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Sex effect on habitat selection in response to hunting disturbance: the study of wild boar

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Abstract

Spatial variation of the ‘predation risk’ due to human activities or distribution may increase the sexual difference in habitat selection. Indeed, females with offspring are usually more risk adverse than males. Based on a long-term wild boar study, we analysed the diurnal distribution of female and male wild boar before, during and after the hunting period. Hunting, food and foliation were investigated as factors affecting patterns of forest parcel selection. As expected, dense vegetative covers were selected during resting periods, but wild boar decreased this pattern of habitat selection in response to hunting disturbance. Moreover, the habitat selection of wild boar did not fit with the variation of food availability (presence or absence of mast) and the vegetation cycle. As expected, sows responded more to the hunting disturbance than males, leading to a more pronounced sexual difference during the riskier season. The unexpected decrease of bush use may be explained either by the increased hunting effort in this habitat or by the increased movements between resting sites due to disturbance, leading to a more random habitat selection pattern. The observed difference between sexes could result from a higher response of females with offspring to hunting, leading to an increased frequentation of secondary habitats, whereas males can tolerate more risks and remain hidden in thicket plots. Our results highlight how hunting disturbance can lead game species to change their patterns of refuge habitat selection and may affect the habitat segregation between the sexes.

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Acknowledgements

We are most grateful to Jean-Michel Gaillard, Philippe Aubry, Clément Calenge for their constructive comments on the manuscript. We thank Catherine Carter for revising the English manuscript. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for providing excellent suggestions for improving manuscript clarity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Centre National d’Etudes et de Recherches Appliquées Cervidés-Sanglier, «Montfort», 01330, Birieux, France

    Sonia Saïd, Vincent Tolon, Serge Brandt & Eric Baubet

  2. Laboratoire d’Ecologie Alpine CNRS UMR5553, Université de Savoie, Bâtiment Belledonne, 73376, Le Bourget-du-Lac, France

    Vincent Tolon

  3. Unité Mixte de Recherche N°5558 “Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive”, Bâtiment G. Mendel, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 43 Boulevard du 11 novembre 1918, 69622, Villeurbanne Cedex, France

    Vincent Tolon

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  1. Sonia Saïd
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  2. Vincent Tolon
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  3. Serge Brandt
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  4. Eric Baubet
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Correspondence to Eric Baubet.

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Communicated by C. Gortázar

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Saïd, S., Tolon, V., Brandt, S. et al. Sex effect on habitat selection in response to hunting disturbance: the study of wild boar. Eur J Wildl Res 58, 107–115 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0548-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-011-0548-4

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