Effects of hunting and trapping on wild boar (Sus scrofa) ecology in Alberta
The objectives of this research are to understand how movement, dispersal, and habitat selection of wild boar (Sus scrofa) may change across differing management practices in Alberta, and to observe whether these behavioural changes result in an increase in reproduction. In collaboration with Alberta Agriculture and the University of Calgary, wild boar will be GPS collared in 4 differing management areas: hunting, no hunting, trapping, and no trapping areas. Movements resulting in habitat selection will be modelled using resource selection functions and integrated step selection analysis. Camera trapping grids placed within the home range of collared pigs will be used to monitor frequency of reproduction and litter size in sounders across differing management practices.