Body mass measurements of wild boar from two French populations

Despite the importance of body growth in shaping life history tactics and
population dynamics, exploring individual growth trajectories in the wild
remains challenging. Here, we quantified wild boar growth trajectories at
both the population and the individual levels using standard growth models
(i.e. Gompertz, logistic, and monomolecular models) that encompass the
expected range of growth shapes. According to current theories of life
history evolution, we expect wild boar to display a sex-specific Gompertz
type growth trajectory and lower size dimorphism in the poorer
environment. While wild boar displayed the expected Gompertz type
trajectory in the rich site at the population level, we found differences
in growth shapes between the two populations and among individuals within
each population. Asymptotic body mass, growth rate and timing of maximum
growth rate differed as well, indicating a high flexibility of growth
trajectories in wild boar. In addition, we found a cohort effect on
asymptotic body mass suggesting that environmental conditions early in
life shape body mass at adulthood. Our findings demonstrate that body
growth trajectories in wild boar are context-, sex- and cohort-specific,
differing between populations and among individuals within a population.