Introduced wild pigs affect the foraging ecology of a native predator as both prey and scavenger

Introduced species can disrupt trophic interactions by acting as novel predators, prey, or scavengers. Predicting impacts of these disruptions can be integral to conservation of native species and maintenance of ecological function, but it is challenging, especially for species involved in multiple trophic interactions. Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a widely introduced ungulate that can function as prey, predator, and scavenger, and disrupt ecosystems through many pathways. One underexplored avenue is how wild pigs alter predator-prey dynamics of mammalian carnivores. We explored how wild pigs affect cougar (Puma concolor) foraging ecology as both prey for cougars and scavengers of cougar kills. We monitored cougars in an area with wild pigs to evaluate impacts on cougar habitat selection, diet, and feeding behavior. We also monitored wild pigs scavenging at cougar kills to understand if scavenging by pigs affects cougar feeding behavior or kill rates. Habitat selection patterns indicated ..., , # Introduced wild pigs affect the foraging ecology of a native predator as both prey and scavengers

Metadata for the manuscript 'Introduced wild pigs affect the foraging ecology of a native predator' published in Wildlife Biology by MA Parsons, JA Dellinger, KC Vercauteren, JV Lombardi, and JK Young.

The data and R code provided (within the main folder: Parsons-et-al_Pigs-affect-cougar-foraging.zip) here can be used to recreate all results from this manuscript. The data files included several raster layers of topographic and landcover variables, photo data from a camera grid, cougar kill site information, photo data from camera-monitored cougar kills, and cougar scat analysis data.

The R scripts conduct all analyses, including estimating the density of deer and pigs, analyzing cougar diet based on kill sites and scat, conducting a step selection analysis of cougar GPS collar data, conducting a resource selection function of cougar kill sites, and analyzing the effects of pig scavengi...,