Spatiotemporal Effects of Supplementary Feeding of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) on Artificial Ground Nest Depredation

PLoS One. 2015 Aug 5;10(8):e0135254. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135254. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Supplementary feeding of ungulates, being widely used in game management, may have unwanted consequences. Its role in agricultural damage is well-studied, but few studies have considered the potential for the practice to attract ground nest predators. Our goal was to identify the factors influencing ground nest predation in the vicinity of year-round supplementary feeding sites for wild boar and to characterise their spatiotemporal scope. We conducted two separate artificial ground nest experiments in five different hunting districts in south-eastern Estonia. The quantity of food provided and distance of a nest from the feeding site were the most important factors determining predation risk. Larger quantities of food resulted in higher predation risk, while predation risk responded in a non-linear fashion to distance from the feeding site. Although predation risk eventually decreases if supplementary feeding is ceased for at least four years, recently abandoned feeding sites still pose a high predation risk.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ecosystem
  • Estonia
  • Feeding Behavior / physiology*
  • Geography
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Nesting Behavior / physiology*
  • Predatory Behavior / physiology*
  • Risk Assessment / methods
  • Risk Factors
  • Sus scrofa / physiology*
  • Time Factors

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Estonian Research Council (grant IUT-2032; www.etag.ee), and from the Environmental Investment Centre (www.kik.ee). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.