Factors Affecting Space Use by Wild Boars in High-Altitude Tropical Forests

The wild boar (Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758) is considered one of the 100 worst invasive species in the world and is present in the high-elevation forests in Brazil. Our objective was to understand how landscape and atmospheric conditions affect space use by wild boars. We hypothesized that wild boars would be more frequent at lower elevations, warmer and wetter forested areas, and away from human disturbances. After three years of data collection (2013–2016) using 16 camera traps, 881 independent records were obtained with a mean of 4.44 ± 9.25 pigs per record. Wild boar frequency of occurrence was higher at lower elevations, in more humid and warmer areas, and farther away human disturbance factors, corroborating our initial hypothesis. Understanding space-use patterns of wild boars is necessary for the design of management strategies that target areas of more intense usage, as well as for defining more effective population-control techniques.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author