Preliminary data on the diet of wild boar living in a mediterranean coastal wetland.

Abstract

In the last two decades, a wild boar population became established in the Natural Park of Aïguamolls de l’Empordà, a coastal wetland of the West Mediterranean (Catalonia, Spain). As part of a monitoring program in this area, the stomach contents of 38 animals were analysed to determine the diet of the species, to determine its degree of dependence on surrounding agricultural areas, and to identify the possible consumption of endangered species, such as some ground-nesting birds. The results suggest the wild boar population in the area had a diverse diet, in which the main food items were plants (92% of total volume) and, particularly (66%), the aboveground parts. Agricultural resources represented 49% and underground non-agricultural resources were 26%. Animal matter represented only 8% of total volume, but it appeared in more than 80% of the stomachs examined. In our sample, most were birds (4.9% by volume, > 30% by frequency) and American crab Procambarus clarkii, an introduced haloctonous species (1% by volume, 35% by frequency). Seasonal variation in the diet was reflected in shifts between aboveground (mainly agricultural) and belowground parts of plants, and the latter represents the wild boar diet in periods of food scarcity. In the study area, between July and October, wild boars depend heavily on agricultural compounds growing near the coastal wetland. The wild boar appears to have a potentially important impact on both plant and animal wetland communities.