Data from: Impact of hunting modality on social contacts in wild boar populations across Europe

Variation in animal social interactions emerges from individual responses
to social and physical environments and plays a key role in shaping
pathogen transmission, gene flow, and information transfer. Although
hunting can induce changes in contact patterns through disruption of the
social environment, the non-consumptive effects of hunting have not
received much attention compared to the demographic effects of harvest. We
examined the effects of hunting activities on contact rates in wild boar,
a species particularly exposed to social disruptions owing to its high
sociality and intense management. Using GPS-telemetry data from 21
populations across Europe (435 unique dyads), we analysed how hunting
activities impact social contacts within and between wild boar groups
while accounting for confounders potentially shaping contact heterogeneity
(e.g., habitat productivity, population density, predation, seasonality,
individuals’ sex, and spatial proximity). We found that drive hunts, but
not individual hunts, lowered contact rates within wild boar
groups. Contact rates tended to be negatively related to drive hunts’
frequency. We did not observe the effect of hunting mode on contact rates
between members of different groups, which was mainly shaped by a positive
relationship with spatial proximity. Contact probability among females
from different groups was lower compared to male-male or mixed-sex dyads.
Our study showcases how hunting disturbance influences social contact
rates in a group-living wild mammal. Along with other biotic and abiotic
drivers, hunting modality plays a significant role in shaping intra-group,
but not inter-group, contacts. Reduced group cohesion induced by drive
hunts could negatively impact survival, foraging efficiency, and resource
utilization. Hunting management could mitigate those negative impacts by
spatially spreading driven areas throughout the season and targeting
different groups each time. Our results suggest that hunting disturbances
should not enhance disease spread through increased inter-group contacts.
Yet, hunting-induced escape movements could still pose a risk of
transmission into new areas. Inter-group connectedness appeared to be
maintained predominantly by males, which could be targeted if disease
transmission was a major management objective. Spatial proximity between
individuals can be a reliable index of the amount of direct contact within
wild boar populations.