Abstract
This study evaluated the trend and spatial distribution of wild boar population harvested in the Alpine hunting district C.A. CN1 (Piedmont, Italy) from 1996 to 2018, and its relation with hunting effort. Protected areas were found to shape the distribution of the harvested wild boars, which decreased in number as the distance from those zones increased. The hunting bag data presented large yearly fluctuation, with a trend in line with the hunting effort until 2007 when the maximum capacity of the population to cope with the hunting pressure was reached. The variation of reproductive parameters (percentage of piglets in the hunted population and piglets to sexually matured female ratio) showed a decreasing trend in both time series. Conversely, hunting effort increased over the years, with significant trend changes in 2000 and 2015, probably associated with the increased preference for hunting activity on wild boars, and the parallel reduction of the extension of hunting areas. Predation, hunting activity, and environment could have modulated the wild boar population dynamics in the study area. Decrease in chestnut Castanea sativa production, due to the gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu, were reported during the period of study. This might be the main factor determining the downtrend of piglets in 2003. In addition, predation by wolves Canis lupus, whose population has sharply increased in the southwestern Alps in the last decades, might have contributed to the decline since 2010. This work outlines the importance of a proper management of protected areas, which influence the density and distribution of wild boars. In this context, hunting bags analysis is of pivotal importance to monitor population dynamics and develop proper wildlife policies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amici A, Coletta A, Primi R, Rossi CM, Viola P (2018). Wild boar interaction with human activities: three years of investigations in Central Italy. Seventh AIEAA Conference “Evidence-based policies to face new challenges for agri-food systems”. June 14-15, Conegliano (Italy) 2018. https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/275657
Apollonio M (2004) Gli Ungulati in Italia: status, gestione e ricerca scientifica. Hystrix, It J Mammal 15(1)
Apollonio M, Randi E, Toso S (1988) The systematics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in Italy. Ital J Zool 55:213–222
Apollonio M, Ciuti S, Pedrotti L, Banti P (2010) Ungulates and their management in Italy. In: European ungulates and their management in the 21th century. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 475–505
Bai J, Perron P (2003) Computation and Analysis of Multiple Structural Change Models. J Appl Econ 18:1–22
Bieber C, Ruf T (2005) Population dynamics in wild boar Sus scrofa: Ecology, elasticity of growth rate and implications for the management of pulsed resource consumers. J Appl Ecol 42:1203–1213
Bodnár ES, Bodnár K (2014). Main traits of the wild boar meat in its marketing. Lucrari Stiintifice, seria I. XVI. 81-86
Boitani L, Mattei L, Nonis D, Corsi F (1994) Spatial and activity patterns of wild boars in Tuscany, Italy. J Mammal 75:600–612
Briedermann L (1990) Schwarzwild, 2nd edn. VEB Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag, Berlin (Germany)
Brussino G, Bosio G, Baudino M, Giordano R, Ramello F, Melika G (2002) Pericoloso insetto esotico per il castagno europeo. Inf Agrar 37:59–61
Bucci M, Casanova P (2006) Fruttificazione del castagno e riproduzione del cinghiale in ambiente appenninico. LXI:73–85
Bueno C, Alados C, Gómez-García D, Barrio IC, García-González R (2009) Understanding the main factors in the extent and distribution of wild boar rooting on alpine grasslands. J Zool 279:195–202
Comprensorio alpino CN1 – Valle Po (2014) Organizzazione e gestione degli ungulati ruminanti 2014-2018
De Beaux O, Festa E (1927) Memorie della Società italiana di scienze naturali e del Museo civico di storia naturale di Milano. In: La ricomparsa del cinghiale nell’Italia settentrionaleoccidentale. vol. IX, fasc. III. pp 263–324
Ewers RM, Didham RK (2007) The effect of fragment shape and species’ sensitivity to habitat edges on animal population size. Conserv Biol 21(4):926–936
Fanelli A, Menardi G, Chiodo M, Giordano O, Ficetto G, Bessone M, Lasagna A, Carpignano MG, Molinar Min A, Gugiatti A, Meneguz PG, Tizzani P (2020a) Gastroenteric parasite of wild Galliformes in the Italian Alps: implication for conservation management. Parasitology. 147(4):471–477. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003118201900177X
Fanelli A, Tizzani P, Belleau E (2020b) Gastrointestinal parasitic infestation in the Rock ptarmigan Lagopus muta in the French Alps and French Pyrenees based on long-term sampling (1987–2018). Parasitology 147(7):828–834. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182020000517
Fanelli A, Tizzani P, Ferroglio E, Belleau E (2020c) Cheilospirura hamulosa in the Rock Partridge (Alectoris graeca saxatilis): epidemiological patterns and prediction of parasite distribution in France. Diversity 12 (12) :484. https://doi.org/10.3390/d12120484
Ferracini C, Ferrari E, Pontini M, Saladini MA, Alma A (2019) Effectiveness of Torymus sinensis: a successful long-term control of the Asian chestnut gall wasp in Italy. J Pest Sci 92:353–359
Gamelon M, Besnard A, Gaillard J, Servanty S, Baubet E, Brandt S, Gimenez O (2011) High hunting pressure selects for earlier birth date: wild boar as a case study. Evolution 65:3100–3112
Geisser H, Reyer H-U (2005) The influence of food and temperature on population density of wild boar Sus scrofa in the Thurgau (Switzerland). Zool Soc London 267:89–96
Gren IM, Häggmark-Svensson T, Andersson H, Jansson G, Jägerbrand A (2016) Using traffic data to estimate wildlife populations. J Bioecon 18:17–31
Gürtler RE, Martín Izquierdo V, Gil G, Cavicchia M, Maranta A (2017) Coping with wild boar in a conservation area: impacts of a 10-year management control program in north-eastern Argentina. Biol Invasions 19:11–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-016-1256-5
Hebeisen C, Fattebert J, Baubet E, Fischer C (2008) Estimating wild boar (Sus scrofa) abundance and density using capture-resights in Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Eur J Wildl Res 54:391–401
Herrero J, García-Serrano A, Couto S, Ortuño VM, García-González R (2006) Diet of wild boar Sus scrofa L. and crop damage in an intensive agroecosystem. Eur J Wildl Res 52:245–250
Herrero J, García-Serrano A, García-González R (2008) Reproductive and demographic parameters in two Iberian wild boar Sus scrofa populations. Acta Theriol 53:355–364
Iacopelli F, Fanelli A, Tizzani P, Berriatua E, Prieto P, Martínez-Carrasco C, Leon L, Rossi L, Candela MG (2020) Spatio-temporal patterns of sarcoptic mange in red deer and Iberian ibex in a multi-host natural park. Res Vet Sci 128:224–229
Jȩdrzejewska B, Jȩdrzejewski W, Bunevich A, Milkowski L, Krasinski A (1997) Factors shaping population densities and increased rates of ungulates in Białowieża Primeval Forest (Poland and Belarus) in the 19th and 20th centuries. Acta Theriol (Warsz) 42:399–451
Jȩdrzejewski W, Jȩdrzejewska B, Okarma H, Ruprecht A (1992) Wolf predation and snow cover as mortality factors in the ungulate community of the Bialowieża National Park, Poland. Oecologia 90:27–36
Jȩdrzejewski W, Jȩdrzejewska B, Okarma H, Schmidt K, Zub K, Musiani M (2002) Prey selection and predation by wolves in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. J Mammal 81:197–212
Keuling O, Baubet E, Duscher A, Ebert C, Fischer C, Monaco A, Podgórski T, Prevot C, Ronnenberg K, Sodeikat G, Stier N, Thurfjell H (2013) Mortality rates of wild boar Sus scrofa L. in central Europe. Eur J Wildl Res 59:805–814
LIFE WOLFALPS (2018) Lo Status del lupo in Regione Piemonte 2014–2018 (con evoluzione dal 1999 al 2018)
Lucchini V, Fabbri E, Marucco F, Ricci S, Boitani L, Randi E (2002) Non invasive molecular tracking of colonizing wolf (Canis lupus) packs in the western Italian Alps. Mol Ecol 11:857–868
Massei G, Genov P (2004) The environmental impact of wild boar. Galemys 16:135–145
Massei G, Kindberg J, Licoppe A, Gačić D, Šprem N, Kamler J, Baubet E, Hohmann U, Monaco A, Ozoliņš J, Cellina S, Podgórski T, Fonseca C, Markov N, Pokorny B, Rosell C, Náhlik A (2015) Wild boar populations up, numbers of hunters down? A review of trends and implications for Europe. Pest Manag Sci 71:492–500
Mattioli L, Apollonio M, Lovari C, Siemoni N, Crudele G (1995) Wild boar as the main prey of wolf in an area of Northern Apennines (Italy). Ibex, J Mt Ecol 3:212
Meng X, Lindsay D, Sriranganathan N (2009) Wild boars as sources for infectious diseases in livestock and humans. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 264:2697–2707
Meriggi A, Brangi A, Matteucci C, Sacchi O (1996) The feeding habits of wolves in relation to large prey availability in northern Italy. Ecography (Cop) 19:287–295
Meriggi A, Dagradi V, Dondina O, Perversi M, Milanesi P, Lombardini M, Raviglione S, Repossi A (2015) Short-term responses of wolf feeding habits to changes of wild and domestic ungulate abundance in Northern Italy. Ethol Ecol Evol 27:389–411
Morelle K, Lehaire F, Lejeune P (2013) Spatio-temporal patterns of wildlife–vehicle collisions in a region with a high-density road network. Nat Conserv 5:53–73
Nores C, Llaneza L, Álvarez Á (2009) Wild boar Sus scrofa mortality by hunting and wolf Canis lupus predation: an example in northern Spain. Wildl Biol 14:44–51
Okarma H, Jedrzejewska B, Jederzejewski W, Krasinski Z, Milkowski L (1995) The roles of predation, snow cover, acorn crop, and man-related factors on ungulate mortality in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. Acta Theriol 40:1997–1217
Osservatorio regionale sulla fauna selvatica (2007) Valutazione e rilievi biometrici della fauna selvatica: ungulati, galliformi alpini e lepre variabile. ed. Regione Piemonte, 135 pp
Prevot C, Licoppe A (2013) Comparing red deer (Cervus elaphus L.) and wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) dispersal patterns in southern Belgium. Eur J Wildl Res 59:795–803
Putzu N, Bonetto D, Civallero V, Fenoglio S, Meneguz PG, Preacco N, Tizzani P (2014) Temporal patterns of ungulate–vehicle collisions in a subalpine Italian region. Ital J Zool 81(3):463–470
QGIS Development Team (2017) QGIS Geographic Information System. Open Source Geospatial Foundation
R Core Team (2018) A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing
Regione Piemonte (2016) Riordino del sistema di gestione delle aree protette regionali e nuove norme in materia di Sacri Monti. Modifiche alla legge regionale 29 giugno 2009, n. 19 (Testo unico sulla tutela delle aree naturali e della biodiversità). In: Gazzetta Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana
Rossi S, Toïgo C, Hars J, Pol F, Hamann JL, Depner K, Le Potier MF (2011) New insights on the management of wildlife diseases using multi-state recapture models: the case of classical swine fever in wild boar. PLoS One 6:e24257
Sáenz-de-Santa-María A, Tellería JL (2015) Wildlife–vehicle collisions in Spain. Eur J Wildl Res 61:399–406
Santilli F, Varuzza P (2013) Factors affecting wild boar (Sus scrofa) abundance in southern Tuscany. Hystrix, It J Mammal 24:169–173
Scillitani L, Monaco A, Toso S (2010) Do intensive drive hunts affect wild boar (Sus scrofa) spatial behaviour in Italy? Some evidences and management implications. Eur J Wildl Res 56:307–318
Smith R, Jennings N, Harris S (2005) A quantitative analysis of the abundance and demography of European hares Lepus europaeus in relation to habitat type, intensity of agriculture and climate. Mammal Rev 35:1–24
Šprem N, Duduković D, Keros T, Konjević D (2013) Wildlife–vehicle collisions in Croatia – a hazard for humans and animals. Coll Antropol 37:531–535
Tack J (2018) Wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations in Europe: a scientific review of population trends and implications for management. European Landowners’ Organization, Brussels, 56.
Tizzani P, Dematteis A (2009) Linee guida per la gestione della lepre europea (Lepus europaeus) – Dieci anni di studi e sperimentazioni in Provincia di Cuneo. Quaderni tecnici della Provincia di Cuneo pp 256
Toïgo C, Servanty S, Gaillard J-M, Brandt S, Baubet E (2008) Disentangling natural from hunting mortality in an intensively hunted wild boar population. J Wildl Manag 72:1532–1539
Torretta E, Serafini M, Imbert C, Milanesi P, Meriggi A (2017) Wolves and wild ungulates in the Ligurian Alps (Western Italy): prey selection and spatial-temporal interactions. Mammalia 81:537–551
Vajas P, Calenge C, Richard E, Fattebert J, Rousset C, Saïd S, Baubet E (2020) Many, large and early: hunting pressure on wild boar relates to simple metrics of hunting effort. Sci Total Environ 698:134251
Welander J (2002) Spatial and temporal dynamics of wild boar (Sus scrofa) rooting in a mosaic landscape. J Zool 252:263–271
Zeileis A, Kleiber C, Kraemer W, Hornik K (2003) Testing and dating of structural changes in practice. Comput Stat Data Anal 44:109–123
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
E.F. and A.P. conceived of the presented work. A.F. analyzed and interpreted the data, developed tables and figures, and wrote the manuscript draft. E.F., A.P., and A.F. critically reviewed the manuscript and approved it.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fanelli, A., Perrone, A. & Ferroglio, E. Spatial and temporal dynamics of wild boars Sus scrofa hunted in Alpine environment. Eur J Wildl Res 67, 47 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01484-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01484-4