Of Pigs and Pillars: Wild Pigs (Sus scrofa) Impair a Critical Functional Group of Headwater Streams, Threatening an Important Component of the Environmental Pillar of Sustainability

Comprising the greatest proportion of stream networks, headwater streams provide critical ecosystem services to entire river networks by sustaining water quality and biodiversity as well as controlling floods and groundwater recharge. As such, they are important contributors to the environmental pillar of sustainability. Unfortunately, they are also among the most vulnerable ecosystems. In Appalachian headwater streams, larval salamanders represent a critical functional group because of their strong influence on ecosystem function. Wild pigs (Sus scrofa) rank among the most notorious invasive species, with widespread, negative impacts on native habitats and biodiversity. We tested the impacts of wallowing by wild pigs on the salamander larval community in Appalachian headwater streams in northeastern Georgia and found a significant drop in both numbers and diversity of larvae in wallows. Because downstream networks and the communities that depend upon them rely on healthy headwater streams, understanding exactly how the impairment of this functional group by wild pigs impacts energy flow, nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and water quality requires further investigation.