https://ethnobiomed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13002-017-0180-9
https://ethnobiomed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13002-017-0180-9
https://ethnobiomed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13002-017-0180-9
More fishers and fewer martens due to cumulative effects of forest management and climate change as evidenced from local knowledge
Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine201713:51
ABSTRACT
Background
Monitoring of fur-bearing species populations is relatively rare due to their low densities. In addition to catch data, trappers’ experience provides information on the ecology and status of the harvested species. Fisher (Pekania pennanti) and American marten (Martes americana) are mustelids that are sensitive to forest management and therefore considered to be ecological indicators of forest health.
The American Marten(top) and the Eastern Fisher(bottom)
The Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of western Quebec (Canada),(blue shaded),(Full Quebec Province in brown) at the northern limit of the overlapping ranges of the two mustelid species.
Fisher populations have increased in eastern North America since the early 2000s and this could have resulted in a northeastern extension of the species’ range and increased overlap with marten’s range.
North American Range Maps for a) Martes americana, American Marten; b) M. pennanti , Fisher; c) Mephitis mephitis , Striped Skunk. Marten map from Chermundy 2010a, fisher map from Chermundy 2010b, Striped skunk map from Schröter 2010. Distribution data are from IUCN Red List.
The Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of western Quebec (Canada),(blue shaded),(Full Quebec Province in brown) at the northern limit of the overlapping ranges of the two mustelid species.
Fisher populations have increased in eastern North America since the early 2000s and this could have resulted in a northeastern extension of the species’ range and increased overlap with marten’s range.
North American Range Maps for a) Martes americana, American Marten; b) M. pennanti , Fisher; c) Mephitis mephitis , Striped Skunk. Marten map from Chermundy 2010a, fisher map from Chermundy 2010b, Striped skunk map from Schröter 2010. Distribution data are from IUCN Red List.
Moreover, habitats of both species are subject to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. The objective of this study was to document the knowledge held by local trappers in the northern area of sympatry between fisher and marten to identify factors that could explain variation in populations of the two species and interactions between them.
Method
2013 Locations of American marten ( Martes americana ; n = 29) and fisher ( M. pennanti ; n = 34) sampling sites. Inset shows location of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, and New York, USA, within central North America. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0056204.g001
Method
Forty-one semi-directed interviews with Indigenous and non-Indigenous trappers in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of western Quebec (Canada), at the northern limit of the overlapping ranges of the two mustelid species.
Results
Trappers highlighted the lack of exclusivity of marten and fisher to coniferous forests, although marten is more closely associated with them than is fisher. Fisher apparently also takes advantage of open environments, including agroforestry systems. Moreover, climate change increases the frequency of freeze-thaw events that cause the formation of an ice crust on the snow surface, which favors fisher movements.
The American Marten(top) and the Eastern Fisher(bottom)
The American Marten(top) and the Eastern Fisher(bottom)
Predator-prey relationships
Marten prey species
According to the participants, the marten feeds primarily on squirrels and other small mammals. The term “mouse” was used generically to refer to several small mammals, including voles, shrews and other unspecified species. Squirrels included several species of Sciuridae, such as the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), the large flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) and the striped chipmunk (Tamias striatus). Marten also hunt snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) and gallinaceous birds, including ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), especially in winter. Ruffed grouse catches were attributed to hunting under the snow, but the marten also consumes the eggs and preys upon the young of this species. Further, participants felt that the marten’s ability to climb trees also allowed it to feed upon small perching birds. Other dietary components that were cited by participants included carcasses of moose (Alces americanus) and beaver (Castor canadensis), animals that had been caught in traps, and red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.).
[The marten, she eats a lot of mice. A year where you have a lot of mice – and this is a 3-year mouse cycle – the marten will raise four young, (…) but the following year you will have practically no babies. The squirrel is also a feast for the marten: when you have the marten, you do not hear squirrel calls.] [E1-Z2]
[People think that the marten catches hares, partridge, but it is mostly the mouse that it hunts. When there is too much snow, she switches to the air (in the trees) to catch squirrels, flying squirrels.] [AT12-Z2]
According to the participants, the marten feeds primarily on squirrels and other small mammals. The term “mouse” was used generically to refer to several small mammals, including voles, shrews and other unspecified species. Squirrels included several species of Sciuridae, such as the red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), the large flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) and the striped chipmunk (Tamias striatus). Marten also hunt snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) and gallinaceous birds, including ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) and spruce grouse (Falcipennis canadensis), especially in winter. Ruffed grouse catches were attributed to hunting under the snow, but the marten also consumes the eggs and preys upon the young of this species. Further, participants felt that the marten’s ability to climb trees also allowed it to feed upon small perching birds. Other dietary components that were cited by participants included carcasses of moose (Alces americanus) and beaver (Castor canadensis), animals that had been caught in traps, and red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.).
[The marten, she eats a lot of mice. A year where you have a lot of mice – and this is a 3-year mouse cycle – the marten will raise four young, (…) but the following year you will have practically no babies. The squirrel is also a feast for the marten: when you have the marten, you do not hear squirrel calls.] [E1-Z2]
[People think that the marten catches hares, partridge, but it is mostly the mouse that it hunts. When there is too much snow, she switches to the air (in the trees) to catch squirrels, flying squirrels.] [AT12-Z2]
Fisher prey species
Participants have pointed out that the fisher is very opportunistic and eats whatever it encounters. It is a known predator of the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), but this species is not its main food source. Like the marten, the fisher hunts hare, squirrels, gallinaceous birds, small mammals, and small birds. Because of its size and strength, the fisher can access a greater diversity of prey than can marten, including (semi-)aquatic animals (fish, beaver, muskrat [Ondatra zibethicus], mink [Neovison vison]) and larger-sized terrestrial animals, such as woodchucks (Marmota monax), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), farm chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus), and even red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Fishers also feed upon moose carcasses or animals caught in traps, including martens. Most participants also pointed out that the fisher also eats live martens and is one of the latter’s principal predators. Like the marten, the fisher also eats berries.
[(The fisher) even eats fish, it goes up to whitefish spawning grounds, where it often drags fish ashore, like the lynx. The marten she does not do that, she is not able to kill a fish in the water.] [Ex30-Z3]Conclusion
Participants have pointed out that the fisher is very opportunistic and eats whatever it encounters. It is a known predator of the North American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), but this species is not its main food source. Like the marten, the fisher hunts hare, squirrels, gallinaceous birds, small mammals, and small birds. Because of its size and strength, the fisher can access a greater diversity of prey than can marten, including (semi-)aquatic animals (fish, beaver, muskrat [Ondatra zibethicus], mink [Neovison vison]) and larger-sized terrestrial animals, such as woodchucks (Marmota monax), striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), farm chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus), and even red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Fishers also feed upon moose carcasses or animals caught in traps, including martens. Most participants also pointed out that the fisher also eats live martens and is one of the latter’s principal predators. Like the marten, the fisher also eats berries.
[(The fisher) even eats fish, it goes up to whitefish spawning grounds, where it often drags fish ashore, like the lynx. The marten she does not do that, she is not able to kill a fish in the water.] [Ex30-Z3]Conclusion
CONCLUSION
The fisher was identified as a competitor and even a predator of the marten. Furthermore, the fisher is less affected than the marten by forest management, and it also seems to benefit from climate change to a greater extent.
The fisher was identified as a competitor and even a predator of the marten. Furthermore, the fisher is less affected than the marten by forest management, and it also seems to benefit from climate change to a greater extent.
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