Large vertebrates are rarely considered important drivers of conspecific negative density-dependent mortality (CNDD) in plants because they are generalist consumers. However, disturbances like ...trampling and nesting also cause plant mortality, and their impact on plant diversity depends on the spatial overlap between wildlife habitat preferences and plant species composition. We studied the impact of native wildlife on a hyperdiverse tree community in Malaysia. Pigs (
) are abnormally abundant at the site due to food subsidies in nearby farmland and they construct birthing nests using hundreds of tree saplings. We tagged 34 950 tree saplings in a 25 ha plot during an initial census and assessed the source mortality by recovering tree tags from pig nests (
= 1672 pig-induced deaths). At the stand scale, pigs nested in flat dry habitats, and at the local neighbourhood scale, they nested within clumps of saplings, both of which are intuitive for safe and efficient nest building. At the stand scale, flat dry habitats contained higher sapling densities and higher proportions of common species, so pig nesting increased the weighted average species evenness across habitats. At the neighbourhood scale, pig-induced sapling mortality was associated with higher heterospecific and especially conspecific sapling densities. Tree species have clumped distributions due to dispersal limitation and habitat filtering, so pig disturbances in sapling clumps indirectly caused CNDD. As a result, Pielou species evenness in 400 m
quadrats increased 105% more in areas with pig-induced deaths than areas without disturbances. Wildlife induced CNDD and this supported tree species evenness, but they also drove a 62% decline in sapling densities from 1996 to 2010, which is unsustainable. We suspect pig nesting is an important feature shaping tree composition throughout the region.
The goal of the study was to examine the effect of age and sex on the quality of wild boar offal and meat. A number of 32 hunt-harvested animals was assigned to groups according to age (juveniles and ...sub-adults) and sex. The quality of offal (liver, kidneys, heart and tongue) and
was examined. The pH value of
ranged from 5.45 to 5.88. The highest pH was recorded in the kidney and the liver (6.32-6.54 and 6.12-6.31). The meat in the group of juveniles was brighter (
= 0.042), yellower (
= 0.039), showed a greater drip loss (
= 0.007), cooking loss (
= 0.039), and plasticity (
= 0.028), compared to the sub-adults. The extractable fat content in the
and offal (
= 0.004), and water to crude protein ratio (
= 0.033), also differed between age groups. The results of the study show different quality attributes of offal and meat of wild boars from two age groups. The obtained quality measures suggest that the culinary and technological usefulness of offal and meat from the wild boars may differ according to the age of hunted animals.
To fulfill epidemiological data and investigate possible interspecies transmission, this study shall attempt to sequence representative HEV strains of human, swine and wild boar origin collected from ...2010 to 2017 in Croatia.
In total, 174 anti-HEV antibody positive human sera samples; 1419 blood or faeces samples of swine, as well as 720 tissue and/or blood samples of wild boar originating from different counties (18 in total) in Croatia were tested for the presence of HEV RNA.
HEV RNA was detected in 26 human sera samples (14.9%; 95% CI 10.4-21.0%). HEV RNA was detected in 216 tested swine (15.2%; 95% CI 13.5-17.1%), regardless of age, farm breeding system or geographical origin. Viral RNA was also detectable in faeces samples which prove that swine actively participate in shedding HEV into the environment. Of the total of 720 tested wild boar samples, 83 were HEV RNA positive (11.5, 95% CI 9.4-14.1%) originating from six counties. According to the sequence analysis all strains have shown to be members of Orthohepevirus A genotype HEV-3, regardless of host. The genotyping results confirm grouping of sequences into four subtypes of HEV strains of which subtypes 3a and 3c belong to the general cluster 3abchij, and were predominately detected during the study, while subtypes 3e and 3f fall within cluster 3efg. Strains within subtypes 3a and 3e were found in humans, swine and wild boars; subtype 3c strains were derived from humans and swine, whereas subtype 3f strains were found only in humans. Strains belonging to subtypes 3a and 3c were derived during the entire investigated period and may be considered endemic in Croatia, whereas strains within subtypes 3e and 3f were detected sporadically indicating the possibility of newly imported infections.
All detected strains show to be genetically highly related to strains found in humans and/or animals from other European Countries, indicating that trade of live animals or wild boar movement increases the risk of HEV infection spread. Furthermore, homologous strains found in different investigated species within this study indicate interspecies transmission of HEV and/or an existence of an accessible mutual source of infection.
The species of the genus Trichinella are etiological agents distributed all over the world and are able to infect mammals, birds, and reptiles. Trichinella spiralis is the species most adapted to ...domestic and wild pigs and is also the most important etiological agent of trichinellosis. The wild boar (Sus scrofa ) is a nocturnal omnivorous mammal belonging to the Suidae family. S. scrofa has a great appetite and its diet includes a variety of small prey such as mice, rats, and other rodents, as well as carcasses of larger animals. The aim of this study was the identification and the molecular characterization of Trichinella larvae isolated from the muscle tissue of S. scrofa specimens collected in different counties of Romania. The muscle samples were examined by artificial digestion and the larvae identified at the species level by multiplex PCR. T. spiralis , a species that is able to infect a considerable number of different host species including humans, was identified. In Romania, S. scrofa is an important reservoir species for T. spiralis and plays an important role in linking the domestic and the wild cycle of Trichinella , with serious repercussions for human health.
Paratuberculosis, or Johne’s disease, caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), is a chronic granulomatous enteritis affecting both domestic and wild ruminants. The agent was also ...found in wild mammals such as wild boar (Sus scrofa ); however, the role of wild mammals in the epidemiology of MAP is unclear. During the research period, 941 free-ranging wild boar (S. scrofa ) legally hunted in two locations in the central–eastern region of Portugal were examined. Ninety-seven wild boars exhibited one or more gross lesions and were tested for the presence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis using acid-fast staining, mycobacterial culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and histopathological examination. Forty-five animals (46.4%, 95% CI: 36.5–56.3%) were identified as infected, as indicated by positive results in culture and/or PCR. The findings revealed that the most significant risk factor was being a juvenile compared to yearlings and adults (OR = 10.2, 95% CI: 2.2–48.0). Based on our results, 37.9% (n = 11) of the infected animals were considered suitable for human consumption. Our findings offer novel insights into mycobacterial infections in wild boar populations in Portugal and suggest that wild boar could be a source of human infection if zoonotic potential is considered.
•Grubbing increased the relative abundance of bacterivores and the maturity index (MI).•Grubbing decreased the relative abundance of plant parasites.•Grubbing weakened the effects of seasonal ...variations on soil nematode communities.
Soil disturbances caused by large animals impact soil biodiversity and potentially alter forest ecosystem functioning and productivity. However, most studies have focused on the effects of wild boar infestations on above-ground vegetation and soil physical and chemical properties. Little is known about the influence of wild boar grubbing on the soil faunal community within forested ecosystems. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted a long-term (10-year) exclosure experiment to investigate the responses of soil nematode communities to wild boar grubbing and seasonal variations in a broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountain, China. The results indicated that wild boar grubbing did not significantly impact soil nematode abundance, genus richness, diversity indices (Shannon-Wiener diversity index, Simpson index, and evenness index), and ecological indices (enrichment index, channel index, structural index, and basal index). However, we observed that grubbing reduced the relative abundance of plant parasites while increased that of bacterivores and the maturity index (MI), leading to changes in nematode community composition. Notably, the influence of grubbing was more pronounced in the spring than in the autumn. Although season itself did not significantly affect soil nematode genus richness and diversity indices, it did affect soil nematode relative abundance, bacterivores, omnivores-predators, plant parasites, K-strategistis, r-strategistis, MI, enrichment index, and channel index. Long-term wild boar grubbing appeared to mitigate seasonal effects on soil nematode communities, resulting in higher MI and increased stability in nematode community abundance. Our findings suggest that changes in soil parameters, such as soil NH4+, soil pH, and soil NO3–, likely mediate the observed impact of wild boars on the soil nematode community. In summary, our study demonstrated that wild boar grubbing altered the structure of soil nematode communities, albeit with seasonal variations, indicating that the effects of wild boar activity on forest soil ecosystems influence biogeochemical cycles through changes in nematode community composition rather than nematode genera richness.
The chemical composition of wild boar meat from wild boar parks with various habitats and different feeding facilities was analysed. Samples were collected from m. serratus anterior – during the ...winter hunting period. The protein, the total fat, the saturated and unsaturated fatty acid content were measured and also and those elements which have great importance on human alimentation. The results were compared with other author’s data of the same parameters of pork. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of different feeding systems on the ingredients of wild boar meat, and the accidental analogy with the ingredients of pork. There was no difference in protein content. The value of miristic acid (C14:0) in the samples of extensively and intensively fed group was more favourable than that of pork. Pork contains more MUFA (palmitoleic acid – C16:1). The semi-intensively fed wild boar’s meat and pork contained linoleic acid (C18:3 n3) almost on the same level. The greatest difference was detected in the level of arachidonic acid (C20:4 n6). The samples from all wild boar groups contained more of this fatty acid than it was published about domestic pigs. Out of the microelements, the iodine and zinc had higher value in wild boar meat than in pork.
The aim of the study was to outline some data about the morphology of the pathological wild boar articular cartilage. The study was carried out on articular cartilage samples from wild boar femoral ...head and condyles, 1 - 10 years old. The samples were processed and stained by usual histological techniques. The samples examination revealed different stages of articular cartilage injury and various morphological aspects that suggest the degenerative joint disease (DJD) occurrence. The chondrocyte clones, the extracellular matrix alteration, the cartilage fissures, the cartilage erosions and the subchondral bone exposure were the observed morphopathological aspects. These aspects are the specific pathological lesions for DJD, as described in the specialized literature for other species.
We investigated the prevalence of porcine circovirus 2 (PCV2) and 3 (PCV3) in wild boars captured or found dead in Nagano Prefecture in 2020. Based on PCR testing, 21 of 254 (8.3%) wild boars were ...PCV2-positive and 43 of 256 (16.8%) wild boars were PCV3-positive, 5 of 253 (2.0%) wild boars were both PCV2-positive and PCV3-positive. The frequency of detecting PCV3 in wild boars was significantly higher in adults than in juveniles (P=0.014). The PCV2-positive wild boars were found in all districts except for the North Alps and Hokushin, while PCV3-positive wild boars were found in all districts except for Suwa. This is the first report of PCV2 and PCV3 detected in wild boars in Japan.
Peaton virus (PEAV) is a type of arthropod-borne virus similar to Akabane virus (AKAV), belonging to the genus Orthobunyavirus. AKAV infection is common in cattle, but previous reports have suggested ...that pigs may play a role in transmission cycle. In addition, antibodies against AKAV were detected in wild boars (Sus scrofa). By contrast, PEAV could infect cattle and pigs, but it remains unknown whether PEAV infects wild boars. This study aimed to reveal the possibility of PEAV infection in wild boars by conducting a serological survey. Consequently, the seropositive rate of PEAV was 26.5% in 264 free-living wild boars in Ehime Prefecture, Japan. This is the first study to report the detection of antibodies against PEAV in wild boars.
PDF
