Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization
Despite their temperate to subarctic geographic range, American martens (Martes americana) possess a thermally inefficient morphology. The lack of morphological adaptations for reducing thermal costs suggests that marten may use behavioral strategies to optimize thermal budgets. During the winters o...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Text |
Language: | unknown |
Published: |
Hosted by Utah State University Libraries
1997
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/wild_facpub/1316 |
id |
ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:wild_facpub-2315 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftutahsudc:oai:digitalcommons.usu.edu:wild_facpub-2315 2023-05-15T13:21:49+02:00 Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization Drew, G. S. Bissonette, John A. 1997-01-01T08:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/wild_facpub/1316 unknown Hosted by Utah State University Libraries https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/wild_facpub/1316 Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. PDM Wildland Resources Faculty Publications winter american marten thermal-cost minimization text 1997 ftutahsudc 2022-09-01T17:17:40Z Despite their temperate to subarctic geographic range, American martens (Martes americana) possess a thermally inefficient morphology. The lack of morphological adaptations for reducing thermal costs suggests that marten may use behavioral strategies to optimize thermal budgets. During the winters of 1989–1990 and 1990–1991, we radio-collared and monitored the diel activity of 7 martens. A log-linear model suggested that the presence or absence of light was the only factor associated with marten activity patterns (p < 0.001). A regression of the percentage of active fixes on ambient temperature failed to detect an association (b = −4.45, p = 0.084, n = 12). Contents of marten scats suggested that their activity was consistent with the prey-vulnerability hypothesis. While martens must balance multiple life requisites, their activity patterns suggest that they accept increased thermal costs in order to increase foraging efficiency. However, the nocturnal activity of martens during winter was also consistent with the hypothesis that they may be able to limit their own exposure to predation risk. The nocturnal habits of Newfoundland martens in the winter were consistent with the hypothesis of avoidance of predation risk. Text American marten Martes americana Newfoundland Subarctic Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Utah State University: DigitalCommons@USU |
op_collection_id |
ftutahsudc |
language |
unknown |
topic |
winter american marten thermal-cost minimization |
spellingShingle |
winter american marten thermal-cost minimization Drew, G. S. Bissonette, John A. Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization |
topic_facet |
winter american marten thermal-cost minimization |
description |
Despite their temperate to subarctic geographic range, American martens (Martes americana) possess a thermally inefficient morphology. The lack of morphological adaptations for reducing thermal costs suggests that marten may use behavioral strategies to optimize thermal budgets. During the winters of 1989–1990 and 1990–1991, we radio-collared and monitored the diel activity of 7 martens. A log-linear model suggested that the presence or absence of light was the only factor associated with marten activity patterns (p < 0.001). A regression of the percentage of active fixes on ambient temperature failed to detect an association (b = −4.45, p = 0.084, n = 12). Contents of marten scats suggested that their activity was consistent with the prey-vulnerability hypothesis. While martens must balance multiple life requisites, their activity patterns suggest that they accept increased thermal costs in order to increase foraging efficiency. However, the nocturnal activity of martens during winter was also consistent with the hypothesis that they may be able to limit their own exposure to predation risk. The nocturnal habits of Newfoundland martens in the winter were consistent with the hypothesis of avoidance of predation risk. |
format |
Text |
author |
Drew, G. S. Bissonette, John A. |
author_facet |
Drew, G. S. Bissonette, John A. |
author_sort |
Drew, G. S. |
title |
Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization |
title_short |
Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization |
title_full |
Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization |
title_fullStr |
Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization |
title_full_unstemmed |
Winter Activity Patterns of American Marten (Martes americana): Rejection of the Hypothesis of Thermal-Cost Minimization |
title_sort |
winter activity patterns of american marten (martes americana): rejection of the hypothesis of thermal-cost minimization |
publisher |
Hosted by Utah State University Libraries |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/wild_facpub/1316 |
genre |
American marten Martes americana Newfoundland Subarctic |
genre_facet |
American marten Martes americana Newfoundland Subarctic |
op_source |
Wildland Resources Faculty Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/wild_facpub/1316 |
op_rights |
Copyright for this work is held by the author. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information contact the Institutional Repository Librarian at digitalcommons@usu.edu. |
op_rightsnorm |
PDM |
_version_ |
1766361669269716992 |