Towards understanding wild boar S us scrofa movement: a synthetic movement ecology approach

Abstract In recent decades, the wild boar S us scrofa has simultaneously increased its population size and colonized new habitats, causing more ecological and socio‐economic concern than perhaps any other ungulate species. However, the drivers and mechanisms of the species' spatial ecology remain poorly understood. Thanks to a recently developed framework, the movement ecology of any organism can now be tackled within a consistent and unified theoretical approach. Based on this framework, we reviewed the literature on wild boar movement ecology to assess current knowledge and to identify important gaps. By using important navigational (e.g. olfactory sense) and cognitive (e.g. spatial memory, learning from conspecifics) abilities, wild boar have developed complex movement strategies to cope with external factors. However, there is a lack of detailed information on the role played by the internal state (motivation) and motion capacity in shaping the spatial ability of the species. Specific aspects of the movement ecology of the wild boar, together with its high diet plasticity and its high prolificacy, are probably the most important causes of the rapid spread of wild boar worldwide. We hope our review will inspire other scientists to apply their biological models to the movement ecology paradigms. Furthermore, we suggest that future researchers dealing with the movement ecology of any species should explicitly state the components and interactions of the framework investigated to facilitate further understanding and comparison among studies.