Spatio-Temporal Overlap of Cattle, Feral Swine, and White-Tailed Deer in North Texas

Livestock interactions with wildlife have been a concern for managers historically. Invasive feral swine represent an additional management concern in the realm of resource competition as well as zoonotic disease spread between livestock and wildlife. Our study deployed game cameras on a ranch in the Rolling Plains of North Texas to obtain a better understanding of the possibility of interspecies interactions among cattle, feral swine, and white-tailed deer across spatial, temporal, and seasonal variables. Species’ use of bottomlands, shallow uplands, and deep uplands within the ranch were monitored continuously over the course of a year. Cattle and feral swine exhibited high diel activity overlap with the greatest overlap estimates occurring in bottomlands (Δ = 0.889) and wintertime (Δ = 0.875). Cattle and deer exhibited lower diel overlap (Δ = 0.596–0.836, depending on the season and vegetation type), which could be a sign of niche partitioning between the two ungulates. Image captures and overlap estimates suggest interactions between cattle and the other two species occur less frequently in shallow upland sites relative to the other vegetation types. Though image captures of the three species were 17–69% lower in summer relative to fall, indirect interactions may remain high due to competition for shared resources and greater reliance on watering sites. Results suggest that land managers should focus on bottomland sites for feral swine eradication efforts and as areas of increased contact among species. Results can be used to guide livestock and wildlife management and herd health decisions, which can improve ranch economic, environmental, and social sustainability.