DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vdncjsxsn
title: Body mass measurements of wild boar from two French populations

description: 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.
description: The study was conducted in two French wild boar populations
 subject to contrasting environments. The population in the 11,000 ha
 forest of Châteauvillain in north-eastern France (48.02°N, 4.56°E) is
 heavily harvested (on average 727.18 ± 282.07 individuals shot per year,
 see Veylit et al. 2020b), with hunting being oriented towards young
 individuals (juveniles, see Gamelon et al. 2011). The forest is
 characterised by a climate intermediate between continental and oceanic
 and dominated by beech (Fagus sylvatica) and oak (Quercus spp.), which
 produce preferred forage for wild boar (Gamelon et al. 2017; Servanty et
 al, 2011, Touzot et al. 2020). The second population is found in the 2,614
 ha Réserve Biologique Intégrale at Chizé in south-western France (46.05°N,
 0.25°W), characterized by mild winters and often warm, dry summers. As the
 soil in Chizé is of poor quality and the site is subject to frequent
 summer droughts, the forest productivity is low (Pettorelli et al. 2006).
 The site is therefore considered of poor quality (Douhard et al. 2013;
 Gaillard et al. 2003). The population in Chizé is subject to a light
 hunting pressure (on average 101.50 ± 80.94 individuals shot per year, see
 Veylit et al. 2020b). In both sites, a
 capture-mark-recapture-recovery program allows for capturing, marking
 using traps, then releasing wild boars each year between March and
 September. Additionally, between October and February individuals are
 removed each year from both populations by either hunting or
 translocation. Sex, date, and body mass to the nearest 0.1 kg are recorded
 for each individual first caught below 20 kg (i.e. younger than 6 months
 of age) and later on, during subsequent captures (alive and dead when shot
 by hunters). Based on tooth eruption patterns, the youngest animals
 trapped were 3 months of age (Gamelon et al. 2011). Only measurements
 collected more than seven days apart were included in the analyses (see
 Veylit et al. 2020a). For the large dataset, we only
 retained individuals with at least three body mass measurements, including
 two measurements taken in the first 6 months of age (i.e. below 20 kg) to
 assess the early-life growth rate during the stage when growth is linear
 (Gaillard et al. 1992, Veylit et al. 2020), and one measurement taken
 later in life (i.e. above 20 kg) to assess body growth later in life. In
 Châteauvillain and Chizé, there was an average of 411.46 (range 36-2722)
 and 608.70 (range 42-2052) days, respectively, between the first and the
 last captures. For the small dataset, we then reduced
 the large dataset to only the individuals that were weighed the last time
 at least 2 years after the first measurement and had more than two mass
 measurements at or above 20 kg (i.e. older than 6 months).
description: Weight = live body mass in grams
 years.from.capture = number of years elapsed between first and
 current mass measurement Site = corresponds to the
 study area where an individual was captured ID = unique
 identifiying number for each individual in each study area (i.e. unique to
 individuals within study areas)