Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline
We examined the winter diet of marten (Martes americana) from northern (65–67°N) and southern (60–62°N) regions of the western Northwest Territories from 1988–1989 to 1993–1994 during a decline in snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) abundance that started in 1990. We used 4256 marten carcasses collecte...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1996
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z96-053 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z96-053 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z96-053 2024-04-07T07:53:58+00:00 Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline Poole, Kim G. Graf, Ron P. 1996 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z96-053 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z96-053 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 74, issue 3, page 456-466 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1996 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z96-053 2024-03-08T00:37:50Z We examined the winter diet of marten (Martes americana) from northern (65–67°N) and southern (60–62°N) regions of the western Northwest Territories from 1988–1989 to 1993–1994 during a decline in snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) abundance that started in 1990. We used 4256 marten carcasses collected from trappers to examine changes in diet, productivity, age and sex structure of the harvest, and body and reproductive indices. Arvicoline rodents formed the greatest proportion (41–95% occurrence of total prey items) of the annual winter diet in both regions and snowshoe hares constituted 1–39% of prey items. Snowshoe hares constituted 3–64% of the diet when expressed as biomass. Dietary proportions of arvicolines increased and snowshoe hares decreased with time in the northern region but not in the southern region. Female marten took proportionately more arvicolines and males took more snowshoe hares. Juvenile marten took proportionately more snowshoe hares, while adults took more arvicolines. The proportion of juvenile marten in the harvest declined in both regions between 1991–1992 and 1993–1994. The ratio of juveniles to adult females in the harvest also declined with time in the southern region but not in the northern region. The amount of omental fat declined with time for most age and sex classes. Ovulation rates (as determined by counts of corpora lutea) declined with time among yearlings, and among adults from the southern region but not in the northern region. In utero litter size did not change. We suggest that the snowshoe hare population cycle has a significant impact on marten populations in the northern boreal forest. Article in Journal/Newspaper Martes americana Northwest Territories Canadian Science Publishing Northwest Territories Canadian Journal of Zoology 74 3 456 466 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Poole, Kim G. Graf, Ron P. Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
We examined the winter diet of marten (Martes americana) from northern (65–67°N) and southern (60–62°N) regions of the western Northwest Territories from 1988–1989 to 1993–1994 during a decline in snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) abundance that started in 1990. We used 4256 marten carcasses collected from trappers to examine changes in diet, productivity, age and sex structure of the harvest, and body and reproductive indices. Arvicoline rodents formed the greatest proportion (41–95% occurrence of total prey items) of the annual winter diet in both regions and snowshoe hares constituted 1–39% of prey items. Snowshoe hares constituted 3–64% of the diet when expressed as biomass. Dietary proportions of arvicolines increased and snowshoe hares decreased with time in the northern region but not in the southern region. Female marten took proportionately more arvicolines and males took more snowshoe hares. Juvenile marten took proportionately more snowshoe hares, while adults took more arvicolines. The proportion of juvenile marten in the harvest declined in both regions between 1991–1992 and 1993–1994. The ratio of juveniles to adult females in the harvest also declined with time in the southern region but not in the northern region. The amount of omental fat declined with time for most age and sex classes. Ovulation rates (as determined by counts of corpora lutea) declined with time among yearlings, and among adults from the southern region but not in the northern region. In utero litter size did not change. We suggest that the snowshoe hare population cycle has a significant impact on marten populations in the northern boreal forest. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Poole, Kim G. Graf, Ron P. |
author_facet |
Poole, Kim G. Graf, Ron P. |
author_sort |
Poole, Kim G. |
title |
Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
title_short |
Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
title_full |
Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
title_fullStr |
Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
title_sort |
winter diet of marten during a snowshoe hare decline |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1996 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z96-053 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z96-053 |
geographic |
Northwest Territories |
geographic_facet |
Northwest Territories |
genre |
Martes americana Northwest Territories |
genre_facet |
Martes americana Northwest Territories |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 74, issue 3, page 456-466 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z96-053 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
74 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
456 |
op_container_end_page |
466 |
_version_ |
1795670191591391232 |