1st Edition

Invasive Wild Pigs in North America Ecology, Impacts, and Management

    496 Pages 88 Color & 37 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    496 Pages 88 Color & 37 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    496 Pages 88 Color & 37 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Throughout North America, non-native wild pigs have become an ecologically and economically destructive invasive species. Though they are regarded as a popular game species by some, provide economic benefits to others, and are even engrained into societal heritage in some areas, wild pigs are responsible for an extraordinary amount of damage in both natural and anthropogenic systems throughout North America. As the density and range of wild pig habitat have substantially increased over the last several decades, the magnitude and diversity of their negative impacts are not yet fully realized or quantified. With various conflicts continually emerging, wild pig management is difficult and expensive to achieve. As a result, wild pigs represent one of the greatest wildlife management challenges North America faces in the 21st century.

    Invasive Wild Pigs in North America: Ecology, Impacts, and Management addresses all aspects of wild pig biology, ecology, damage, and management in a single comprehensive volume. It assimilates and organizes information on the most destructive introduced vertebrate species in the United States, establishing a foundation from which managers, researchers, policy makers, and other stakeholders can build upon into the future. The book provides comprehensive coverage of wild pig biology and ecology, techniques for management and research, and regional chapters. It is an asset to readers interested in wild pigs, the resources they impact, and how to mitigate those impacts, and establishes a vision of the future of wild pigs in North America.

    Features:

    • Compiles valuable knowledge for a broad audience including wild pig managers, researchers, adversaries, and enthusiasts from across North America
    • Addresses taxonomy, morphology, genetics, physiology, spatial ecology, population dynamics, diseases and parasites, and the naturalized niche of wild pigs
    • Includes chapters on damage to resources, management, research methods, human dimensions and education, and policy and legislation
    • Contains full color images and case studies of interesting and informative situations being created by wild pigs throughout North America
    • Includes a chapter on wild pigs at the wildland–urban interface, a more recent and especially challenging issue

    Foreword: The Dilemma with Wild Pigs in North America

    Acknowledgments

    Editors

    Contributors

    Chapter 1 Introduction

    Kurt C. VerCauteren, John J. Mayer, James C. Beasley, Stephen S. Ditchkoff, Gary J. Roloff, and Bronson K. Strickland

    Chapter 2 Wild Pig Taxonomy, Morphology, Genetics, and Physiology

    John J. Mayer, Timothy J. Smyser, Antoinette J. Piaggio, and Stam M. Zervanos

    Chapter 3 Wild Pig Spatial Ecology and Behavior

    Steven M. Gray, Gary J. Roloff, Robert A. Montgomery, James C. Beasley, and Kim M. Pepin

    Chapter 4 Wild Pig Population Dynamics

    Nathan P. Snow, Ryan S. Miller, James C. Beasley, and Kim M. Pepin

    Chapter 5 Diseases and Parasites That Impact Wild Pigs and Species They Contact

    Joseph L. Corn and Michael J. Yabsley

    Chapter 6 The Naturalized Niche of Wild Pigs in North America

    Peter E. Schlichting, James C. Beasley, and Kurt C. VerCauteren

    Chapter 7 Wild Pig Damage to Resources

    Bronson K. Strickland, Mark D. Smith, and Andrew L. Smith

    Chapter 8 Management of Wild Pigs

    Stephen S. Ditchkoff and Michael J. Bodenchuk

    Chapter 9 Research Methods for Wild Pigs

    James C. Beasley, Michael J. Lavelle, David A. Keiter, Kim M. Pepin, Antoinette J. Piaggio, John C. Kilgo, and Kurt C. VerCauteren

    Chapter 10 Human Dimensions and Education Associated with Wild Pigs in North America

    Michael T. Mengak and Craig A. Miller

    Chapter 11 Wild Pig Policy and Legislation

    Andrew L. Smith

    Chapter 12 Wild Pigs in Western North America

    Michael P. Glow, John J. Mayer, Bethany A. Friesenhahn, and Kurt C. VerCauteren

    Chapter 13 Wild Pigs in North-Central North America

    Ryan K. Brook and Michael P. Glow

    Chapter 14 Wild Pigs in Northeastern North America

    Dwayne R. Etter, Melissa Nichols, and Karmen M. Hollis-Etter

    Chapter 15 Wild Pigs in South-Central North America

    Joshua A. Gaskamp, James C. Cathey, Billy Higginbotham, and Michael J. Bodenchuk

    Chapter 16 Wild Pigs in Southeastern North America

    John J. Mayer, James C. Beasley, Raoul K. Boughton, and Stephen S. Ditchkoff

    Chapter 17 Wild Pigs in the Pacific Islands

    Steven C. Hess, Nathaniel H. Wehr, and Creighton M. Litton

    Chapter 18 Wild Pigs in Mexico and the Caribbean

    J. Alfonso Ortega-S, Johanna Delgado-Acevedo, Jorge G. Villarreal-González, Rafael Borroto-Páez, and Roberto Tamez-González

    Chapter 19 Wild Pig Populations along the Urban Gradient

    Jesse S. Lewis, Kurt C. VerCauteren, Robert M. Denkhaus, and John J. Mayer

    Chapter 20 The Future of Wild Pigs in North America

    Stephen S. Ditchkoff, James C. Beasley, John J. Mayer, Gary J. Roloff, Bronson K. Strickland, and Kurt C. VerCauteren

    Index

    Biography

    Kurt C. VerCauteren, John J. Mayer, Bronson K. Strickland