The influence of environmental and physiological factors on the litter size of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in an agriculture dominated area in Germany

Abstract

The wild boar population has increased enormously in all of Europe over the last decades and caused problems like crop damage, transmission of diseases, and vehicle accidents. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the underlying causes of this increase in order to be able to manage populations effectively. The purpose of this study was to analyse how environmental (food and climate) and physiological factors (maternal weight and age) as well as hunting and population density influence the litter size of wild boar populations in Northern Germany. The mean litter size in the studied population for the whole period was 6.6 (range 1–12), which is one of the highest in all of Europe. Litter size was positively influenced by maternal body weight, higher mast yield of oak as well as higher temperature in combination with higher precipitation in summer. Only higher temperature or only higher precipitation in summer however had a negative effect on litter size production. Probably,weather and food conditions act via maternal bodyweight on the litter size variation in wild boar. Hunting as well a s population density did not affect the litter size variation in this study which might indicate that wild boar population did not reach carrying capacity yet.

Keywords: Hunting; Mast years; Nutritional condition; Population density; Reproduction; Weather and climate condition.