U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Document Type
Article
Date of this Version
2022
Citation
Biol Invasions (2022) 24:1453–1463
doi:10.1007/s10530-022-02731-
Abstract
Invasive wild pig populations have undergone enormous increases in the United States and particularly across the southern U.S. in recent years. High fecundity rates and abilities to adapt quickly to varied habitats have enabled pig populations to become entrenched and difficult to eliminate. The pigs cause many negative impacts on ecosystems including degradation of water quality through infusion of fecal contamination and other non-point source pollutants. Our goal was to determine the effects of pig removal on water quality in streams that were known to be significantly polluted by pig activity Bolds (J Environ Qual 50: 441–453, 2021). We compared e. coli and fecal coliform concentrations and loads in streams between a pre-removal period with those that occurred during the removal activities. Results suggest that e. coli and fecal coliform concentrations were reduced by 75 and 50% respectively through pig removal efforts. Questions remain concerning the longevity of the reduction especially once pig removal activities decrease in intensity.
Included in
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Other Veterinary Medicine Commons, Population Biology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Veterinary Infectious Diseases Commons, Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Commons, Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health Commons, Zoology Commons
Comments
U.S. government work