Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Feral pigs in a temperate rainforest ecosystem: disturbance and ecological impacts

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biological Invasions Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widespread invasive species, and cause biotic disturbance. This study evaluated the impacts associated with ground disturbance by feral pigs in the North Island of New Zealand. Exclosure cages were erected over feral pig-disturbed ground and visually undisturbed ground (the latter as controls). Buried resin bags and litter bags were located in these plots to examine differences in soil nutrients and decomposition rates and seedling/sapling recruitment (abundance, species composition and richness) was monitored over 21 months. No difference was found in the litter decomposition between the disturbed and visually undisturbed plots. Significantly more nitrate (NO3-N/NO2-N) was found in the disturbed exclosures. Seedling density was not significantly affected by feral pig disturbance. However, seedling/sapling species richness was lower in disturbed areas. Species composition changes occurred at disturbed sites with species increasing and decreasing in density after feral pig disturbance. However, no pattern was observed between species that were negatively affected by feral pig disturbance. This study shows that feral pig disturbance affects vegetation through direct removal, but also indirectly through increased nitrate, potentially leading to seedling and sapling species composition changes. Feral pigs are known to return to previously disturbed areas to re-disturb. These areas may remain in a re-disturbed state if not protected, and through continued disturbance and increased nitrate, ecosystem changes may occur, especially in characteristically nutrient poor environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aplet GH, Anderson SJ, Stone CP (1991) Association between feral pig disturbance and the composition of some alien plant assemblages in Hawaii volcanoes national park. Vegetatio 95(1):55–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barrios-Garcia MN, Ballari SA (2012) Impact of wild boar (S. scrofa) in its introduced and native range: a review. Biol Invasions. (in press)

  • Beever EA, Brussard PF (2000) Examining the ecological consequences of feral horses using exclosures. West N Am Nat 60:236–254

    Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D (1984) Ion exchange resin bags: factors affecting estimates of nitrogen availability. Soil Sci Soc Am J 48:1181–1184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Binkley D, Matson P (1983) Ion exchange resin bag method for assessing forest soil nitrogen availability. Soil Sci Soc Am J 47:1050–1052

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloomfield C (1953) A study of podzolization Part II: the mobilization of iron and aluminiun by the leaves and bark of Agathis australis (kauri). J Soil Sci 4:17–23

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bonkowski M, Scheu S (2004) Biotic interactions in the rhizosphere: effects on plant growth and herbivore development. In: Weisser WW, Sieman E (eds) Insects and ecosystem function. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 71–91

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bratton SP (1975) The effect of the European wild boar S. scrofa on gray beech forest in the great smoky mountains USA. Ecology 56:1356–1366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Busby PE, Vitousek P, Dirzo R (2010) Prevalence of tree regeneration by sprouting and seeding along a rainfall gradient in Hawaii. Biotropica 42:80–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin FS III, Zavaleta ES, Eviner VT, Naylor RL, Vitousek PM, Reynolds HL, Hooper DU, Lavorel S, Sala OE, Hobbie SE, Mack MC, Diaz S (2000) Consequences of changing biodiversity. Nature 405:234–242

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Choquenot D, Parkes J (2005) Ground disturbance by feral pigs: ecosystem engineering or just rooting around. In: 13th Australasian vertebrate pest conference, Wellington, New Zealand

  • Clarke KR, Warwick RM (2005) Change in marine communities. An approach to statistical analysis and interpretation, 2nd edn. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole RJ, Litton CM, Koontz MJ, Loh RK (2012) Vegetation recovery 16 years after feral pig removal from a wet Hawaiian forest. Biotropica 44:463–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coleman DC, Crossley DA, Hendrix PF (2004) Fundamentals of soil ecology. Elsevier, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Connell JH (1978) Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs. Science 199:1302–1310

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crossley DA Jr, Hoglund MP (1962) A litter-bag method for the study of microarthropods inhabiting leaf litter. Ecology 43(3):571–573

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cushman JH, Tierney TA, Hinds JM (2004) Variable effects of feral pig disturbances on native and exotic plants in a California grassland. Ecol Appl 14(6):1746–1756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Antonio CM, Dudley TL, Mack M (1999) Disturbance and biological invasions: direct effects and feedbacks. In: Walker LR (ed) Ecosystems of disturbed ground. University of Nevada, Las Vegas

    Google Scholar 

  • Engeman RM, Constantin B, Shwiff SA, Smith HT, Wollard J (2005) Research to support and enhance feral swine removal efforts. In: Proceedings of the 13th vertebrate pest conference, pp 69–74

  • Enright NJ, Cameron EK (1988) The soil seed bank of a kauri (A. australis) forest remnant near Auckland, New Zealand. N Z J Bot 26:223–236

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esler AE (1983) Forest and scrubland zones of the Waitakere range, Auckland. Tane 29:109–118

    Google Scholar 

  • Frank DA, Evans RD (1997) Effects of native grazers on grassland N cycling in Yellowstone National Park. Ecology 78:2238–2248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart SC, Binkley D (1984) Colorimetric interference and recovery of adsorbed ions from ion exchange resins. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 15(8):893–902

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hone J (1988) Feral pig rooting in a mountain forest and woodland: distribution, abundance and relationships with environmental variables. Aust J Ecol 13:393–400

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hone J (1995) Spatial and temporal aspects of vertebrate pest damage with emphasis on feral pigs. J Appl Ecol 32(2):311–319

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hone J (2002) Feral pigs in Namadgi National Park, Australia: dynamics, impacts and management. Biol Conserv 105(2):231–242

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hone J, Martin W (1998) A study of dung decay and plot size for surveying feral pigs using dung counts. Wildl Res 25(3):255–260

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hone J, Robards GE (1980) Feral pigs: ecology and control. Wool Tech Shee Bree 28(4):7–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurst JM, Allen RB (2007) A permanent plot method for monitoring indigenous forests: field protocols. Manaaki Whenua-Lancare Research, Lincoln

    Google Scholar 

  • King CM (2005) The handbook of New Zealand mammals, 2nd edn. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotanen PM (1995) Responses of vegetation to a changing regime of disturbance: effects of feral pigs in a Californian coastal prairie. Ecography 18(2):190–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kotanen PM (1997) Effects of experimental soil disturbance on revegetation by natives and exotics in coastal California meadows. J Appl Ecol 34(3):631–644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krull CR (2012) Feral pigs in a temperate rainforest ecosystem: ecological impacts and management. PhD, University of Auckland

  • Loh RK, Tunison JT (1999) Vegetation recovery following pig removal in’Ola’a-Koa Rainforest Unit, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Pacific cooperative studies unit 123. University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu

    Google Scholar 

  • Mark AF, Baylis GTS, Dickinson KJM (1991) Monitoring the impacts of deer on vegetation condition of Secretary Island, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand: a clear case for deer control and ecological restoration. J R Soc N Z 21(1):43–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McGlone MS (1989) The polynesian settlement of New Zealand in relation to environmental and biotic changes. N Z J Ecol 12:115–129

    Google Scholar 

  • Merret MF, Smale MC, Burns BR, Peterson P, Salt G (2000) Singaporean shelling and fires in the Waiouru Military Training Area: establishment of monitoring plots and assessment of initial impacts. Landcare Research Contract Report, Landcare Research, Hamilton

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell J, Mayer R (1997) Diggings by feral pigs within the wet tropics world heritage area of North Queensland. Wildl Res 24:591–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell J, Dorney W, Mayer R, McIlroy J (2007) Spatial and temporal patterns of feral pig diggings in rainforests of North Queensland. Wildl Res 34:597–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mueller-Dombois D, Spatz G (1975) The influence of feral goats on the lowland vegetation of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Phytocoenologia 3:1–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Mulder C, Keall S (2001) Burrowing seabirds and reptiles: impacts on seeds, seedlings and soils in an island forest in New Zealand. Oecologia 127(3):350–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pickett STA, White PS (1985) The ecology of natural disturbance and patch dynamics. Acadmeic Press, Oralando

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts CM, Duncan RP, Wilson KJ (2007) Burrowing seabirds affect forest regeneration, Rangatira Island, Chatham Islands New Zealand. N Z J Ecol 31(2):208–222

    Google Scholar 

  • Schowalter TD (2000) Insect ecology: an ecosystem approach. Academic Press, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  • Shea K, Chesson P (2002) Community ecology theory as a framework for biolgical invasions. Trends Ecol Evol 17:170–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherrod S, Seastedt T (2001) Effects of the northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) on alpine soil characteristics, Niwot Ridge, CO. Biogeochemistry 55(2):195–218

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siemann E, Carrillo JA, Gabler CA, Zipp R, Rogers WE (2009) Experimental test of the impacts of feral hogs on forest dynamics and processes in the southeastern US. For Ecol Manage 258(5):546–553

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Singer FJ, Swank WT, Clebsch EEC (1984) Effects of wild pig rooting in a deciduous forest. J Wildl Manage 48(2):464–473

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sousa WP (1984) The role of disturbance in natural communities. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 15:353–391

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stone CP, Cuddihy LW, Tunison JT (1992) Responses of Hawaiian ecosystems to removal of feral pigs and goats. Alien plant invasions in native ecosystems of hawai’i: management and research, pp 666-704

  • Thomson C, Challies CN (1988) Diet of feral pigs in the podocarp-tawa forests of the Urewera Ranges. NZ J Ecol 11:73–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Tierney TA, Cushman JH (2006) Temporal changes in native and exotic vegetation and soil characteristics following disturbances by feral pigs in a California grassland. Biol Invasions 8(5):1073–1089

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Vuren D, Coblentz BE (1987) Some ecological effects of feral sheep on Santa Cruz Island, California, USA. Biodivers Conserv 41:253–268

    Google Scholar 

  • Vitousek PM, D’Antonio CM, Loope LL, Westbrooks R (1996) Biological invasions as global environmental change. Am Sci 84(5):468–478

    Google Scholar 

  • Wardle DA (2002) Communities and ecosystems: linking the aboveground and belowground components. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • Weller SG, Cabin RJ, Lorence DH, Perlman S, Wood K, Flynn T, Sakai AK (2011) Alien plant invasions, introduced ungulates, and alternative states in a mesic forest in Hawaii. Restor Ecol 19:671–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wyse SV, Burns BR, Wright SD (2012) Ecosystem engineering by a long lived conifer structures plant community composition in sub-tropical New Zealand rainforests (Unpubl.)

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Auckland Council, Landcare Research and the University of Auckland for funding and to Auckland Council for permits to conduct this study. We are grateful to a number of researchers and technicians who helped with this study; S. Anderson, K. Booth, T. Dutton (and lab), A. Evans, N. Falxa-Raymond, E. Feenstra, P. Goldsmith, D. Krull, S. Large, C. Miner-Williams, L. Miner-Williams, C. Sheppard, A. Tomlinson, C. Warner and M. Wheat. We also thank a number of Auckland Council staff, J. Brooks, H. Cox, J. Craw, A. Davis, M. Geaney, N. Leuschner, G. McCarthy and N. Waipara. B. Lee and S. Wyse provided helpful comments on this paper and K. Ruggerio provided statistical advice and helped with analyses.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Biodiversity and Biosecurity, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Cheryl R. Krull, David Choquenot, Bruce R. Burns & Margaret C. Stanley

Authors
  1. Cheryl R. Krull
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. David Choquenot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bruce R. Burns
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Margaret C. Stanley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cheryl R. Krull.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Krull, C.R., Choquenot, D., Burns, B.R. et al. Feral pigs in a temperate rainforest ecosystem: disturbance and ecological impacts. Biol Invasions 15, 2193–2204 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0444-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-013-0444-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation