Skewes Oscar, Kambas Annaluisa, Gädicke Paula, Keuling Oliver
Facultad Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán, Chile.
Institute for Terrestrial and Aquatic Wildlife Research, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
PeerJ. 2025 Feb 17;13:e18951. doi: 10.7717/peerj.18951. eCollection 2025.
As is an invasive species in South America, it may have a significant impact on biodiversity. Evaluating this threat requires reliable data, and population density can serve as a critical measure. However, such data is currently lacking for the southern Andes region. To address this gap, we monitored wild boar density in the Villarrica National Park, located in the Andes of south-central Chile. This study area is notable not only for its challenging climatic conditions but also for its endangered forest, which provides abundant food resources during autumn seed fall. The density calculated for the entire study period was 1.4 individuals/km, with no significant variation between cold and warm seasons. The encounter rate showed strongly monthly variations. Given that this represents the first density estimate for wild boar in this region, our findings emphasize the need for continued monitoring, particularly due to the potential threat to the ecosystem and the already endangered Araucaria forest.
由于野猪在南美洲是入侵物种，它可能会对生物多样性产生重大影响。评估这种威胁需要可靠的数据，而种群密度可以作为一项关键指标。然而，目前中南部安第斯山脉地区缺乏此类数据。为填补这一空白，我们对位于智利中南部安第斯山脉的比利亚里卡国家公园的野猪密度进行了监测。该研究区域不仅因其具有挑战性的气候条件而引人注目，还因其濒危森林而闻名，这片森林在秋季种子掉落期间提供了丰富的食物资源。整个研究期间计算得出的密度为每平方公里1.4只个体，寒冷季节和温暖季节之间没有显著差异。遭遇率呈现出强烈的月度变化。鉴于这是该地区野猪的首次密度估计，我们的研究结果强调了持续监测的必要性，特别是考虑到对生态系统的潜在威胁以及已经濒危的南洋杉森林。
