Food habits of genetically identified pine marten (Martes martes) expanding in agricultural lowlands (NW Italy)

Balestrieri, Alessandro; Remonti, Luigi; Ruiz‐González, Aritz; Vergara, Maria; Capelli, Enrica; Gómez‐Moliner, Benjamín J.; Prigioni, Claudio

doi:10.1007/s13364-010-0015-8

Cited by 39 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 56 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Seasonal and inter-annual variation in dietary composition has also been observed in other martens. Pine marten, sable (Martes zibellina) and American marten (Martes americana) diets have been shown to be primarily dependent on the abundance of rodents (Thompson and Colgan 1990;Jędrzejewski et al 1993;Helldin 1999;Zalewski 2004Zalewski , 2007Lanszki et al 2007;Dubinin 2010;Balestrieri et al 2011). In seasons, or years when abundance of their main prey is low, these marten species supplement their diet with other food sources, e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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).

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A preference for M. agrestis is typical of British marten (e.g. Lockie, 1961;Balharry, 1993), but a striking departure from the foraging behaviour of pine marten in mainland Europe, where Myodes or Apodemus is preferred (Zalewski, 2004;Rosellini et al, 2008;Balestrieri et al, 2010). Microtus is considered more profitable than other small mammal species because of their clumped distributions, size and relative lack of anti-predator behaviours (Balharry, 1993).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Once prohibitively expensive, these methods are increasingly being applied in regions where scat origin may be confused (e.g. Posluszny et al, 2007;Balestrieri et al, 2010). No study of pine marten diet in Britain has yet employed genetic methods to determine scat origin, however (Lockie, 1961;Balharry, 1993;Gurnell et al, 1994;Halliwell, 1997;Putman, 2000;Coope, 2007), despite marten scats being easily confused with those of red fox (Davison et al, 2002;Birks et al, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The seasonal diet of British pine marten determined from genetically identified scats

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Knowledge of a carnivore's foraging behaviour is central to understanding its ecology. Scat-content analysis provides a non-invasive way to collect such information but its validity depends on attributing scats to the correct species, which can prove problematic where similarly sized species occur sympatrically. Here we provide the first description of the diet of European pine marten Martes martes in Scotland based on genetically identified scats (n = 2449). Concurrent small mammal live trapping also allowed us to determine preferential selection of small mammal species. We found the marten diet was almost entirely formed by three principal foods: Microtus agrestis (39%), berries (Sorbus aucuparia and Vaccinium myrtillus: 30%) and small birds (24%). The seasonal dominance of these foods in the diet suggested a facultative foraging strategy, with a short period in which the diet was more generalized. A discrepancy in the occurrence of Microtus in the diet (77% of small mammals consumed) and marten home ranges (12% of small mammals trapped) indicated a frequency-independent preference for this prey, one which differentiated British marten from marten in continental Europe. Microtus were the marten's staple prey and taken with relative consistency throughout the year, even at times when rodent populations were at their least abundant. Martens supplemented their diet with small birds and fruits as these foods became abundant in summer. The diet became generalized at this time, reflected by a threefold increase in diet niche breadth. Microtus consumption was significantly reduced in autumn, however, when their populations peak in abundance. The autumn diet was instead dominated by fruit; an abrupt dietary switch suggesting a frequency-dependent preference for fruit irrespective of the abundance of alternative prey

show abstract

“…The ratio of insects to other components of martens' diet was considerable (about 10-30%) (Zhou et al 2010). The two most frequently detected taxa were Hymenoptera and Coleoptera, which were in abundance from spring to autumn (Marchesi and Mermod 1989, Clevenger 1993, De Marinis and Masseti 1995, Zhou et al 2010, Balestrieri et al 2011. Besides insects, M. flavigula fed a beehive because of its fondness for honey (Lekagul andMcNeely 1977, Payne et al 1985).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The insect diet composition was expressed in two ways: as the frequency of occurrence (FO) and dry weight (DW) of biomass. The FO was calculated according to Balestrieri et al (2011) and Zhou et al (2011) as:…”

Section: Insect Diet Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Composition of the insect diet in feces of yellow-throated marten, Martes flavigula, in Jirisan National Park, South Korea

Choi¹,

Woo²,

Choi³

2015

J. Ecol. Environ.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The composition of the Martes flavigula diet has been extensively studied, but little is known about its insect component. This study characterized the insect diet and insect nest materials in the feces of M. flavigula. A total of 952 fecal samples were collected in Jirisan National Park from January 2009 to November 2011, and 1379 species or taxonomic groups were identified. M. flavigula fed on insects (8.7%) and bee wax (5.0%), which comprised 2.9% and 4.4% of the dry weight of M. flavigula feces, respectively. A total of 12 insect species belonging to 8 families in 3 orders were identified. The most frequently found insects were Hymenoptera (frequency of occurrence, FO, 89.1), including Vespa simillima simillima (FO, 37.3) and Vespula koreensis koreensis (FO, 20.0). The Vespidae constituted the majority of the insect diet in autumn when the diversity of marten's prey was strongly reduced, probably because the numbers of social insects were sufficient for M. flavigula. In addition, the data suggest that M. flavigula attacks the nests of social wasps in late autumn when males do not have a venomous sting and new queens are less aggressive than workers. Bee wax appeared in all seasons and the highest rate was from spring to early summer. However, the remains of honeybees were not found in feces; thus, M. flavigula presumably eats honey but not honeybees.

show abstract

Food habits of genetically identified pine marten (Martes martes) expanding in agricultural lowlands (NW Italy)

Cited by 39 publications

References 56 publications

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

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

The seasonal diet of British pine marten determined from genetically identified scats

Composition of the insect diet in feces of yellow-throated marten, Martes flavigula, in Jirisan National Park, South Korea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About