Zakład Badania Ssaków Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Białowieża
Wild boar (Sus scrofa) - Socio-spatial structure, mating system and kinship from Bialowieza Primeval Forest
Research team
Team leader: prof. dr Bogumiła Jędrzejewska
Mammal Research Institute:
Prof. dr Bogumiła Jędrzejewska
Prof. dr Włodzimierz Jędrzejewski
Tomasz Podgórski
Leif Soennichsen
Outside participants:
Prof. dr Cino Pertoldi
Department of Biological Sciences, Ecology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Dr Joris P.G.M. Cromsigt
Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo, Norway
Prof. dr Henryk Okarma
Institute for Nature Protection Polish Academy of Sciences, Kraków, Poland
Contact person:
Tomasz Podgórski
Phone: office: 48 85 682 77 64, mobile: 48 668 205 431
Background to the research
The high variety of mammalian social and mating systems are an expression of the interaction between ecological factors (e.g. spatial and temporal availability of resources, predator densities) and species specific characteristics (mobility, susceptibility to predation, foraging strategy, parental care type, age at sexual maturity).
Until recently, mainly direct observations and radio-telemetry have been used to study ungulate's social and mating systems. These methods have considerable limitations in studying social interactions of forest dwelling and/or nocturnal species. Recent advances in molecular techniques provide a powerful tool to broaden and revise our knowledge on social organization by allowing information about kinship relations to be added to behavioral data.
Wild boar social organization is believed to be based on matrilineal groups of few adult females, their offspring and subadults. Adult males are solitary and may join groups during the rut. However, knowledge on relatedness of individuals within and among the groups and their spatial relationships is very limited. For the first time, we will combine behavioral (obtained from telemetry) and genetic (kinship) data to get a better insight in the social organization, mating strategies and reproductive success of this species. Additionally, the wild boar population in Bialowieza Primeval Forest reaches high densities, undergoes large fluctuations of population numbers and is not hunted (in the National Park), and therefore largely shaped by natural factors (food abundance, climatic conditions, and predation). This offers an excellent opportunity to investigate the influence of ecological factors and varying population density on socio-spatial organization.
Goals and assumptions
We want to answer the following questions:
- What is the degree of relatedness of individuals within and among the groups and how does it influence the spatial behavior of individuals as well as groups?
- How do family groups of wild boar form, how long do they last, and what is the exchange of individuals between them?
- What influences mating strategies and success of both males and females (e.g. age, body mass, home range size)?
- What is the rate and range of dispersal of different age/sex classes and what factors drive dispersal?
- How do changes in food availability and population density affect social structure, space use and dispersal/migration?
Methods
- trapping (box traps and drop-net traps) in order to collect genetic samples and fit animals with radio ear-tags
- radio-telemetry
- density estimates (pellet group counts on transects, drive counts)
- food abundance estimates (sampling of vegetation biomass and acorn crop as a proxy of food resources)
- genetic analyses of relatedness and genetic structure of population
Relevant reading material
- Boitani L., Mattei L., Nonis D., Corsi F. 1994. Spatial and activity patterns of wild boars in Tuscany, Italy. Journal of Mammalogy 75: 600 - 612.
- Coltman D.W., Bancroft D.R., Robertson A., Smith J.A., Clutton-Brock T.H., Pemberton J.M. 1999. Male reproductive success in a promiscuous mammal: behavioural estimates compared with genetic paternity. Molecular Ecology 8: 1199 - 1209.
- Delgado R., Fernandez-Llario P., Azevedo M., Beja-Pereira A., Santos P. 2008. Paternity assessment in free-ranging wild boar (Sus scrofa) - Are littermates full-sibs? Mammalian Biology 73: 169 - 176.
- Gabor T.H., Hellgren E.C., Van Den Bussche R.A., Silvy N.J. 1999. Demography, sociospatial behaviour and genetics of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) in a semi - arid environment. Journal of Zoology 247: 311 - 322.
- Kaminski G., Brandt S., Baubet. E., Baudoin C. 2005. Life-history patterns in female wild boar (Sus scrofa): mother-daughter postweaning associations. Canadian Journal of Zoology 83: 474-480.
- Massei G., Genov P.V., Staines B.W., Gorman M.L. 1997. Factors influencing home range and activity of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a Mediterranean coastal area. Journal of Zoology 242: 411 - 423.
Volunteers
Number of volunteers required per year: 10 (≥ 2months stay)
Work volunteers would perform: radio-tracking, pellet group counts on transects, biomass and acorn crop sample collecting, data entering in the computer, basic data processing and analysis
Requirements:
Field work requires good physical condition (bicycling and hiking over sometimes rough roads), resistance to harsh weather conditions and ability to work independently (also in the night). Working time is 40 hours/week. Driving license is highly desirable.
Other information for volunteers
On account of relatively long introductory period (learning the methods, getting to know the area) we accept volunteers only for at least a two months stay.
Potential graduate/post-graduate research
Next to the volunteer work above, there is also room for more independent BSc or MSc projects (> 5 months). These projects should be related to above-described research project but can focus on important aspects of Wild Boar ecology that are not directly covered by above project. Students have room to develop their own project under guidance of the mentioned research team. Potential opportunities are in the following areas:
- activity patterns of wild boar (daily activity and distance traveled, seasonal changes and sex/age related differences)
- space use patterns of wild boar (home range size and overlap of different sex/age classes and family groups, seasonal and sex/age related differences)
- influence of population density on space use and activity patterns
- functional role of wild boar in forest ecosystem.