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Habitat segregation is considered to favour the coexistence of sympatric pine martens Martes martes and stone martens M. foina, the latter being displaced to agricultural and urbanised areas. Subsequent to the report of pine martens in cultivated areas of the western River Po plain (NW Italy), we reviewed all available information on the presence of this species in plain areas of northern Italy and, for two study areas, applied a non-invasive PCR-RFLP method for the identification of Martes species from faecal mtDNA.A total of 24 pine marten records were collected, grouped in the western part of the River Po plain. The number of records showed an exponential increase from 1988 to 2007, the percentage of woods in a 10 km 2 wide circular plot surrounding the location of records being inversely correlated to its distance from the 300 m a.s.l. contour line. In the two study areas, 36 out of 119 ''marten-like'' faeces were assigned to the pine marten, whilst none belonged to the stone marten. In the best monitored area, the pine marten was present almost constantly.Our results suggest that the pine marten is expanding its range to include cultivated areas which were previously considered a prerogative of the more synanthropic stone marten.

Captive experiments have shown that many species regulate their macronutrient (i.e. protein, lipid and carbohydrate) intake by selecting complementary food types, but the relationships between foraging strategies in the wild and nutrient regulation remain poorly understood. Using the pine marten as a model species, we collated available data from the literature to investigate effects of seasonal and geographic variation in diet on dietary macronutrient balance. Our analysis showed that despite a high variety of foods comprising the diet, typical of a generalist predator, the macronutrient energy ratios of pine martens were limited to a range of 50–55% of protein, 38–42% of lipids and 5–10% of carbohydrates. This broad annual stabilisation of macronutrient ratios was achieved by using alternative animal foods to compensate for the high fluctuation of particular prey items, and sourcing non‐protein energy (carbohydrates and fats) from plant‐derived foods, particularly fruits. Macronutrient balance varied seasonally, with higher carbohydrate intake in summer–autumn, due to opportunistic fruit consumption, and higher protein intake in winter–spring. In terms of their proportional dietary carbohydrate intake the pine marten's nutritional strategy fell between that of true carnivores (e.g. the wolf) and more omnivorous feeders (e.g. the European badger). However, in terms of energy contributed by protein pine martens are equivalent to obligate carnivores such as the wolf and domesticated cat, and different to some omnivorous carnivores such as the domesticated dog and grizzly bears.

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