Being
a guest in this beautiful and interesting country I really enjoy looking up
what information I can find about Australia.
This blog provides me with a good excuse to google different species. One of the frequent animals I have come across
when searching for examples of invasive or introduced species into the region
is the feral pig so I decided to finally look into the topic a bit more and
make it my blog for the week.
The
word feral is simply referring to something non-domesticated or wild. The feral pig found in Australia was
originally brought to Australia by early European settlers in the 1800’s and by
1880 had escaped their confinements establishing a wild population that then
spread (Environment and Heritage 2011).
According to Environment and Heritage (2011) the feral pig currently
covers and estimated 38% of Australia.
Figure
1: Feral Pig Figure 2: Distribution of feral pig
in Australia
As
the theme of this blog goes, the introduced feral pig of Australia brings its
own effects on the ecosystem affecting native biodiversity and fragile soil
among others. According to NSW
Department of Primary Industries (2012) “feral pigs are listed as a Key
Threatening Process due to predation, habitat, degradation, competition and
disease transmission”.
A
study conducted by Doupé et al. in 2008 provided an example of how the presence
of feral pigs can alter habitat and drive away species such as freshwater
turtles who depend on that habitat.
Feral pigs are dependent on areas with water, shelter from the heat and
abundant food source (NSW Department of Primary Industries 2012). The area studied provided all these resources
for the pigs making the location ideal for foraging. Once the feral pigs were in the area they
uprooted soil systems, damaged macrophyte communities, altered the water
chemistry and clarity, created areas of more bare ground and contributed to the
enrichment of nutrients via their waste (Doupé et. al 2008). After tracking the turtles, feral pigs, and the
changes taking place they found that two of the turtles in the study had
relocated to a nearby river, one of the turtles had joined another solo turtle
in the other lagoon being monitored while the rest disappeared and assumed to
have either relocated beyond the parameters of the study or were predated upon
either by the feral pigs themselves or another predator (Doupé et. al
2008). This is just one example of how
the presence of this feral species can affect the communities in which they choose
to roam.
Below
is an example of how easily they can uproot soil and alter habitat.
Figure
3: Mud holes created by feral pigs
Being
that the “feral pigs are declared pest animals under the Rural Lands Protection
Act 1988” it is illegal to keep or
transport these animals and is required of land owners to take action (NSW
Department of Primary Industries 2012).
Methods for control and removal of these animals are shooting the pigs,
fencing, and/or bait traps and the method chosen depends on the situation and
location keeping in mind general safety and care to not harm any native species
in the process (Animal Control Technologies 2013).
References:
Animal Control Technologies,
2014, Animal Control Technologies, Victoria, viewed 2 May 2014, < http://www.animalcontrol.com.au/pig.htm>
Doupé, R.G. et. Al, 2008, An example of freshwater turtle habitat
destruction by foraging feral pigs in tropical north-eastern Australia,
Australian Centre for Tropical Freshwater Research, Townsville, viewed 2 May
2014, < http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCoQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fresearch.jcu.edu.au%2Fresearch%2Ftropwater%2Fresources%2F08%252021%2520An%2520Example%2520of%2520Freshwater%2520Turtle%2520Habitat%2520Destruction%2520by%2520Foraging%2520Feral%2520Pigs%2520in%2520Tropical%2520North%2520Eastern%2520Australia%2520.pdf&ei=4_JkU9W0IIGGkAXUvIFY&usg=AFQjCNEOfq4HvN-mWSr6BfCJlu2hZeO5fg&sig2=03g-S9b4Gs0KHF0alm_zOA&bvm=bv.65788261,d.dGI>
Environment & Heritage,
2011, NSW Government, NSW, viewed 2 May 2014, < http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pestsweeds/FeralPigFactsheet.htm>
Primary Industries Agriculture,
2012, NSW Department of Primary Industries, viewed 2 May 2014, < http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/pests-weeds/vertebrate-pests/pest-animals-in-nsw/feral-pig-biology>
Picture Credit:
I didn’t realise that their distribution was so extensive! Is there any particular reason why they don’t seem to occur along the south coast or the interior? How long did Doupe et al. (2008) survey that particular site for? Did the researchers create an environment that would favour pigs entering it, or did they just choose a site that seemed to be favourable and had not yet been invaded by pigs? Interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe time period of the study mentioned ran from May to October of 2008. The study conducted looking at how the presence of the feral pigs effected the turtles was in continuation of a feral pig management study that had begun in 2007, therefore I believe the pigs were introduced to this area. I also believe the site was originally chosen for its favourable conditions to feral pigs. I have not come across any explanations as to why the feral pigs are not found along the south coast or interior but I would assume it has to do with the resource and food availability in those areas are not as abundant or favourable for the pigs.
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