Diet of invasive wild pigs in a landscape dominated by sugar cane plantations

Author(s)

Pedrosa, Felipe ^{[1, 2]} ; Berce, William ^[1] ; Costa, Vladimir Eliodoro ^[3] ; Levi, Taal ^[4] ; Galetti, Mauro ^{[5, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Inst Biociencias, Dept Biodiversidade, Rio Claro, SP - Brazil

^[2] Mao Na Mata Manejo & Solucoes Ambientais, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Estadual Paulista, UNESP, Inst Biociencias, Ctr Isotopos Estaveis, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[4] Oregon State Univ, Dept Fisheries & Wildlife, Corvallis, OR 97331 - USA

^[5] Univ Miami, Dept Biol, Coral Gables, FL 33124 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY; v. 102, n. 5, p. 1309-1317, OCT 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Understanding the mechanisms by which alien species become invasive can assure successful control programs and mitigate alien species' impacts. The distribution of invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) has been sharply expanding throughout all regions of Brazil in the last few years. Here we demonstrate that large monocultural plantations provide the primary resource subsidies to invasive wild pigs in Brazil. We analyzed 106 stomach contents and carbon stable isotopes (delta C-13) of 50 hair samples of wild pigs from a population inunersed in a landscape dominated by sugar cane agriculture. Stomach contents were dominated by corn (41%), sugarcane (28.5%), vegetal matter (all other vegetation besides crops, 27%), and animal matter (vertebrates and invertebrates, 4%). Bayesian mixing model analysis of delta C-13 showed that food sources from C-4 photosynthetic pathway (represented by corn and sugarcane) accounted for 94% of the long-term diet, while C-3 food sources for only 6.2%. Our results indicate that corn and sugar cane are subsidizing the diet of wild pigs and can facilitate the population growth of this invasive species. Given that Brazil is a major agricultural producer and a hotspot of biodiversity, it is extremely concerning that extensive agriculture may accelerate the expansion of this invasive species, resulting in economic losses and cascading effects on natural habitats. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/15436-7 - Isotope ecology of neotropical ungulates in face of feral pig invasion
• Grantee: Felipe Pedrosa Chagas
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• FAPESP's process: 15/18381-6 - Reversing defaunation or increasing ecological degradation? Invasion ecology of feral pigs Sus scrofa in a defaunated landscape
• Grantee: Felipe Pedrosa Chagas
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• FAPESP's process: 15/22844-1 - Diet of feral pig Sus scrofa in the region of Rio Claro, São Paulo
• Grantee: William Bercê da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 17/12925-0 - European wild boar distribution in Nahuel Huapi National Park
• Grantee: William Bercê da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• FAPESP's process: 14/50434-0 - Assessing ecosystem services of invasive fruits and frugivores
• Grantee: Mauro Galetti Rodrigues
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants