Register      Login
Wildlife Research Wildlife Research Society
Ecology, management and conservation in natural and modified habitats
RESEARCH ARTICLE

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 and Stephen S. Ditchkoff A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

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

Wildlife Research 36(3) 185-191 https://doi.org/10.1071/WR08077
Submitted: 20 May 2008  Accepted: 11 January 2009   Published: 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.


Acknowledgements

We give much thanks to the Mitchell ‘wet lab’ for their support, assistance with critical thinking and comments on earlier drafts. We appreciate all who helped with fieldwork, especially B. Williams, C. Newbolt and K. Hasapes. Thank you to P. Swiderek, R. Thornton and B. Miley at the Fort Benning Conservation Branch for their ideas and support of this research. We thank E. Hellgren, B. Ackerman and two anonymous reviewers for comments on this manuscript. This research was funded by the US Department of Defense, Fort Benning Military Reservation.


References

Akaike H. (1973). Information theory and an extension of the maximum likelihood principle. In ‘Second International Symposium of Information Theory’. (Eds B. N. Petran and F. Csaaki.) pp. 267–281. (Akadeemiai Kiadi: Budapest, Hungary.)

Barker, R. J. (1997). Joint modeling of live–recapture, tag-resight, and tag-recovery data. Biometrics 53, 666–677.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Boreham P. (1981). ‘Some aspects of the ecology and control of feral pigs in the Gudgenby nature reserve. Conservation Memorandum No. 10.’ (ACT Conservation Service: Canberra)

Burnham K. P. , and Anderson D. R. (2002). ‘Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-theoretic Approach.’ (Springer-Verlag: New York.)

Chao, A. (1988). Estimating animal abundance with capture frequency data. Journal of Wildlife Management 52, 295–300.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Dickson J. G. , Mayer J. J. , and Dickson J. D. (2001). Wild hogs. In ‘Wildlife of Southern Forests: Habitat and Management’. (Ed. J. G. Dickson.) pp. 191–208. (Hancock House Publishers: Surrey, BC.)

Dilustro, J. J. , Collins, B. S. , Duncan, L. K. , and Sharitz, R. R. (2002). Soil texture, land-use intensity, and vegetation of Fort Benning upland forest sites. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 129, 289–297.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Hone J. , and Pedersen H. (1980). Changes in a feral pig population after poisoning. In ‘Proceedings of the 9th Vertebrate Pest Conference’. (Ed. J. P. Clark.) pp. 176–182. (University of California: Davis, CA.)

Hone, J. , and Stone, C. P. (1989). A comparison and evaluation of feral pig management in two national parks. Wildlife Society Bulletin 17, 419–425.
Schuyler P. T. , Garcelon D. K. , and Escover S. (2002). Eradication of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) on Santa Catalina Island, California, USA. In ‘Turning the Tide: The Eradication of Invasive Species’. (Eds C. R. Veitch and M. N. Clout.) pp. 274–286. (IUCN SSC Invasive Species Group: Cambridge, UK.)

Sparklin, B. D. , Mitchell, M. S. , Hanson, L. B. , Jolley, D. B. , and Ditchkoff, S. S. (in press). Territoriality of feral pigs in a highly persecuted population on Fort Benning, Georgia. Journal of Wildlife Management. ,
White G. C. , and Cooch E. (2005). ‘Program MARK: A Gentle Introduction.’ 4th edn. (http://www.phidot.org/software/mark/docs/book/.)

Williams B. K. , Nichols J. D. , and Conroy M. J. (2002). ‘Analysis and Management of Animal Populations.’ (Academic Press: San Diego, CA.)