Spatio-temporal variation of predator diet in a rural habitat: stone martens in the villages of Białowieża forest

Abstract

The seasonal and spatial variation of the stone marten's (Martes foina) diet was studied in the villages of Białowieża Forest, north-eastern Poland. Stone marten diet varied significantly among seasons, years and villages of different size. The most important food sources were fruits and birds: 41.5 and 32.9 % of consumed biomass (% Bio), respectively. From summer to winter, fruits were the most important food, in contrast to spring, where birds dominated the diet followed by small mammals, fruits and other plant material. Fruits were eaten more frequently in the larger villages, in contrast to the smallest village, where the main food was small mammals (over 50 % Bio). The contribution of different small mammal species to marten diet was dependent on the village size and habitat structure of adjacent areas. In small villages situated close to the forest, the dominant food source was forest rodents (mainly bank vole Myodes glareolus), while in the larger villages, marten hunted mainly on rats (Rattus sp.). The highest frequency of occurrence of birds in the stone marten diet was in the small village (Zwierzyniec) in summer (67.7 % Bio), while poultry consumption was the highest in the large villages (Białowieża and Podolany) in winter (over 30 % Bio). The results of this study suggest that stone marten feeding habits are plastically adapted to the varying availability of different food resources in their environment. However, stone marten demonstrates high specialization to fruits, but when fruit availability is low, they supplement their diet with other components (small mammals and birds).

Genetic diversity and structure related to expansion history and habitat isolation: stone marten populating rural–urban habitats

“…This was confirmed by clustering methods implemented in STRUCTURE, TESS and DAPC. Greater structures in stone marten populations, with higher probabilities of assignment to groups have been observed elsewhere in Europe (France, Portugal and Spain); however the geographic areas considered in these studies were slightly larger than in our study [ 78 – 81 ]. A weak genetic structure for the stone marten population in Poland seems to confirm the absence of ecological barrier-restricted dispersal.…”

“…In addition, its less arboreal lifestyle compared to pine marten exposes it to an increase risk of predation in forests, when moving or resting on or under the ground [ 22 ]. Furthermore, villages, in contrast to forests, offer a high abundance of food throughout the year [ 78 ]. The genetic analyses in this study show, for the first time, that a large forest complex is not only a habitat that is avoided by stone marten but also constitutes an environmental barrier in the dispersal of this species.…”

The Stone Marten and the Red Fox consumed predominantly fruits all year round: a case study

“…Fleshy fruits with high levels of carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins but low pro-LANSZKI, ZS., PURGER, J. J., BOCZ, R., SZÉP, D. & LANSZKI, J. tein contents (Pandolfi et al 1996, Jordano 2000 are consumed in winter, as confirmed by numerous other studies too (e.g. Rasmussen & Madsen 1985, Tester 1986, Tóth 1998, Bermejo & Guitian 2000, Lanszki 2003, Bakaloudis et al 2012, Georgiev 2013, Czernik et al 2016, Petrov et al 2016. Winter was mild at the time of the investigations, thus the fruits having remained in the area stayed available for quite long.…”

“…Samples were collected along a total of 4.28 km long standard route on the top of the stone walls separating vineyard plots, and along the road network running through the vineyard, and were distinguished based on odour, size and shape characteristics (Macdonald 1980). Due to the regular human presence in the area associated with viticulture, the presence of the forest-preferring pine marten (Martes martes) in the area is considered to be only occasional even despite the proximity of forests, as suggested by experience from radio telemetry studies (Zalewski 1997, Czernik et al 2016, meaning that the majority of the collected samples possibly originated from stone martens. No other canid species (e.g.…”

Fish size selection and diet composition of Eurasian otters (Lutra lutra) in salmonid streams: Picky gourmets rather than opportunists?

“…These factors may also vary seasonally and can be related to habitat characteristics (e.g. Day et al, 2015;Czernik et al, 2016). In case of an opportunistic foraging strategy, diet composition simply reflects present prey availability.…”