Effect of experimental manipulation on survival and recruitment of feral pigs

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Contents Vol 36(3)

doi:10.1071/WR08077

Effect of experimental manipulation on survival and recruitment of feral pigs

Laura B. Hanson ^A ^B ^F, Michael S. Mitchell ^C, James B. Grand ^D, D. Buck Jolley ^A, Bill D. Sparklin ^E, Stephen S. Ditchkoff ^A

^A School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
^B Current address: Idaho Department of Fish and Game, PO Box 1336, Salmon, ID 83467, USA.
^C U.S. Geological Survey, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
^D U.S. Geological Survey, Alabama Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USA.
^E Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA.
^F Corresponding author. Email: laurabhanson@hotmail.com





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Wildlife Research 36(3) 185–191 http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/WR08077
Submitted: 20 May 2008 Accepted: 11 January 2009 Published online: 15 April 2009

Abstract

Lethal removal is commonly used to reduce the density of invasive-species populations, presuming it reduces population growth rate; the actual effect of lethal removal on the vital rates contributing to population growth, however, is rarely tested. We implemented a manipulative experiment of feral pig (Sus scrofa) populations at Fort Benning, Georgia, USA, to assess the demographic effects of harvest intensity. Using mark–recapture data, we estimated annual survival, recruitment, and population growth rates of populations in a moderately harvested area and a heavily harvested area for 2004–06. Population growth rates did not differ between the populations. The top-ranked model for survival included a harvest intensity effect; model-averaged survival was lower for the heavily harvested population than for the moderately harvested population. Increased immigration and reproduction likely compensated for the increased mortality in the heavily harvested population. We conclude that compensatory responses in feral pig recruitment can limit the success of lethal control efforts.