In order to study the body size of wild boar Sus scrofa Linnaeus, 1758 during the Boreal and Atlantic Chronozones in southern Scandinavia, 12 measurements of teeth and bones from 32 Mesolithic sites from Scania (Sweden) and Zealand and Jutland (Denmark) were analysed. The Osteometrie analysis revealed that the body size of wild boar from Scania did not change during the period. The results indicate that the changes of ecological conditions during the transition from the Boreal to the Atlantic chronozones did not affect wild boar in the same way as red deer and roe deer, which decreased in body size during the period. The tooth size of wild boar from Zealand is smaller than in wild boar from Jutland and Scania during the Late Atlantic Chronozones, which probably is the result of the isolation of the population when Zealand became an island. Calculations of withers height show that wild boar in southern Scandinavia during the Atlantic Chronozones were of similar body size as recent wild boar from eastern Europe.
The wild boar is an omnivorous animal, and by foraging (rooting) disturbs the top soil layer. In some regions of Poland and Europe seasonal fluctuations in rooting have been observed. Wild boars not only eat plants, but also strongly modify their habitat. In Białowieża National Park wild boar most frequently visit oak-hornbeam forests on fertile soil. On sites where the forest floor is covered with dense vegetation the germination of seeds is difficult, and wild boar rooting can promote the removal of diaspores from deeper layers of the soil seed bank. Within a 3-year observation on 30 subplots about 10,000 seedlings emerged representing 38 species. Our study revealed that rooted patches are characterised by a very rich and diverse flora of seedlings representing mostly forest species, but their density is low. The dominant species germinating in the disturbed ground vegetation is Urtica dioica, a species forming the persistent soil seed bank. There is a possibility that seedlings of herbaceous plants emerging on permanently rooted patches are of exogenous origin, since the seeds germinating there were in many cases damaged by repeatedly rooting animals and had no chance for further growth and reaching the generative phase. However, the soil seed bank in the rooted area has to be analysed to confirm this theory, that they have exogenous or endogenous origin. Seedling density in a repeatedly rooted oak-hornbeam forest is determined by factors other than those related to rooting. In this context the present study did not demonstrate a negative impact of rooting intensity on seedling emergence.
Celem badań była ocena koncentracji selenu w mięsie dzików pochodzących z trzech wybranych regionów Polski. Zawartość selenu analizowano w zależności od regionu (Mazury, Pomorze i Wielkopolska) oraz masy tuszy i płci dzików. Wykazano, że średnia zawartość selenu w badanym materiale wynosiła 0,093 μg/g. Najwyższe stężenie zaobserwowano w próbach mięsa dzików z Wielkopolski (0,099 μg/g) oraz w tkance mięśniowej loch (0,098 μg/g). Najwięcej selenu (0,101 μg/g) stwierdzono w tuszach o masie w zakresie 21-40 kg. Porcja 100 g mięsa z dzika pokrywa około 20% dziennego zapotrzebowania na selen u osób dorosłych i 30% u dzieci.
Comparative coproscopic studies on the occurrence of helminths in the wild boar included two groups of animals living under different conditions: one (A) - wild boar inhabiting a woodland area, another (B) - wild boar from a free-range farm. Analysis of 142 samples of faeces revealed the occurrence of six nematode species: Oesophagostomum sp./Globocephalus sp., Metastrongylus sp., Trichuris suis, Ascaris suum, Ascarops strongylina, and Physocephalus sexalatus. The prevalence of infection was very high - 97.2%, while the mean number of eggs was 34.3 ±88.6. The prevalence was similar in the two groups: A=98.4% vs. B=96.3%. The mean number of eggs was higher in group B (46.6 ±115.3; range 1-902) compared to A (18.3 ±17.2; 1-83). All the parasite taxa were found in each group. The frequency of individual helminth taxa differed between the groups, but the differences were statistically significant only for Oesophagostomum sp./Globocephalus sp. (χ²=4.34; df=l; P=0.037), Metastrongylus sp. (χ²=8.03; df=2; P=0.004), and A suum (χ²=15.67; df=2; P=0.000).
This study presents the first molecular and serological evaluation of Echinococcus granulosus infections in wild boars in Iran. Twenty five wild boars were collected in south-western Iran, during authorized hunting program, from March to October 2013, necropsied and examined for E. granulosus infection. Furthermore, seroprevalence of cystic echinococcosis in hunted boars was evaluated by an ELISA system. A fertile hydatid cyst due to E. granulosus was detected in the lung of one of the animals. Genotype analysis of the isolate was determined by analyzing a mitochondrial gene, cytochrome C oxidase subunit 1 (co1). DNA was extracted from the cyst sample and polymerase chain reaction amplification and DNA sequencing of the specific region of the co1 gene was performed. Molecular evaluation confirmed the presence of a sheep strain, the G1 genotype, in the wild boar in south-western Iran. This is the first report of the presence of G1 genotype of E. granulosus in wild boar in Iran. Serological evaluation of hydatid cyst by antigen-B ELISA revealed E. granulosus antibodies in 5 (20%) of 25 wild boars. A statistically significant difference was observed between the prevalence of E. granulosus antibodies and gender while the difference between the seroprevalence of E. granulosus and age was insignificant. Findings of this study might have important implications for the prevention and control of cystic echinococcosis.