Beyond conflict in “overabundant” species management: Wild boar abundance is associated with increased crop damage, but also higher vertebrate richness and co-occurrence network stability

Abstract

Managing overabundant species that pose significant challenges to ecosystems and human societies is a critical global conservation issue. The wild boar ( Sus scrofa ) is widely recognized for causing severe human-wildlife conflict and economic losses. Management actions, such as population control, are often justified by perceived conflict intensity, based on the assumption that higher wild boar abundance equates to greater conflict and increased ecosystem degradation. In this study, we integrate large-scale crop-damage records with camera-trap surveys from 540 sites in Xishuangbanna, China, to test this assumption and evaluate the importance of local ecological context in guiding wild boar population management. While higher wild boar abundance was associated with increased crop damage, as expected, areas with high boar abundance showed predominantly positive associations with sympatric vertebrates and supported higher species richness and more stable co-occurrence networks compared to areas with lower boar abundance. Our findings suggest that, contrary to the assumption of predominantly negative ecological effects, culling measures based solely on perceived conflict intensity may pose unintended ecological risks, potentially compromising local species richness and the stability of co-occurrence networks. Effective management of overabundant species requires a paradigm shift from conflict-driven control to evidence-based ecological strategies that balance conflict mitigation with the maintenance of essential ecosystem functions.