Impact of Invasive Wild Pig on White-Tailed Deer and Eastern Wild Turkeys in Southwest Georgia
Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) are a highly destructive invasive species and reported to be present in 77% of counties in the southeastern U.S. Wild pigs may negatively affect white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; hereinafter, deer) and eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris; hereinafter, turkey) via competition over forage or exclusion from preferred areas. To explore effects of wild pigs on spatial distribution of these species within a mixed agriculture-forest landscape, we developed models predicting camera trap detections of deer and turkeys as a...