Supplementary Material.docx

This Data set is used in a study that analyze the Signs of foraging by wild boar as an indication of disturbance to ground-nesting birds. Wild boar (<em>Sus scrofa</em>) population increases have been spectacular in many countries including France. Wild boars can have a substantial environmental effect on many ecosystem components including birds, but indicators to monitor such effect are currently lacking. We examined the usefulness of monitoring the wild boar foraging traces resulting from rooting behaviour to evaluate wild boar disturbance on ground-nesting birds and developed a simple indicator of kilometric foraging (Ikf). This study measured the effect of wild boar on bird abundances, taking into account vegetation characteristics. Using standardized spot-counts, we found that ground-nesting bird abundances were negatively correlated to Ikf. Our results showed a significant decrease of 45% in ground-nesting bird abundances in areas strongly foraged and disturbed by wild boars. By contrast, abundances of birds depending on ground or trees for food resources, but nesting out of reach of wild boars, were not correlated to rooting behaviour traces. We thus conclude that Ikf may be a simple and suitable indicator that can be used at large scales by managers to monitor wild boar potential disturbance and ecological footprint on ground-nesting birds and other taxa. Further studies are needed to test and validate this new indicator in other areas than the Sainte-Baume Regional Park. The Data set is used in a study that analyze the Signs of foraging by wild boar as an indication of disturbance to ground-nesting birds the Data set is used in a study that analyze the Signs of foraging by wild boar as an indication of disturbance to ground-nesting birds. Wild boar (<em>Sus scrofa</em>) population increases have been spectacular in many countries including France. Wild boars can have a substantial environmental effect on many ecosystem components including birds, but indicators to monitor such effect are currently lacking. We examined the usefulness of monitoring the wild boar foraging traces resulting from rooting behaviour to evaluate wild boar disturbance on ground-nesting birds and developed a simple indicator of kilometric foraging (Ikf). This study measured the effect of wild boar on bird abundances, taking into account vegetation characteristics. Using standardized spot-counts, we found that ground-nesting bird abundances were negatively correlated to Ikf. Our results showed a significant decrease of 45% in ground-nesting bird abundances in areas strongly foraged and disturbed by wild boars. By contrast, abundances of birds depending on ground or trees for food resources, but nesting out of reach of wild boars, were not correlated to rooting behaviour traces. We thus conclude that Ikf may be a simple and suitable indicator that can be used at large scales by managers to monitor wild boar potential disturbance and ecological footprint on ground-nesting birds and other taxa. Further studies are needed to test and validate this new indicator in other areas than the Sainte-Baume Regional Park.