species of these
parks. Its population coexist with herds of domestic ungulates (cows, sheep and goats).
During the period 2004-2006, wild boar population densities in feeding and refuge areas
(excluding the high summits) were estimated (9.25 and 9.94 animals/km 2) by 92 population
control. It is well know n the capacity of wild boar to act as zoonosic agents reservoir effect
with high risk of outbreaks of serious disease not only in wild boars population but other
species too. The aim of this study is to know the presence and prevalence of infectious
pathogens circulating in the wild boar population of Sierra Nevada. During 2004 -2006
population control campaigns 725 blood samples 247 (2004), 140 (2005) and 338 (2006)
were taken using different immunological methods (indirect evidence), we tested the
presence of the following antibodies: brucellosis (Brucella suis), chlamydophilosis
(Chlamydia and Chlamydophila spp.), porcine circovirus, Aujeszky’s disease (porcine
herpesvirus HvP1), swine erysipela (Erysipelotrix rhupathiae), swine flu (Influenza virus),
leptospirosis (Leptospira pomona), porcine parvovirosis (Porcine Parvovirus), paratyphus
(Salmonella), and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (Porcine Arterivirus).
Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis, M. avium) was studied by means of
anatomopathological analysis, microbial identification and molecular detection (genomic
detection) of the 725 blood samples and of the laryngopharyngeal group. The evaluation of
the spatial distribution of the different diseases was conducted by combining different
epidemiological indicators such as Frequency, Presence of Antibody, Antibody Titles and
Mean Geometric Title (TMG). The experimental design enabled us to know the annual
evolution, over a three-year period, of the degree of endemicity and the risks of contagion
for the studied diseases. The results do not show the presence of indirect evidence of
brucellosis and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome in this wild boar population.
Few agents of the family Chlamydiaceae were detected (1.3%). The proportion of
seropositive wild boar and of infection foci (places in which seropositive boars were
samples) are both high for porcine parvovirosis (25.4%). Porcine herpesvirus 1, the cause of
Aujeszky’ disease, has a high frequency (between 10.7% and 17.7%). The influenza virus
(serovariant H1N1) of swine flu is less widespread (between 6.8% and 8%), while porcine
circovirus is incipient and occasionally present (6.1%). Mycobacterium bovis was widely
detected, with a frequency of over 40%, although the other bacteriosis were infrequent.
Salmonellosis (5.7%), swine erysipela (4.5%) and leptospirosis (2.7%) were all detected only
rarely.
53
18. Does the presence of wild boar in protected wetlands affect sensitive species?
F.Navas1, C.Rosell1,2, S.Romero3, X.Santaeufemia4 and I.de Dalmases5
1
Minuartia, Estudis Ambientals, Spain, 2Dept. Biologia Animal (Vertebrats), Fac. Biologia,
Universitat. de Barcelona, Spain, 3Parc Natural Aiguamolls de l’Empordà, Departament de
Medi Ambient i Habitatge, Generalitat de Catalunya. 4Consorci per a la Protecció i Gestió
dels Espais Naturals del delta del Llobregat, Departament de Medi A mbient i Habitatge,
Generalitat de Catalunya. 5Cos d’Agents Rurals, Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge,
Generalitat de Catalunya
Wild boar (Sus scrofa) has traditionally been considered a typical forest species. However, in
recent decades the density of this species has increased in wetland areas that are part of
the Natura 2000 Network. The presence of wild boar in these areas may have an impact on
flora and fauna, which is relevant when it affects protected and sensitive species.
Consequently, the management teams of two wetlands in Catalonia (NW Spain) have
started to monitor the population of wild boar and have implemented programs to control
these populations. Wild boar population control in the Aiguamolls de l’Empordà Natural
Park began in 1998. The stomach contents of over 140 individuals was analysed as part of
the monitoring programme in this area. The results showed the intake of eggs and chicks of
some species of protected birds, such as the Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio Porphyrio) and
several duck species. In addition, nest predation of Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) was detected.
This is an endangered species, and only 3 to 4 booming males are o bserved in the area every
year. The presence of wild boar in the Nature Reserves of the Delta de Llobregat is more
recent and population control only began in 2005. Monitoring of this population has shown
its impact on several species of orchids (as wild boar feeds on their fleshy bulbs). There has
been an 80% reduction of orchids in less than a decade. In addition to wild boar population
control, other measures are being implemented to reduce the risks of damage to natural
resources. These include changes in habitat management and protection of small areas with
electric fences.
19. Is the wild boar an important nest predator in wetland areas? An experiment with
dummy nests
S.Bertolino1, C.Angelici2, F.Scarfò3, S.Muratore4, L.D’Amato4, E.Monaco4, D.Capizzi5and
A.Monaco5
1
DIVAPRA Entomology and Zoology, Italy, 2SROPU, Italy, 3Natural Reserve of Vico Lake, Italy,
4
Natural Reserve of Macchiatonda, Castello di Santa Severa, Italy, 5 Regional Park Agency –
Latium, Italy
The wild boar is known to feed on the eggs and juveniles of ground-nesting birds, but its
impact at the population level is still unknown. To determine the species-specific predation
pressure on waterbirds nests, we monitored the fates of artificial avian nests in several
wetlands located in three protected areas of Latium (central Italy). Dummy nests proved
useful to investigate predation frequency in relation to environmental variables and species
presence and are often used to explore the nest predator community. Dummy nests were
made using local vegetation moulded as a cup on a 20x20 cm flexible metallic mesh. Each
54
artificial nest contained two brown domestic hen eggs and a plastiline egg. Two different
nest types were used. Ground nests were placed onto a 40x40 cm board covered with a
layer of grease on which predators left footprints. Water nests were directly anchored to
the aquatic vegetation. Predators were identified by the signs left on the plastiline and the
tracks on the board. A total of 128 dummy nests (74 on the water, 45 on the ground, and 9
on small islands in the Tiber River) were set out and checked every 7 days over a period of
28 days. Overall, 93.3% of ground nests, 90.5% of water nests, and 100% of island nests
were preyed or destroyed. The wild boar was the main predator (30.1%), followed by rats
(19.6%), coypu (10.4%), birds (8.6%), carnivores (4.4%), and snakes (1.1%) (χ 2(5) = 47.0, P <
0.001). Unidentified predators accounted for 18.0%. Predation on ground and water nests
by wild boar, rats, coypu, and the other species pooled together, differed significantly
according to taxa (χ 2(3) = 15.58, P < 0.001), with a prevalence of predation by wild boar on
ground nests and by rats and coypu on water nests. Although artificial nests are only a
simulation of the real world, there are some evidences that the overall proportion of nests
preyed by different species may be assumed to be the same for dummy and real nests.
Interestingly, data collected from real nests in the period 2008-2009 at Tevere-Farfa,
showed that 18% (N=55) of mallard nests were preyed or destroyed by wild boars, while
15% (N=27) of Eurasian coot nests were preyed or destroyed by coypu. These figures are
quite similar to those recorded for dummy nest predation by each predator species.
According to our study, the wild boar should be considered an important nest predator in
wetland areas. In the next future, cameras will be used to provide more information on the
predator species and their behaviour when approaching nests and eggs.
20. Disentangling the genetic make-up of the Sardinian wild boar by different classes of
genetic markers
M.Scandura1, L.Iacolina1, D.Biosa1, A.Cossu1, H.J.Megens2, R.Croojimans2, L.Rund3,
M.Groenen2, L.Schook 3, G.Bertorelle4 and M.Apollonio 1
1
Dip. Zoologia e Genetica Evoluzionistica, University of Sassari, Italy, 2Animal Breeding and
Genomics Centre, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands, 3Division of Biomedical
Sciences, University of Illinois, USA, 4Dipartimento di Biologia ed Evoluzione, University of
Ferrara, Italy
Human-mediated translocations can cause the loss of genetic distinctiveness of island
populations. However, valuable native variation can still be distinguished if many individuals
and appropriate markers are analysed.
We investigated wild boar populations from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy. This
can be considered as a case study to evaluate the performance of different genetic markers
in detecting admixture events related to the introduction of continental wild boars and to
crossbreeding with domestic pigs. The Sardinian wild boar, seems to have appeared in the
island during the Early Neolithic. The geographic isolation likely favoured the genetic
divergence from the continental groups, and the Sardinian boars are now classified as a
distinct subspecies (Sus scrofa meridionalis). We analysed a sample of individuals from
throughout the island using three different classes of molecular markers: 1) sequences of
the Dloop region of the mitochondrial DNA, 2) 16 autosomal microsatellites, and 3) genomewide scan of 60,000 porcine SNPs. Data for the Sardinian sample were compared with
55
reference data obtained for continental populations from several areas in Europe and with a
sample of domestic pig breeds. Dloop data showed that the Sardinian population shares a
mtDNA lineage that elsewhere is only found in peninsular Italy. A high percentage of private
haplotypes was also remarked, while no haplotype of Asian origin was detected.
Microsatellite data showed a clear genetic divergence of the island populations from all
mainland populations and from domestic pigs. In addition, signatures of genetic
introgression from Italian and non-Italian wild boars, and from local domestic breeds were
identified. A sharp genetic structure was also found within the island. Two geographically
constrained sub-populations showed very high levels of genetic purity. Finally, SNPs data
acquired using the Illumina 60K beadchip revealed i) a considerable divergence of most
Sardinian individuals from continental wild boars and from domestic pigs, ii) their likely
origin in the Italian peninsula, iii) the occurrence of possible hybrids in the population. Our
results demonstrate unequivocally that the Sardinian wild boar has diverged from all
mainland populations and that it was moderately affected by the introgression of exotic
genes and by hybridization with domestic pigs.
21. Impact of roads on wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations in Central and Northern Portugal
S. Marques, C.Fonseca, R.Rodrigues and J.Cancela
Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal
The combination of Conservation Biology and modern Engineering Sciences created a new
field of knowledge which concerns about the impact of linear infrastructures on wildlife,
particularly the roads. The problematic in the ecological landscape associated with this
highlight theme include habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation, barrier effect, wildlife
vehicle-collisions, among others long-term effects. In Portugal, the wild ungulate
populations (e.g. wild boar, red deer, roe deer) tend to increase in a generalized way, all
over the country. Actually, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) have a widely distribution in
Continental Portugal, occupying almost the entire national territory except for large urban
settlements and some coastal areas. This ungulate has become an important Portuguese
fauna specie for the reason that it is one of the preys of Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus)
and it importance game specie status has been increased. However, expanding populations
also have their disadvantages like the increase of damage to agricultural crops, forest and
accidents with motor vehicles because animals have been dispersing into historical areas
such as coastal and urban areas. It’s just at this range, where human presence is more
intense, causing impacts on this specie. Wildlife vehicle-collisions represent an additive
source of mortality to wildlife populations in addiction to natural mortality, such as
predation and disease. Some extern variables involved in car accidents with wildlife,
particularly wild boar, are very important because it can contribute to the ungulate vehiclecollisions increase, such as the road type, time of the day and month of the year. The first
variable can be amended by man in the sense of prevent and mitigate the accidents with
wildlife, particularly involving large animals, such as ungulates, but the second concerns to
the biology and behaviour of animals. In this study the majority of accide nts occurred with
wild boar at national roads (EN), during the night and principally in winter, months of
November, December and January, and August. Wild boar is the ungulate most affected in
central and northern Portugal however, gradually there is a growing concern in the roads
56
planning and execution, according to the measures to prevent and mitigate the impacts on
wildlife. The design of infrastructures in the landscape has an enormous relevance to
wildlife because it causes mainly the fragmentation of the habitat. This work is a preliminary
evaluation of some ecological effects of roads and traffic roads, evidencing some variables
involved in car accidents with wild boar in central and northern Portugal, using official
information from the National Forestry Authority of the Portuguese Ministry of Agriculture
and National Policy. The conclusions obtained may be important to help the mitigation of
ungulate-vehicle collisions and ungulate habitat fragmentation because it could potentially
be used by roads designers and planners to avoid potentially hazardous areas in future
roads development or new roadway design or to identify appropriate preventive measures.
The findings could also potentially be used to identify “black points” on existing routes that
are involved in many ungulate-vehicle accidents and should be the focus of mitigate
procedures.
22. Distribution of birth date, condition and fecundity of wild boar ( Sus scrofa) piglets in
South-Western Poland
D. Merta1, M.Albrycht 1, J. Furtek 1, C. Florek2 and G. Skurczak3
1
Department of Ecology, Wildlife Research and Ecoturism, Pedagogical University of Cracow,
Poland, 2Forest District Mieszkowice, Poland, 3Forest District Katowice, Poland
The study area i.e. 140×103 ha of forest includes landscape that is dominated by a mosaic of
forest, agriculture (habitat A) and landscape where the main environment is one large
complex of forest (habitat B). During the 2008/2009 hunting season, 116 piglets (animals
less than 12 months old) were obtained from collect hunts and their age, carcass weight,
condition and reproductive status was examined. Age of animals was assessed from the
tooth eruption pattern of lower jaw. Ovaries and uteri were sectioned in order to obtain
data on corpora lutea and foetuses. Condition was determined by kidney fat index (KFI) and
by index derived from carcass weight divided by total length of animal (CWL). Age of animals
and date of cooling were used to determine birth month. In the “A” habitat, births occurred
throughout the year except October and November, but 61.4% of piglets were born
between February and April with peak in March (23%). In May and June 11.4% and 10.2% of
piglets were born respectively. The remaining 17% were distributed more or less regularly
between July and January. In habitat “B” most of the piglets (78%) were born from March to
May with a peak (33%) in April. In July 10% of piglets were born while in January and
February it was 12%. In the remaining month delivery period was not observed. KFI index
varied from 1.06 – 2.98 and it was higher in “A” habitat among older animals and in females.
The CWL index varied from 0.09 to 0.27. It was higher in older animals and in females. The
carcass weight (range 6-30 kg) was higher in “A” habitat, but females were heavier than
males in “A” habitat and lighter in “B” habitat. In “A” habitat 21% of females showed the
presence of corpora lutea, but foetuses were not found. In “B” habitat none of the females
showed the presence of corpora lutea. The implication of obtained results for management
of wild boar population is discussed.
57
23. Long-term wild boar monitoring in the Pyrenees reveals a positive trend
A.Giménez-Anaya1, J.Herrero2, A.García-Serrano3, C.Prada3 and R.García-González 1
1
Pyrenean Institute for Ecology, Spain, 2Ecology Department. University of Alcala. Spain,
3
Ega Wildlife Consultants, Spain
Wild boar monitoring was undertaken in five Game Reservations in the Pyrenees (Aragon,
Spain), using forest hunting battues and its hunting bags. Results indicate a positive annual
trend towards increase of 2.6% from 1973/1974 to 2007/2008 hunting seasons regarding
relative wild boar abundance and a large local heterogeneity in terms of hunting
organization (battue sizes, pressure) and results (hunting bags, wild boar density). Overall
wild boar density is 3.8 km -2 with an annual average hunting pressure of 113% of total forest
area and a hunting efficiency of 34.8%. Agricultural damages are of little importance as
agricultural land surface is small. Wild boars increase could be related to forest size increase
due to the decrease in livestock numbers during last decades. These numbers should help to
decide population management options considering traditional hunting ch aracteristics.
24. Carcass weight, condition and fertility of adult wild boar (Sus scrofa) harvested in
South-Western Poland
B. Bobek 1, S Gorczyca2, T. Mamok3 and A. Standio4
1
Department of Ecology, Wildlife Research and Ecotourism, Pedagogic al University of
Cracow, Poland, 2Regional Office of Polish Parliament, Poland, 3Forest District Rudziniec,
Poland, 4Forest Destrict Zdrojowa Góra, Poland
The study area was fragmented forest habitat (95 thousands ha) situated in landscape th at
was dominated by farmland. During 2008/2009 hunting season 106 wild boar older than
one year were analyzed regarding sex, carcass weight, condition and fertility. The animals
were obtained from collect hunts which were carried out from October 2008 to J anuary
2009. Age of animals was determined by tooth eruption and tooth wear pattern. Ovaries
and uteruses were checked in order to detect presence of corpora lutea and fetuses.
Condition of animals was determined by standard kidney fat index (KFI). In the hunting bag
percent of females was much higher than males (67,9% vs. 32,1%). The average carcass
weight of males amounted to 57,4 kg and for females was equal to 53,2 kg. The KFI index
was higher in female group (1,89) than in male group (1,77). In female group (n = 71) 36
individuals (50%) was pregnant. Litter size varied from 4 – 9 fetuses (mean = 4,8). In nonpregnant females presence of corpora lutea in 10 animals was found. Calculation of
recruitment rate and comparison sex ratio data with free living population is presented.
58
25. Age, structure, carcass weight and condition of wild boar harvested in North-Western
Poland
W.Rembacz 1 and L.Wisniowska2
1
Wojciech Rembacz, os. Władysława Jagiełły 22/5, Poland, 2Department of Ecology, Wildlife
Research and Ecotourism, Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland
The study area was located in Myslibórz Forest District. It includes 12 thousands hectares of
many small size woodlands surrounded by farmland. During the 2008/09 hun ting season,
the wild boar (n=173) harvested in collect hunts from October 2008 to January 2009 were
analyzed regarding sex, age, carcass weight and condition. Age of the animal was
determined by tooth eruption wear pattern of the lower jaw. Date of cullin g and age of
piglets (animal less than 12 month old), allowed the estimation of their month of birth.
Among harvested animals, the percent of piglets amounted to 39,9%. Animals 12-24 month
old and older than 2 years constituted 49,1% and 11,0% of hunting bag respectively. In
piglets the percent of harvested males was higher than the percent of females (59,4% vs.
40,6%) but in 1-2 year olds and animals older than 2 years the percent of harvested females
was markedly higher than males (70,5% and 63,1% respectively). From January to April
2008 the percent of born piglets was equal to 66,7% with a peak of 21,1% in April. The
remaining animals (33,4%) were born from May to August and the maximum value (12,3%)
was recorded in July 2008. None of the piglets were born during September, October,
November and December. The kidney fat index (KFI) was very similar for female and male
piglets and it grew during the sampling period (1,66 – 1,88 and 1,70 – 1,79). In 1-2 year old
animals KFI was higher in females than in males (2,17 vs. 1,83). Similar trends were
observed among animals older than 2 years (KFI = 2,16 vs. 1,83). Data on hunting bag
structure and time distribution of birth are discussed.
26. Tuberculosis in wild boar: the effect of climate and population density
W.L.García-Jiménez 1, P.Fernández-Llario1, J.M.Benítez-Medina1, D.Risco1, M.Cortés1,
J.Carranza2, R.Cerrato1, LGómez 3, J.Hermoso de Mendoza 1.
1
Unit of Infectious Pathology, Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary MedicineUEX, Spain, 2Ungulate ResearchUnit, CRCP, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain, 3Unit
of Histology and Pathology, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine-UEX, Spain
Abundant recent literature reports the role of wild boar as tuberculosis host in
mediterranean ecosystems. Nevertheless there is a lack of experience about consequences
of environment and management on the evolution of disease prevelence. The aim of this
work is to analyze de effects of climate (in our case drought ) and reduction of population
densities on prevalence and lesional patterns of affected animals. For this purpose the
evolution of a wild boar population reared in a closed hinting area of 3000 ha located in the
centre of Iberian peninsula, has been monitored. The effect of individual’s extraction was
analyzed, using as reference the tuberculosis prevalence rate previous to the beginning of
the experience, A total number of 98 wild boar were estudied along two huntig seasons.
The first, 2008-2009, was characterized by abundant rainfall (favourable climate, more than
59
700 mm) and high wild boar population density (6.5 hunted wild boar/100 ha). The second,
2009-2010, featured by an intense drought (less than 400 mm) and low population density
(2.9 hunted wild boar/100 ha). Results showed no significant differences in mean ages of
animals hunted along the two years of the study, (below two years old in all cases). In spite
of reducing to one third the initial population, prevalence was higher the second year (9 0%)
than the first one (59%), Sex was not a determinant factor of prevalence. In the second year
there were two remarkable facts in comparison to the first one: an increase in the number
of generalized lesions (lesions affecting two or more different organ s) and a lesser degree of
delimitation in lesions (less conective tissue surrounding the lesions). Our results show the
importance of extreme climatic conditions on tuberculosis prevalence, even greater than
population density, and on the efficiency of immune system to control the infection in a
species regarded to be a host for Mycobacterium bovis.
27. The importance of feeding management in the control of tuberculosis in wild boar and
red deer
P.Fernández-Llario1, J.Carranza1,2, R.Cerrato1 , W.L.Jiménez1, J.Manuel Benítez 1, D.Risco1,
M.Hermoso de Mendoza 1 and J.Hermoso de Mendoza 1
1
Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Extremadura, Spain, 2 Cátedra de Recursos
Cinegéticos y Piscícolas, Universidad de Córdoba, Spain.
In the game estates located in south-central Spain the prevalences of bovine tuberculosis
affecting wild boar and red deer have dramatically increased. In order to control the disease
have been proposed methods for reducing the number of these wild ungulates. Such
methods are based in the idea that high population densities are the most important
elements to consider in this problem. Nevertheless, there is few knowledge about the
influence that management of these game species would pose on the incr ease of
tuberculosis prevalence. This work reports on the preliminary results of a first trial of
tuberculosis control based only on the modification of food supply systems in one of the
affected species, the wild boar. Its effects were tested on the same populations of red deer
and wild boar, but in two different situations. During the first year‘s game season, after a
summer feeding with non-discriminant feeders, the number of animals with post mortem
tubercle-like lesions were quantified. In the second year the prevalence of animals showing
tubercle-like lesions was evaluated after changing the feeding system, placing the feeders in
different locations and using different kinds of food. Tuberculosis prevalences detected the
first year were 9% in red deer and 20% in wild boar (4% of generalized infections), with a
significant reduction the second year, to levels of 6% in red deer and 12 % in wild boar (1%
of generalized infections). These preliminary results might suggest that the method of
supplementary feeding is an important variable to take into account in disease management
plans for hunting areas.
60
28. Reproduction characteristics of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in Lower Saxony, Germany
F. Gethöffer
Institute for Wildlife Research at the University for Veterinary Medicine Hanover,
Foundation, Germany
Population dynamics of Sus scrofa in Europe result in sophisticated discussions, considering
the spreading of CSF (classical swine fever) among dense wild boar populations as a main
concern. Hunting bag statistics indicate that piglets represent the main part of the wild boar
population nowadays. That gives evidence of a high turn-over-rate of the steadily increasing
populations, which enhances the spreading of CSF among wild boar. It is the aim of this
study to allow a current evaluation of the reproductive potency of wild boar in an area that
represents exemplary habitats for Sus scrofa in central Europe. During seven years of study
(2003 – 2009) samples, consisting of ovaries and uteri from wild boar, have been taken from
areas in eastern Lower Saxony, northwestern lowlands of Germany, where vaccination of
wild boar against CSF had designated the fight against several outbreaks of the disease. The
area comprises about 50 % wood and 50 % farmland. The proportion of deciduous trees,
especially oak (Quercus robur and Q. rubra) and beech (Fagus sylvatica) was 10 % of forest
stand areas. Hunting bag of wild boar in these sites ranges from two to four individuals per
100 ha during the last years. About 1800 samples have been collected during main hunting
seasons from drive hunts. Piglets of an approximate age of eight month own a 76 % chance
to already have gained sexual maturity. Between 60 % and 70 % of the piglets mo st likely
get pregnant during the main period of reproduction, while another two thirds of the
remaining individuals probably farrow until summer. Mean number of foetuses outrage
formerly known values with 5.5 per piglet, 7.1 per yearling and 7.9 per adult as an
arithmetic mean for wild boar. Although serum diagnostics confirmed the prevalence of
Porcine Parvovirosis and PRRS (Porcine Reproductive and Respiratoric Syndrome) in the
area, examination of the uteri revealed very few organic aberrations that mig ht be due to a
response to these diseases. High participation of yearlings and older animals in reproductive
performance resulted in pregnancy prevalences of about 100 % of the individuals during
January 2009. Wild boar populations in central Europe rely on optimal environmental
conditions. This is reflected in an increase of the population and based on an improvement
of its reproductive performance as well as its adjustability to new habitat types. The results
underline the necessity of wild boar management that considers the social structures of this
species and may additionally serve as a basis for population models. It is indicated that
extrinsic factors influence wild boar reproduction even under an optimum of environmental
conditions. The outcome of this study further gives evidence of an early onset of puberty
combined with a high reproductive output among wild boar piglets. Considering the risk of
epidemics connected with the current social structures of wild boar populations, the main
target of the future management of wild boar should be a reduction of piglets, e.g. by
intense hunting pressure.
61
29. Movement pattern of wild boar in autumn – how endangered is the maize?
O.Keuling
Institute for Wildlife Research, University for Veterinary Medicine, Foundation, Hannover,
Germany
Increasing wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations expand their distribution into agricultural
regions, whilst maize acreage increases due to bio-energy production. Within less forested
areas with higher maize field proportions investigations are still pending to check out
possible different behaviour. Therefore, we analysed data of 26 wild boar groups from a
past study in Mecklenburg-West Pomerania. The study area was well-wooded with a low
proportion of maize fields. Extensive shifts of the home ranges into the maize fields
occurred only seldom. Only those few family groups, where maize fields were included
already within the annual home ranges, used maize in autumn (22 % of the family group s).
Yearlings of both gender had a higher affinity to the maize, 63 % of yearlings visited maize
fields. Although used less maize was preferred in proportion of availability. One family group
stayed within an electrical fenced maize field for two months. In this study area wild boar
family groups seemed to be less motivated to visit maize fields, in particular, due to
favourable nutritional conditions by acorn mast and adequate shelter in forest. For the
protection of the maize fields electric fences may be an actual preventive technique.
However, to reduce damages, fenced fields should be controlled regularly whether wild
boar invaded. Moreover, piglets should be shot favourably for population reduction and
damage prevention.
30. Wild boar capture methodology (Sus scrofa, Linnaeus 1758) in a suburban area: the
case of Las Rozas de Madrid (central Spain)
R.López1, J.López 1, J.Gavela2, J. Bosch 3 and C.Ballesteros1
1
Soluciones para el Medio Ambiente, Spain 2Las Rozas de Madrid City council, Spain, 3CISAINIA, Spain
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
At approximately 20 Km to the NW of the city of Madrid (Spain) lies the town of Las Rozas
de Madrid, extended around 5,900 hectares. Housing development has grown in patched
disperse residential zones among the natural environment (mainly Holm oak sclerophyllous
mediterranean forest with a shrub vegetation of Retama sphaerocarpa and Cistus ladanifer).
West and east the City borders are natural areas with special protection schemes and in
which the population of wild boar (Sus scrofa) has thrived. A proper natural environment
and a reduced game pressure have made easier the increase of wild boar population in this
area. Water and food shortage in the natural environment during summer season drives
these animals to residential areas, bringing them near to houses and invading traffic roads.
This closeness to residential zones provides additional resources for the animals, such as
public and private gardens, domestic rubbish or even direct feeding. The r isks this close
interaction may provoke include road accidents, attacks to people or pets and health
problems. This requires management and a wild boar population control. Different
perspectives were considered when designing the methodology to use, not only legal but
also social: impossibility to use fire arms near the houses, social sensibility of a portion of
62
the population to capture these animals, and the avoidance of the sacrifice of the captured
animals. Capture criteria was established in relation w ith the risk of interaction between
wild boars and humans, taking in account citizens complaints and the evidence found of the
proximity of animals to the housing areas. Considered all the determining factors it was
agreed that the most suitable control method would be to set traps to catch animals alive
combinated with the use of game fences around problematic areas. Eighteen traps were
heterogeneously displayed in four working zones (14 for a single animal each and 4 more for
colective captures). The location of the traps was chosen after a detailed field study.
Established the location and set the traps these were baited until animals were attached to
them. Captured animals were immobilised using teleanesthesia. Later on marking and
identification with ear tags and data collection was carried out, samples for analysis were
taken. During 2009, 112 wild boars were captured (61 males and 51 females) distributed in
15 capture days. Each capture day a team of 5, a 4x4 vehicle and a truck -authorized for the
transport of live animals- was used. Most of the wild boars captured were up to one year
old (54.46%). Eighteen animals were positive to Aujeszky’s disease (16.1%). During 2009, the
number of complaints for wild boar presence came down a 63.6% compared to the average
of 2005-2008 period, proving the effectiveness of the applied methodology. Effectiveness of
traps is closely related to the amount of resources available in the natural environment,
therefore capture efforts should be concentrated in the summer season to optimize
technical and economical resources, period of the year where the number of complaints is
higher as well.
31. Traumatic deaths and commercial trade of dogs for wild boar ( Sus scrofa) drive
hunting: preliminary results of a survey in Rieti Province (Italy)
S.Adriani, M.Bonanni, R.Primi and A.Amici
Department of Animal Science, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
In the province of Rieti, as in large part of Italy, wild boar is hunted with the technique of
dog drive hunting. Drive hunting dogs are trained at sniff out the prey and drive out towards
the line of posted hunters. During this activity the dogs undergo injuries and traumas of
varying severity until death. In most cases the lesions are caused by the canines of the wild
boar. A study performed in the Central Italian Apennines in the year 2000 reported that 118
hounds of drive hunting packs were injured during wild boar chase. 57% were injured
severely at leg and shoulder. In the 2008/2009 hunting season in Tuscany 151 injured dogs
were investigated. 71.52% reported tear injures, 9.27% abdominal injuries, 8 .60 %
pneumothorax, the 5.95% bone fractures, and 1.98% pneumothorax and abdominal injuries,
a 2.64% pneumothorax with rib fractures. The survival rate was 87.76% of the total. This
study presents the data related to events of traumatic deaths occurred in the wild boar
hunting seasons 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 in the province of Rieti. The data are taken from
a survey supported by the provincial administration. The survey was conducted by
administering questionnaires to 117 hunting teams operating in the territory. 78 hunting
teams filled the format (66.7%). 65 teams (83.3%) had losses of dogs in the last two years.
Those who have suffered losses in both years were 21 (26.9%). In the hunting season
2007/2008 67 number cases of traumatic death, 63 were in 2008/2009. For the 2007/2008
season the average loss, among the 43 teams that have suffered dead dogs, was 1.6
63
dogs/team (SD = ± 0.8). In 2008/2009 season the average loss (35 teams) was 1.8 dogs/team
(SD = ± 1.5). The total number of dogs used by the 78 teams was of 649 heads, mortality
suffered in the hunting seasons 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 is around 10% per annum. These
considerations imply the importance of hunting dogs trade that is often reported as black
economy. In the same study over mentioned 76 teams (64.9%) filled the part of trade traits.
The first question was addressed to define the size of the trade of dogs for drive hunted of
wild boar. The results are as follows: 18% described the trade as interesting, 14%
prosperous, 6% non-existing and 38% gave no answer. The last two answer account for
57.9% of the sample. Another question was the average price of a good dog for drive
hunting. Only 56 teams (71.8% of the sample) gave an answer. A marked variability of prices
was registered. The average price was of € 3.459,00 (SD = ±1644), the minimum of €
1.000,00 (3 data), the maximum of € 8000 (1 datum). The trade of hunting dogs almost
exclusively include adults trained animals. The buyers' attention is directed only to the
individual characteristics dealing with hunting ability.
32. Characteristics of the dogs used for drive hunting of wild boar ( Sus scrofa): a survey in
the province of Rieti (Italy)
S.Adriani, M.Bonanni, F.Serrani, V.Ruscitti and A.Amici
Department of Animal Science, Tuscia University, Viterbo, Italy
Wild boar hunting is an ancient tradition. Basic elements of the modern technique are the
"team" and the “dog pack”. The packs are made of several dogs, often crossbred, or
belonging to different breeds. In the past the hunting of wild boar took place using large
packs of dogs that had followed the task of drive out (bay dogs) and stopping (catch dogs)
the wild animal, allowing the hunter to approach him and kill. The increased use of guns and
the fall of the “Ancien Regime”, due to the French Revolution, changed these techniques.
Since that time the technique of dog drive hunting started. In drive hunting dogs run the
wild boar to the line of posted hunters armed with rifles. Modern wildlife management
carefully consider dog drive hunting, mainly in the areas "Natura 2000". The presence of
animal species listed in the Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and Habitat directive (92/43/EEC) in
the Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Sites of Community Importance (SCI) where hunting
is not prohibited force wildlife managers to a deep analysis. The disturbance caused to
species which are protected as the wolf, bear and wildcat by dogs during wild Boar hunting
may limit the success of conservation efforts undertaken. The Province Administration of
Rieti has recently conducted a study by administering a questionnaire to 117 t eams hunting.
Responded only 78 teams (66.7%). 71 teams (91% of the sample) had a total of 649 dogs.
With an average of 9.1 (SD = ± 5.4) dogs/team, the maximum number of dogs / team is 30 (1
team), the minimum dogs/team 2 (2 teams). With reference to the c omposition of the pack
results are as follows: 19 teams (24.4% of the sample) use packs with one breed; 59 teams
(75.6% of the sample) uses heterogeneous packs characterised by different breeds and
crossbreds. Another area of investigation focused on identifying the main characteristics
sought in the hounds. On this issue 66 teams gave the results as follows: the characteristics
of the bark were indicated by 13 teams (19.7% of sample), 25 teams (37.9% of the sample)
require the obstinacy in pursuing wild boar, 3 teams (4.5% of the sample) believed that the
ability to search only the Boar was the fundamental characteristic of their hounds. These
64
results suggest the need to activate hunting dog training programs both for dogs and
trainers. To improve the effectiveness of the pack and minimize disturbance to other
species, it is necessary to perform dog training mainly in SPAs. However, the support to
adopt low impact hunting techniques (stand-hunting and dog aided still-hunting) should be
emphasised throughout the territory. These low impact hunting techniques must
progressively replace the drive hunting in areas characterised by animal species threatened
of extinction and at risk.
33. Risk factors associated with wildlife-livestock transmission of bovine tuberculosis in
Spain
C.Lutton1,2, B.Beltran Beck2, J.Vicente, M.Hutchings3, P.White1, D.Moran3 and C.Gortázar2
1
Environment Department, University of York, UK, 2IREC Wildlife Institute, Spain, 3Scottish
Agricultural College, UK
Despite improved control measures, bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is still present in cattle in
Spain, and the potential role of wildlife in contributing to the persistence of the disease is
increasingly recognised. Wildlife infection is widespread in the south of the country, with
wild boar of particular concern as prevalence can be as high as 52% in some populations.
However, wildlife densities and bTB prevalence are not uniformly distributed. In order to
reduce transmission between livestock and wildlife the key risk factors and contact points
need to be identified. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions of farmers
regarding bTB in southern Spain, focusing on particular on potential risks for transmission.
The study was undertaken in the Comarca de Almodovar region in South Central Spain,
where the incidence of bTB in cattle is one of the highest in the country and bTB is also
present in the wildlife population. We conducted a programme of structured interviews
with cattle farmers in the area, and combined this with data on the bTB status of the cattle
on these farms. The questionnaire addressed the farmers’ perceptions of the risk of bTB and
farm management practices including how livestock are fed and watered, cattle movements
between farms, fencing and details of any other domestic animals kept on the farm. We also
asked farmers about their perceptions of wildlife in the area, including their potential role in
bTB transmission, and asked them to quantify wildlife sightings on their farm. Finally, we
also used a participatory GIS approach based on annotations of aerial photographs to obtain
spatially-explicit data on farm boundaries, animal movements and specific high risk
locations such as watering holes. The response rate to the questionnaire was in excess of
90%. Wild boar were reported on 80% of the 70 farms we studied, making them the most
widespread potential wildlife host for bTB. Attitudes to wildlife and the perceived disease
risks it posed were related to the involvement of farmers in hunting, with hunters being
more tolerant and in many cases encouraging of wildlife than non-hunters. Incursions of
wild boar onto farms tended to be associated with marginal areas close to scrub and with
specific resources such as watering holes. The results of the questionnaire can be used to
highlight areas of wildlife management and/or cattle husbandry that could be changed to
reduce the risk of wildlife- livestock disease transmission.
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34. Impacts of fenced areas for wild boar on nature conservation
Zs. Bíró, L. Szemethy, N.Bleier, D.Újváry, K.Katona and R.Lehoczki
Szent István University, Institute for Wildlife Conservation, Hungary
The wild boar preserves provokes offensives from the part of nature conservation. It is
supposed that the intensive management in wild boar preserves can damage and exploit the
environment, but the direct and indirect impacts of wild boar preserves are not clear. We
have carried out studies in a Hungarian wild boar preserves in the last three ye ars. We
found negligible effects of wild boar on the two sample species (Peucedanum officinale and
Aster sedifolius). Although some local negative effects of wild boar preserves are clear in
patches (diggings near to feeding places or species composition c hanges along the fences
after the construction), even some positive local effects were found (protected species, e.g.
Peucedanum officinale emerged from disturbed soils). The density of plant stems did not
decrease in the hunting garden, and even in the breeding garden, where the density of wild
boar was much higher. Moreover, the density of stems of Peucedanum increased in the
preserves during the three study years. Finally, the fenced and open study plots did not
differ in the density of stems. According to our study we conclude that the effects of wild
boar preserves on the biodiversity are not always significantly negative, and can be less
important than the impacts of other ecological factors. We emphasize to reveal and
measure the real effects of wild boar preserves on the environment and to find the best
technologies to decrease the negative impacts and conflicts.
35. Genetic structure of wild boar from the South Pannonian Region
N.Velickovic, M.Djan, D.Obreht and Lj.Vapa
Department of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sciences, Serbia
The main objective of this paper was to perceive the biodiversity of wild boars in hunting
areas from the South Pannonian Region. There is an increasing amount of data being
generated from European wild boars, but there is no such information available on the
diversity of wild boars in this region. Muscle tissue samples were collected from different
hunting areas in the South Pannonian Region, and we pooled samples to four geographical
regions: Podunavlje-Podravlje, Backa, Banat and Srem, subsequently termed “populations”.
The sample included individuals of both sexes and different age classes. Four microsatellite
loci, previously shown as high polymorphic in wild boar populations, were selecte d. A total
of 67 alleles (mean: 16.75 alleles per locus) at the four loci were detected, and all loci
presented a high degree of polymorphism in all populations. The observed heterozygosity
(Ho) estimates at each locus were between 0.436 and 0.652 with a mean of 0.55. Deviation
from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found due to significant heterozygote deficiency
detected for tree of the four populations and for all analyzed loci. Fis over all loci and all
populations was 0.2369, and the effective number of migrants based on private alleles was
2.215, indicating fair amount of gene flow between all populations. The consensus tree
suggests slightly closer nuclear gene pool affinity of Podunavlje-Podravlje and Banat
populations in relation of Backa and Srem populations which are shown as independent
branches. This could be explained by smaller number of individuals that were collected and
66
restricted sampling area in Banat region, so in future research more individuals and more
markers must be included in order to allow the assessment of genetic structure without
forcing artificial and semi-artificial grouping of individuals.
36. Description of floristic successional stages from wild boar rooting
I.C.Barrio
University of Córdoba, Spain
Wild boar rooting is a frequent soil disturbance that removes plant cover almost completely,
leaving bare ground patches that are exposed to subsequent plant colonization. Monitoring
these disturbances over time is complicated because wild boars often root u p within
previous disturbances, making the dating and mapping of disturbances almost impossible.
Previous studies on floristic successional stages in wild boar rooting have used fences
and/or artificial disturbances to ensure non-overlaying effects of disturbances.
Unfortunately, fencing areas with a minimum number of replicates is hard to get and
expensive to maintain, especially in protected areas with restricted accessibility, such as
alpine grasslands. Here we propose an experimental approach to describ e floristic
successional stages within natural wild boar rooting. Our objective is to describe species
composition and/or key species in each of the stages of grassland recovery from large wild
boar disturbances. We chose the five most disturbed communities on Pyrenean alpine
grasslands. Within each community, we randomly set 80 sampling units per community, 40
within disturbances, and 40 outside disturbances (400 in total). Each sampling unit was
composed by two quadrats of 0.5 m with a grid of 5 cm. The size of the quadrat was
approximately the average width of wild boar’s head, and thus it can be considered as a
homogeneous unit of disturbance in large wild boar rooting. In each sampling unit, 25 x 2
contacts were used to determine the floristic composition and the bare ground cover.
Floristic data were analyzed using a hierarchical cluster analysis (using bare ground cover as
the grouping variable) composing homogeneous floristic groups (stages of succession),
permutational multivariate analysis to test significant differences among those floristic
groups and Indicator Species Analysis to determine the key species within groups in each
community. This description of successional stages is valuable information to determine and
monitor the recovery process after disturbance and can provide insights in measures to
enhance grassland recovery such as seeding in sensitive habitats.
37. The effect of different feeding arrangements on the behaviour of wild boar kept in
captivity
D.Újváry and L.Szemethy
Szent István University, Institute for Wildlife Conservation, Hungary
Nowadays the interest for wild boar hunting with a big hunting bag is growing among
Hungarian and foreign hunters. It is much harder to satisfy the guests' increasing hunting
claims in open field, so the operators of the wild boar preserves are interested in breeding
wild boars in captivity to establish suitable garden live-stock. The high density may cause
67
social stress, indicated e.g. by the fights, which may have serious negative welfare
consequences. So they put together wild boars in a little area transferred from other
breeding stocks or from open fields which may cause social stress or serious injuries The
individuals compete for the available resources, which can be feeding, drinking and resting
places. The sources, which are limited in space, could create a competitive situation, and
this may induce social stress and aggression. The availability of the resources and their
distribution in the environment influences the frequency and intensity of the aggressive
interactions and the spatial distribution of the animals. In our research we examined the
effect of three feeding arrangements (corn strip, corn piles, dispersion) on the behaviour of
wild boars kept in captivity. We analysed the change of aggressive and submissive behaviour
elements on group level and in function of rank. Furthermore, we compared the time spent
with feeding on a group level, and the function of rank. According to our results there is a
difference among the three feeding arrangements. On the group level we established the
frequency of certain aggressive and submissive behavioural elements was significantly more
in feeding-corn strip than in the other methods. On the group level the time spent feeding
was the most in feeding-dispersal, while the time spent with other was the most in feedingcorn strip. The feeding arrangement had an effect on the behaviour of wild boars occupying
a lower place in the hierarchy. They could spend more time feeding in feeding-corn strip and
dispersal. Our results may be useful in the case of the wild boars kept in captivity, where it is
possible to reduce the aggression arising from the social stress with different feeding
solutions.
38. Estimating wild boar population
J. Bosch1, M. Martínez1, A. de la Torre1, J.Roset2, I. Iglesias1, M. Notario1 and M. J. Muñoz 1
1
Center for Animal Health Research (CISA- INIA), Spain, 2Terranatur, Interbionet
Wild boar population has expanded in the last decade in Spain and in other European
countries, increasing the chances of contact and of sharing infectious diseases with outdoor
pig production systems like the selected Iberian breed. Despite the importance of
identifying the distribution and abundance of w ild boar populations, accurate or precise
data is generally not available. The main difficulty streams on the need to extrapolate the
few existing field observations or indirect measures based on different sources to larger
territorial units. Other useful and common information can be obtained from hunting
records in those countries in which game is an important wealth. Hunting records represent
the best available data as wild boar populations are generally aggregated in space. On the
other hand, hunting data refers to a specific time of the year and is dependent, among
others, on hunting methods or on hunters’ ability. For this reason, hunting effectiveness is
generally calculated by game reserves to have a general estimate of the regular population
inhabiting in each specific area. The objective of this work is to present an estimation of wild
boar population based on the adjustment of regular hunting records to biogeographical
factors across Spain. Environmental characteristics that could define wild boar habitat were
obtained from CORINE (European Commission Coordination of Information on the
Environment, Land Cover 2000,) database in ArcGIS 9.3 layer format. Different types of land
use were connected taking into account radio-tracking studies that observed wild boar
moving range in search of food under normal conditions. The combination, of both land use
68
characteristics and movement range, results in a wild boar potential resource area over
which the regular population has been projected. This way, wild boar abundance has been
estimated per surface area in each provincial territorial unit of the country. Results indicate
that wild boar populations predominate in the Pyrenees area (northeast of the country) and
also in the central-western area where Montes de Toledo and Sierra Morena are located,
two important mountainous chains rich in natural resources. The information obtained
allows gaining a better knowledge that can be applied to the management of wild life
populations and future biological studies, as well as epidemiological studies of shared
diseases with domestic animals. In this study, the areas in which wild boar is more abundant
coincide with those in which Iberian pig is highly represented. The estimation of wild boar
population could be extrapolated to other European regions when hunting records or
regular population data can be obtained even if incomplete.
39. Good management is not only wildlife management: understanding public preferences
for wild boar management in a protected area of central Italy
B.Frank 1 and A.Monaco2
1
Memorial University, St. John’s NL Canada, 2Regional Park Agency – Latium, Italy
The Regional Natural Reserve “Nazzano-Tevere-Farfa” (Lazio Region) represents an example
of protected area that approach wild boar issues through an integrated management
strategy. Diversified management tools, such as control (trapping and removal), damage
prevention and compensations have been simultaneously applied to lower the increasing
local communities-wild boar conflict. In the last 4 years, an average of 17% per year of the
total budget has been invested as compensations to deal with damages caused by wild boar
and another 5% has been used for prevention measures. Furthermore in the last two years
an average of 14 wild boar/km 2 has been trapped and removed from the protected area.
Despite all these efforts, focused on wild boar, the management strategy applied in the
reserve was not enough to solve human-wild boar conflicts. When the public has been
consulted on management issues it has been done in traditional ways like public meetings
or opinion polling, both of which are not effective tools to involve the public in wildlife
decision-making processes. A Human Dimensions study was performed in and around the
Regional Natural Reserve “Nazzano-Tevere-Farfa”. A face to face questionnaire was
administrated to 400 respondents in the area. The public resulted generally negative toward
the species, defined as a pest (51%) and main cause of damages (54%). Only 40% of the
residents knew about the existence of compensation systems. Other management options,
such as trapping and removal (52%) and prevention methods (73%) were supported by the
general public, but not from local interest groups. Hunters disagree with wild boar control
and farmers do not completely embrace prevention methods, arising an ongoing conflict in
the area. This unsolved situation is not due to lack of poorly developed wildlife
management, but to the poor planned public involvement in wild boar m anagement. By
properly listening and endorsing public opinions, managers can make better decisions and
address challenges human and wild boar challenges. Good management is not only wildlife
management, but also listening to the people and managing the peo ple to achieve sound
decisions.
69
40. How ‘wild’ are British wild boar?
A.C. Frantz 1, G.Massei2 and T.Burke1
1
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK, 2The Food and
Environment Research Agency, UK
In the UK, some wild boar have escaped from captivity and managed to establish breeding
populations. Wild boar farmers often cross a male wild boar with a domestic pig sow in
order to produce a hybrid with increased productivity. The aim of this work was to
investigate whether the escapees were genetically ‘pure’, or whether we could find
evidence of past hybridisation with domestic pigs. We sequenced part of the mitochondrial
control region, the MC1R coat-colour gene and the pseudo-gene GPIP from 20 wild boar
from the Forest of Dean. We found that about half the individuals had a sequence of Asian
origin at the control region and GPIP, which must have originated from domestic pigs.
However, all 20 individuals had the wild boar wild type coat colour gene. We conclude that
the escaped wild boars have been crossed with domestic pigs in captivity and that the coat
colour gene alone is not very useful to identify hybrids.
41. The timeline of Sus scrofa wild forms invasion in South America
C.H.Salvador
UFRJ and Caipora Cooperative, Brazil
Sus scrofa is considered one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world and the
public awareness has increased and spread in the last few years in Brazil. Nevertheless, two
S. scrofa wild forms (feral pigs and wild boars) have been recognized at least for decades in
Brazil, which represents 55% of South American continent. A comparative timeline of both
wild forms in South America was reviewed based on bibliography and interviews ab out the
geographical distribution, conflicts and management actions. Feral pigs should have wide
dispersion since the European colonization in South America, but little documentation about
awareness was found. The feral pigs from the Brazilian wetland Pant anal, in the center of
South America, were the major wild stock reported for the continent. In Santa Catarina
State, Southern Brazil, farmers have gotten aware about plantation losses by wild boars
during the last 10 years, while they have complained about problems with feral pigs for
decades. All the current S. scrofa invasion problems were associated with wild boars. The
wild boars had different origins in South America and have been restricted to the southern
continent since the 80´s. Brazil hold the last pulse of wild boars introduction from Germany
(1960), Argentina and Uruguay (1989), and France and Canada (1996-97). The wild boars
have been brought to all Brazilian regions as game and meat ranch interest, with more
intensity since the 90´s. In 2006, more than 80 municipalities, far from each other, with free
living wild boars were registered around Brazil. At new colonization areas, conflicts with wild
boars took 3-5 years to be reported. Hunt and commercial regulation by specific laws have
been released since 1995 and they were the major management actions by the Brazilian
authorities. There are still many clandestine ranches, and hunt was regulated only in two
Southerners Brazilian States. Few experimental control and evaluations were reported so
far. Feral pigs somehow must have been under control for centuries and some biological
70
differences with wild boars could play an important role to this recent invasive specie
problem in South America. However, the natural dispersion was less important to wild
boars’ dissemination. The public policies fragilities and few know how to deal with this
specie had major contribution to S. scrofa contamination into the wild in most part of this
continent through Brazil.
42. Forest-dwelling ungulates and seed dispersal: a comparative approach to three
different species: roe deer, red deer and wild boar
C.Baltzinger1, M.Picard1, H.Benoit-Valiergue2, S.Saïd3, E.Bideau4 and E.Baubet 3
1
Cemagref, Domaine des Barres, France, 2 ENV Alfort, Domaine de Croisil, France, 3ONCFS,
France, 4 INRA-CEFS, France
In this project, we will quantify the role of forest-dwelling ungulates as long-distance seed
dispersers using a comparative approach of three different species: the red deer (Cervus
elaphus) as a grazer species, the roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) as a browser species and
the wild boar (Sus scrofa) as an omnivorous frugivorous species. These ungulates are
widespread in France and especially in the Centre administrative region. We will ado pt an
integrative approach by monitoring the fate of seeds from the time they have been eaten or
carried out by the animals to their release in the ecosystem. We will treat three main
components of the dispersion i) the emigration phase (potential for epi- and endozoochory),
ii) the transfer phase (seed retention time converted into a distance covered by wild animals
using GPS locations) and iii) the immigration phase (studying ungulates' ability to modify
seed germination rate). These 3 key phases will be put together to finally establish seed
dispersion curves of a selected pool of forest plant species. This innovative project has the
ambition to propose new research hypotheses on the spatial and genetic structuring of
ungulate-disseminated plant populations.
43. Oral vaccination of wild boar against Classical Swine Fever: a large scale study of baits
survival in North-Eastern France habitats
M.Sage1, C.Calenge2, A.Bronner3 and S.Rossi1
1
Game and Wildlife Agency / Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, unité
sanitaire de la faune, Gerstheim&Gap, France, 2Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune
Sauvage, unité statistiques, St Benoist, France, 3Food, Agriculture and Fishing Ministry,
Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche, direction générale de l’alimentation, Paris, France
Classical swine fever (CSF) is a viral disease that may persist for years in the European Wild
Boar (Sus scrofa) representing a threat to the pig farming economy. In order to control CSF
infection in wild boar in the Vosges mountains, a 3000 Km² infected area in north -eastern
France, oral vaccination has been implemented since August 2004 according to the process
developed by Kaden et al. (2000), i.e., maize based baits including a plastic blister with a
live-attenuated vaccine (Riemser®). Hunters have delivered by hand 40 baits per vaccination
site, with an average of 1.7 vaccination site per Km² of forest, 6 times a year (3 double
campaigns) in spring, autumn and winter. In order to monitor the survival of the 600 000
71
vaccine-baits delivered each year, a questionnaire has been distributed by the local
veterinary services to hunters who observed the environmental conditions, the species
observed and the number of disappearing baits after one to 5 days. We studied the survival
of the bait according to the hunters’s observations from 2005 up to 2007. Using exploratory
multidimensional analyses, we explored the effect of environmental and landscape factors
such as the forest structure, the proximity of crops, the proximity of oak/beech fruits and
the intensity of the vaccination treatment. This approach put in evidence a strong
correlation between the bait survival observed by hunters and the forest structure and the
proximity of crops attractive to wild boar. Surprisingly, the proximity of oak/beech fruits was
poorly correlated with bait survival. We discuss these results on the basis of previous
capture-mark-recapture results and of ongoing behavioral experiments.
72
List of participants
Céline Prévot
SPW / DEMNA
4/5 Rue des pins sylvestres
Jambes
5100
Belgium
Argentina
Maria Fernanda Cuevas
IADIZA, CCT CONICET Mendoza
Av. Ruiz Leal S/N CC 507
Mendoza
5500
Argentina
Brazil
Carlos Henrique Salvador
UFRJ and Caipora Cooperative
R. Cap. Romualdo de Barros, 861/401A
Florianopolis-SC
88040-600
Brazil
Australia
Matthew Gentle
Biosecurity Queensland
203 Tor St
Toowooomba
Queensland
4350
Australia
Czech Republic
Jiri Kamler
Mendel university Brno
Zemedelska 3
Brno
61300
Czech Republic
Peter Heise-Pavlov
Pavecol
211 Turpentine Road
Diwan via Mossman
Queensland
4873
Australia
Radim Plhal
Mendel university Brno
Zemedelska 3
Brno
61300
Czech Republic
Belgium
Jim Casaer
Research Institute for Nature and Forest
Gaverstraat 4
Geraardsbergen
9500
Belgium
France
Eric Baubet
Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune
Sauvage (ONCFS)
Monfort Birieux
1330
France
73
Sophie Rossi
Sauvage (ONCFS)
Unité sanitaire de la fawne
Micropolis las Bérardie
Belle Aureille
GAP 05000
France
Doris Friedrich
Federal Ministry of Agriculture
Rochusstr. 1
Bonn
D-53123
Germany
Niels Hahn
Wildlife consulting
Schachenstr. 1
72532 Gomadingen
Germany
Mickael Sage
Sauvage (ONCFS)
Au Bord du Rhin
Gerstheim
67150
France
Theodora Henn
Federal Ministry of Agriculture
Rochusstr. 1
Bonn
D-53123
Germany
Email: not provided
Vincent Tolon
Sauvage (ONCFS)
Univ. Savoie - Univ. Lyon 1
Montfort Birieux
1330
France
Ulf Hohman
Research Institute for Forestry and Forest
Ecology
Schloss
Trippstadt
67705
Germany
Germany
Klaus Depner
FLI-Riems
Südufer 10
Greifswald Insel- Riems
17493
Germany
Ditmar Huckschlag
Ecology
Haupstrasse 16 (Schloss)
Trippstadt
67705
Germany
Cornelia Ebert
Ecology
Haupstrasse 16 (Schloss)
Trippstadt
67705
Germany
74
Oliver Keuling
Institute of Wildlife Research, Foundation
University of Veterinary Medicine
Bischofsholer Damm 15
Hanover
D-30173
Hans-Hermann Thulke
UFZ (Umweltforschungszentrum)
Permoserstr. 15
Leipzig
4318
Germany
Karolina Kolodziej
Institute for Environmental Sciences
Fortstr. 7
Landau
76829
Germany
Greece
Panoraia Alexandri
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
School of Biology, University Campus
Thessaloniki
54124
Greece
Stephanie Kramer-Schadt
Institut für Zoo – und Wildtierforschwng
(IZW)
Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17
Berlin
10315
Germany
Alexios Giannakopoulos
Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology
Trikalon 224
Karditsa
Thessaly
GR-43100
Greece
Martin Lange
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental
Research
Permoserstr. 15
Leipzig
4318
Germany
Hong Kong
Chung Tong Shek
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department (AFCD)
7/F, Cheung Sha Wan Govt Off, 303 Cheung
Sha Wan Rd,
Hong Kong SAR
Hong Kong
Alexandra Meindl-Boehmer
University of Veterinary Medicine
Buenteweg 17
Hannover
D-30559
Germany
Hungary
Andras Náhlik
University of West Hungary
Bajcsy-Zs. u. 4
Sopron
H-9400
Hungary
75
Dóra Újváry
Szent István University
Páter Károly u. 1.
Gödöllő
2100
Hungary
Daniela Biosa
University of Sassari
Via Muroni 25
Sassari
7100
Italy
László Szemethy
Szent István University
Páter Károly utca 1.
Gödöllő
2100
Hungary
Stefano Focardi
Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca
Ambientale (ISPRA)
Via Ca’ Fornacetta 9
Ozzano dell’Emilia, Bologna
40064
Italy
Italy
Andrea Amici
Tuscia University, Dept. Animal Science
Via De Lellis
Viterbo
1100
Italy
Barbara Franzetti
Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e Ricerca
Ambientale (ISPRA)
Via Cà Fornacetta, 9
Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna
40064
Italy
Settimio Adriani
Tuscia University, Dept. Animal Science
Via De Lellis
Viterbo
1100
Italy
Laura Iacolina
Via Muroni 25
Sassari
7100
Italy
Elisa Sara Bertolotto
Via Muroni 25
Sassari
7100
Italy
Andrea Monaco
Regional Parks Agency - Lazio Region
Via del Pescaccio 96
Rome
00166
Italy
76
Massimo Scandura
Via Muroni 25
Sassari
7100
Italy
Luxembourg
Sandra Cellina
Environment department
18, Montée de la Pétrusse
Luxembourg
2918
Luxembourg
Laura Scillitani
University of Padova
Viale dell'università 16
Legnaro (PD)
35020
Italy
Montserrat
James Daley
Department of Environment
P O Box 272
Brades
Montserrat
Japan
Ippei Ebihara
National Museum of Ethnology
Suita Senri Expo 10-1
Osaka
565-8511
Japan
The Netherlands
Pim van Hooft
Wageningen University
Droevendaalsesteeg 3a
Wageningen
6708 PB
The Netherlands
Akiko Kodera
Utsunomiya University
Mine-machi 350
Utsunomiya City
Tochigi Prefecture
321-8505
Japan
Hendrik-Jan Megens
Wageningen University
Marijkeweg 40
Wageningen
6709PG
The Netherlands
Yuuji Kodera
Utsunomiya University
Mine-machi 350
Utsunomiya City
Tochigi Prefecture
321-8505
Japan
New Zealand
Pen Holland
Landcare Research
PO Box 40/Gerald Street
Lincoln
Canterbury 7640
New Zealand
77
Poland
Portugal
Marzena Albrycht
Pedagogical University of Cracow
Podbrzezie 3
Cracow
31-054
Poland
Carlos Fonseca
CESAM & Department of Biology
University of Aveiro
Campus Universitário de Santiago
Aveiro
3810-193
Portugal: [email protected]
Boguslaw Bobek
Podbrzezie 3
Cracow
31-054
Poland
Russia
Oksana Revutskaya
ICARP FEB RAS
4 Sholom-Aleikhem St.
Birobidzhan
Russian Federation
679016
Russia
Cezary Florek
Forest District Mieszkowice
Ul. Moryoska 1
74-505 Mieszkowice
Poland
Email: not provided
Serbia
Nevena Velikovic
Department of Biology and Ecology
Trg Dositeja
Obradovica2
Novi Sad
21000
Serbia
Tomasz Podgórski
Mammal Research Institute
Waszkiewicza 1
Białowieża
17-230
Poland
Slovakia
Grzegorz Skurczak
Forest District Katowice
ul. Kijowska 37 B
40-754 Katowice
Poland
Email: not provided
Ladislav Paule
Faculty of Forestry
Technical University
Zvolen
96053
Slovakia
Lidia Wisniowska
Podbrzezie 3
Cracow
31-054
Poland
78
Slovenia
Francisco Javier Cano-manuel León
Espacio natural Sierra Nevada
Ctra. Antigua Sierra Nevada Km.7
Pinos Genil -Granada
18191
Spain
Email:
[email protected]
Matija Stergar
Biotehnical Faculty
Department of Forestry
University of Ljubljana
Vecna pot 83
SI-1000
Ljubljana
Slovenia
Rosell Carme
Minuartia
P/Domènec, 3
Sant Celoni
Barcelona
E08470
Spain
Spain
Isabel C. Barrio
University de Córdoba
Campus de Rabanales
Córdoba
14071
Spain
Rosario Cerrato
Gestora de Proyectos de Investigación
Universidad de Extremadura
Edificio Tajo (Gestión del Conocimiento)
Avda de la Universidad s/n
10003 Cáceres
Spain
Jaime Alfonso Bosch López
TRAGSEGA (Valdeolmos Laboratory)
Carretera Algete-El Casar. km.8.1
Madrid
28031
Spain
Pedro Fernandez-Llario
Universidad de Extremadura
Facultad de Veterinaria
Avda de la Universidad
Cáceres
10071
Spain
C. Guillermo Bueno
Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC, Spain)
Avda. Rgmto. Galicia s/n P.O. Box 64
Spain
Seán Cahill
Parc de Collserola
Ctra. de l’Esglèsia, 92
Barcelona
8017
Spain
Christian Gortazar
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos
Cinegéticos (IREC)
Ronda de Toledo sn
Ciudad Real
13071
Spain
79
Waldo Luis García Jiménez
Unit of Infectious Pathology, UEX.
Avda de la universidad s/n (campus
universitario)
Cáceres
10003
Spain
Joaquin Vicente
Instituto de Investigación en Recursos
Cinegéticos (IREC)
Ronda de Toledo s/n
Ciudad Real
13071
Spain
Alberto Giménez-Anaya
Pyrenean Institute for Ecology
Calle Regimiento Galicia s/n
Jaca
E-22700
Spain
Sweden
Magnus Furenbratt
University of Halmstad
Box 823
Halmstad
30118
Sweden
Ferran Navàs Ferré
Minuartia Estudis Ambientals
Ptge. Domenech, 3
Sant Celoni
8470
Spain
Henrik Thurfjell
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
(SLU)
Vilt, Fisk och Miljö, SLU
Umeå
90183
Sweden
Carlos Nores
Universidad de Oviedo
INDUROT, Campus de Mieres
Mieres
Asturias
E-33600
Spain
Switzerland
Claude Fischer
Hepia University of Applied Sciences
150 route de Presinge
Jussy
Genève
1254
Switzerland
Sergio Romero de Tejada
Aiguamolls Natural Park
El Cortalet
Castelló d'Empúries
17486
Spain
Céline Heimo
HEPIA
Prévoyance 102
La Chaux-de-Fonds
Neuchâtel
2300
Switzerland
80
Adrian Schlageter
University of Basel
Pestalozzistrasse 20
Basel
4506
Switzerland
Charles Critchley
Forestry Commission
9 Clifton Moor Business Village, James
Nicolson Link, Clifton Moor
York
Y030 4XG
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Hayley Clayton
University of West of England
9 Kings Mead
Newnham-on-Severn
Gloucestershire
GL14 1AW
United Kingdom
Sallie Bailey
Forestry Commission
Silvan House
Edinburgh
EH12 7AT
United Kingdom
Chris Brooks
BASC
Marford Mill
Rossett
Wrexham
LL12 0HL
United Kingdom
Dave Cowan
Food and Environment Research Agency
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ
United Kingdom
Elizabeth Davis
Forestry Commission
Bank house, Bank St
Coleford
Glos
GL16 88A
United Kingdom
Richard Bunting
Department of Environment, Montserrat
22 Newland Mill
Witney
OXON
OX28 3HH
United Kingdom
John Dutton
University of Worcester
Henwick Grove
Worcester
WORC
WR2 6AJ
United Kingdom
Steve Campbell
SASA
Roddinglaw Road
Edinburgh
EH12 9FJ
United Kingdom
81
Ed Dyson
The Deer Initiative
The Carriage House,
Brynkinalt Business Centre,
Chirk
Wrexham
LL14 5NS
United Kingdom
Martin Goulding
40 Owley Wood Road
Weaverham
Cheshire
CW8 3LF
United Kindom
Email:
[email protected]
Alain Frantz
University of Sheffield
Western Bank
Sheffield
S10 2TN
United Kingdom
Ralph Harmer
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey
GU10 4LH
United Kingdom
Robin Gill
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Wrecclesham
Surrey
GU12 5PJ
United Kingdom
Gill Hartley
Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture
(SASA)
Roddinglaw Road
Edinburgh
EH12 9FJ
United Kingdom
Bethany Goodwin
University of York
54 Millfield Lane
York
N.Yorkshire
YO10 3AL
United Kingdom
Matthew Hartley
Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs (Defra)
Nobel House, 17 Smith Square
London
SW1P 3JR
United Kingdom
Andrea Green
The British Association for Shooting and
Conservation (BASC)
Marford Mill
Rossett
Wrexham
LL12 0HL
United Kingdom
Ian Harvey
Forestry Commission
Bank house, Bank St
Coleford
Glos
United Kingdom
82
Simon Liebert
Room 1/08, Temple Quay House
2 The Square, Temple Quay
Bristol
BS1 6EB
United Kingdom
Brenda Mayle
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey
GU10 4LH
United Kingdom
Alan McCormick
The British Association for Shooting and
Conservation (BASC)
Marford Mill
Rossett
Wrexham
LL12 0HL
United Kingdom
Catherine Lutton
Environment Department, University of York
Heslington, York
North Yorkshire
YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
Mark Malins
Forestry Commission Wales
Rhodfa Padarn
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 3UR
United Kingdom
Roger Trout
Forest Research
Alice Holt Lodge
Farnham
Surrey
GU10 4LH
United Kingdom
Giovanna Massei
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ
United Kingdom
Nick Warmsley
National Trust
Heelis
Kemble drive
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN2 2NA
United Kingdom
Ashley Matthews
Bristol
Avon
BS16EB
United Kingdom
Charles Wilson
Natural England
Renslade House
Exeter
Devon
EX4 3AW
United Kingdom
Email:
[email protected]
83
Alastair Ward
Sand Hutton
York
YO41 1LZ
United Kingdom
Richard (Rick) Engeman
USDA/National Wildlife Research Center
4101 LaPorte Ave
Fort Collins
Colorado
80526
United States of America
Billy Higginbotham
Texas AgriLife Extension Service
POB 38
Overton, TX
Rusk
75684
Michael Bodenchuk
USDA APHIS Wildlife Services
P.O. Box 690170
San Antonio, Texas
Bexar
78269-0170
Sherman Jack
MSU CVM Berryman Institute
PO Box 6100
Mississippi State, MS
Oktibbeha
39759
Joseph Corn
University of Georgia
College of Veterinary Medicine
Athens
30602
David Paule
The Humane Society of the United States
4235 Zephyr Lane
Billings, MT
Yellowstone 59106
[email protected]
84
85

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