Evaluating the relationship between trapper harvest of American martens (Martes americana) and the quantity and spatial configuration of habitat in the boreal forests of Ontario, Canada

Abstract

We investigated the relationship between trapper harvest of martens (Martes americana) and the quantity and spatial configuration of marten habitat on traplines in the eastern and western boreal forests of Ontario. We used region-specific habitat models to estimate the total amount of suitable marten habitat on each trapline, and the proportion of each trapline identified as suitable habitat in various patch size classes. To control for variability in trapper success not associated with habitat, we included an index of trapper effort, as well as variables related to access, temperature, and precipitation as covariates in our regression analyses. Region-specific habitat models identified a positive relationship between the proportion of suitable marten habitat on traplines (irrespective of patch size) and trapper success. Although there did not appear to be an effect of patch size on trapper success in the eastern study region, we observed an effect in the western region. Results from the western study region suggest that traplines with suitable habitat in patches ≥500 ha will have higher trapper success than traplines with similar proportions of suitable habitat but distributed in smaller patches. Our study was conducted in a forested landscape (80% of trapline area was forested). Therefore, our findings should not be applied to areas where suitable marten habitat lies in a matrix comprised of a significant amount of non-forested area.Key words: American marten, boreal forest, fragmentation, marten habitat, Martes americana, patch size, spatial configuration, trapper harvest, trapping RÉSUMÉ Nous avons étudié la relation entre le nombre de martres (Martes americana) piégées et le nombre d'habitats de la martre ainsi que leur configuration spatiale le long de lignes de trappage dans les forêts boréales l' est et de l' ouest de l'Ontario. Nous avons utilisé des modèles d'habitat spécifiques aux régions afin d' estimer le nombre total d'habitats adéquats de la martre le long de chaque ligne de trappage, ainsi que la proportion de chaque ligne de trappage identifiée comme étant adéquate selon différentes classes de dimension des parcelles. Afin de prendre en considération la variabilité du succès du trappage non associée à l'habitat, nous avons inclus un indice de l' effort du trappeur, ainsi que des variables reliées à l'accessibilité, la température et les précipitations en tant que covariables dans les analyses de régression. Les modèles d'habitat spécifique aux régions ont relevé une relation positive entre la proportion d'habitat adéquat de la martre le long des lignes de trappage (sans relation avec la dimension des parcelles) et le succès du trappeur. Même s'il ne semble pas y avoir d' effet de la dimension de la parcelle au niveau du succès du trappeur dans la région orientale sous étude, nous avons observé un effet dans la région occidentale. Les résultats de la région occidentale sous étude indiquent que les lignes de trappage dans les habitats adéquats constitués de parcelles ≥500 ha afficheront u...

Forest recovery patterns in response to divergent disturbance regimes in the Border Lakes region of Minnesota (USA) and Ontario (Canada)

“…; Swanson et al, 2011), spatial legacies do have critical implications for sustainable forestry, forest fragmentation, habitat quality, and other ecosystem services. For example, shortening the early successional stage in favor of closed-canopy forests clearly enhances wood supply, and should help mitigate habitat loss and forest fragmentation thought to impact an important subset of boreal songbirds (Schmiegelow and Monkkonen, 2002;Manolis et al, 2002) and other late-successional forest wildlife species (e.g., American marten, Martes americana; Landriault et al, 2012). Yet there is also increasing recognition that more persistent early successional stages and greater range of variability in recovery time observed following many natural disturbances can play an important role in the regional biodiversity of predominantly forested areas (Swanson et al, 2011).…”

“…In many systems forest recovery can be delayed due to either poor tree recruitment (Foster, 1983;Simard, 2009), competition with established understory vegetation (Royo and Carson, 2006;Gilliam, 2007), or both (Lavoie and Sirois, 1998). Such delays have longterm consequences for landscape age structure, with implications for sustainable forestry (Doyon et al, 2011), carbon storage (Pan et al, 2011), insect outbreaks (Robert et al, 2012), and wildlife habitat (Manolis et al, 2002;King et al, 2009;Landriault et al, 2012).…”

Node‐based measures of connectivity in genetic networks

“…We sampled marten in Ontario during a decline in the marten population (Landriault et al . ), and thus our findings may reflect reciprocating dispersal: migration of marten into high quality sites.…”

“…Reciprocating dispersal predicts that during a population decline, animals will migrate into high-quality sites (Morris et al 2004). We sampled marten in Ontario during a decline in the marten population (Landriault et al 2012), and thus our findings may reflect reciprocating dispersal: migration of marten into high quality sites.…”

Limiting conflicts when managing public lands for furbearer trapping and dog‐related recreation

“…Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 2014), limited public support for wildlife trapping (Cockrell , Manfredo et al , Batcheller et al ), increased demand for nuisance animal control (Armstrong and Rossi ), and limited understanding of furbearer management by wildlife professionals and administrators (Batcheller et al ). At the same time, motivations of wildlife trappers have shifted from revenues from pelts toward recreation and lifestyle (Hiller et al , Kapfer and Potts , Landriault et al , Dorendorf et al ). Recreational‐based trapping effort is heavily influenced by land access, social conflict, furbearer population abundances, and outdoor recreation (Dorendorf et al ).…”