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Estimating Feral Swine Abundance And Their Effects On Native Wildlife In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Matthew Ryan Ivey
Estimating Feral Swine Abundance And Their Effects On Native Wildlife In The Mississippi Alluvial Valley, Matthew Ryan Ivey
Theses and Dissertations
Feral swine (Sus scrofa) are an invasive species in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). They cause millions in damage annually to agriculture, and likely negatively affect native wildlife species. Using camera traps, I monitored 36 forest patches within the MAV to assess the effects of swine invasions on native wildlife species richness. I also modified the double-observer point count technique into a new method for estimating swine abundance with camera traps. Feral swine suppressed native vertebrate richness by 26% when compared to uninvaded patches. I validated the new double-observer technique by determining if it could detect an abundance-area relationship in …