Marten selection of postfire seres in the Alaskan taiga

Abstract

During 1991 – 1994 we tested whether martens (Martes americana) selectively used postfire seres in the Alaskan taiga and whether selection could be explained by differences in marten hunting behaviour, habitat, prey abundance, or demography. Forest seral stages included early-successional tall shrub – sapling (1985 burn), midsuccessional dense tree (1966 burn), and mature coniferous (100–115 years old). Most studies of marten – habitat relationships from lower latitudes suggest that martens require coniferous forest and avoid open areas. We found that martens did not select forest cover types or burn features at the stand scale (within the home range). However, marten abundance was greatest in the 1985 burn, which had the lowest canopy cover but the highest coarse woody debris density, autumn arvicoline biomass, and winter hunting intensity (index to foraging suitability). Martens in the 1985 burn were predominantly juvenile, with few adult (≥2 years old) females present. We hypothesize that our study area of predominantly early – midsuccessional forest was a "sink" for immature and transient martens dispersing from surrounding mature forest. If our hypothesis is correct and applies elsewhere in the taiga, then fur trapping for martens in recent burns could be a productive yet conservative harvest strategy. Future research should focus on habitat requirements of parturient females.

Home range and habitat use by the sable Martes zibellina brachyura in a Japanese cool‐temperate mixed forest

“…The coexistence of residents and transients has been reported in pine marten (Chapin et al 1997) and American marten (Paragi et al 1996;Chapin et al 1998) as well as the sable in the present study. Although these two types of life style have been found in both sexes, females are more transient than males (Phillips et al 1998), probably since females may be limited in habitat choice because of denning requirements (Wynne and Sherburne 1984), or more specific prey requirements than males (Holmes and Powell 1994), and thus may be forced to abandon a home Fig.…”

“…Whereas Paragi (1996) did not find any stand-scale habitat preference in American marten, other authors have reported that American martens prefer coniferous forest to other habitats (Koehler and Hornocker 1977;Soutiere 1979;Buskirk and Powell 1994), because coniferous forests are in the final stage of ecological succession in Canada and Alaska, and the martens effectively hunt prey or avoid predators in old-growth forests (Buskirk and Powell 1994). Sables do not clearly show any stand-scale habitat preference because coniferous stands constitute only 3% of the present study site.…”

Effects of natural resource development on the terrestrial biodiversity of Canadian boreal forests

“…Most often, however, in boreal forests, survival and fitness are lower in managed than in unmanaged forests (e.g., Thompson 1994;Andruskiw et al 2008;Johnson et al 2009). Populations of marten in sink habitats can persist with periodic influxes from source populations in unmanaged forests, as was suggested for relatively young regenerating burned forests in Alaska (Paragi et al 1996) and logged regenerating forests in Ontario less than 40 years old (Thompson 1994).…”

Salvage logging after wildfire in the boreal forest: Is it becoming a hot issue for wildlife?

“…The abundance of small mammals may also provide good hunting opportunities for mammalian predators. Paragi et al (1996) found higher marten abundance, hunting activity and small mammal biomass and diversity in a recent burn (6-9 years after fire) compared to older (25-28 years) or mature coniferous forests (100-115 years).…”