Wild boar management and environmental degradation: a matter of ecophysiology - the Italian case

Despite its global distribution, the impacts of wild pigs on the environment are poorly 9 understood. However, wild boar (Sus scrofa) is recognized as a pest species, causes extensive dam-10 age to agriculture, biodiversity, forests, and contributing to motor vehicle accidents. This study in-11 vestigates the causes and mechanisms underlying the demographic explosion of wild boar in Italy. 12 The analysis is based exclusively on official datasets from Italian governmental institutes, allowing 13 quantitative correlation between population dynamics, culling rates, and economic impacts. By in-14 tegrating historical data, population biology, reproductive physiology, and chemical communica-15 tion, the study reveals that anthropogenic pressures, counterintuitively driven by wildlife manage-16 ment practices, have significantly contributed to population growth. A shift from a K-strategy to an 17 r-strategy in reproductive behavior, induced by sustained control pressure, has led to increased 18 birth rates and accelerated expansion. Disruptions in species homeostasis trigger harmful changes 19 in ecosystem structure and functionality, delineating a model of environmental damage. These find-20 ings highlight the urgency of adopting an integrated wildlife management approach that combines 21 conservation biology and physiological principles with targeted operational interventions to pre-22 vent further degradation affecting both the species and the ecosystem.