The Stone Marten and the Red Fox consumed predominantly fruits all year round: a case study

Lanszki, Zsófia; Purger, Jenõ J.; Bocz, Renáta; Szép, Dávid; Lanszki, József

doi:10.17109/azh.65.1.45.2019

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…These generalist and opportunistic feeding behavior are also reflected in the indicator food types as well as in previous studies (Barrull et al, 2014; Lanszki et al, 1999; Prigioni et al, 2008). In addition, our results are in line with Lanszki et al (2019) who concluded that niche breadth and overlap also depends on carnivore body mass. Similarly, we find that niche breadth and overlap are higher for badger and fox (i.e., the larger species included here), niche breadth and overlap of polecat and stone marten are intermediate and niche breadth and overlap of stoat and weasel are lowest (i.e., the smallest species included here).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Dietary composition and overlap among small‐ and medium‐sized carnivores in Flanders, Belgium

Berge

Veken

Gouwy

et al. 2021

Ecological Research

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There are increasing concerns about the status and population trends of carnivores around the world. Carnivores play an important role in terrestrial ecosystems, as their interactions influence the composition and function of ecological communities. In the context of global change, it is essential to understand the interactions and resource use of carnivores. In this study, we explore the dietary ecology of six small-and medium-sized carnivores (red fox, European badger, European polecat, stoat, stone marten and least weasel) to determine their main food resources and the degree of food overlap in Flanders, Belgium. The studied species differed in their food consumption pattern with some being generalist and some more specialist. The dietary composition among the species was clearly different, although certain species showed considerable overlap for different food types. We also conclude that the differences and overlap in the dietary habits among the species were consistent across seasons. Understanding these relationships among species' populations and their dietary ecology is essential for biodiversity conservation and nature management.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Dietary composition and overlap among small‐ and medium‐sized carnivores in Flanders, Belgium

Berge

Veken

Gouwy

et al. 2021

Ecological Research

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“…Since both martens and red foxes increase their use of anthropogenic food resources in habitats that are more affected by human activities (e.g. Lanszki 2003, Reshamwala et al 2018, Lanszki et al 2019, it is likely that the presence of anthropogenic food resources, such as cultivated fruits, in our study area increased the similarity in feeding habits between species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, fruit trees are often planted as garden trees in rural landscapes (Taira & Kawamura 2002, Lanszki 2003, Czernik et al 2016, facilitating access to food resources other than farmland. In winter, leftover and discarded fruits may play an important role as a food resource because cultivated fruits are highly nutritious, making it an energyefficient acquisition; abundant as a resource; and continuously available for long periods (Ishikawa 2017, Kozakai et al 2018, Lanszki et al 2019. Since cultivated fruits may promote the dependence of animals on them as a high-quality food source, it is necessary to evaluate their use as a food resource for reducing the human-wildlife conflicts in rural areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Utilization of cultivated fruits by Japanese martens and red foxes in a snowy environment: a comparison of feeding habits between rural and forest landscapes

Nakane

Enomoto

Saito

2022

Journal of Vertebrate Biology

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Cultivated fruits can serve as an important winter food resource for medium-sized carnivores in rural areas that experience heavy snowfall. However, studies on the food analysis of medium-sized carnivores in heavy snowfall areas, particularly on the use of cultivated fruits, are limited. We evaluated the use of cultivated fruits by medium-sized carnivores during winter in a heavy snowfall area by comparing their feeding habits in rural and forest landscapes. We conducted faecal analysis of Japanese martens (Martes melampus) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in rural and forest landscapes in north-eastern Japan during periods of snow cover. Based on a faecal analysis in the rural landscape, both Japanese martens and red foxes consumed mammals, birds, fruits, and other plant material. In the forest landscape, mammals and insects were consumed by Japanese martens and mammals, fruits, and other plant material were consumed by red foxes. Our results showed that cultivated fruits, such as persimmons and apples, were a major food source in snowy environments, suggesting a wider range of available resources and overlapping feeding habits. It has been suggested that red foxes in forest landscapes move long distances (several kilometres) to consume cultivated fruits. This study suggests that cultivated fruits may also indirectly feed wildlife, even in areas with heavy snowfall.

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“…These opportunistic predators are active day and night, often preying on small mammals (e.g. Lanszki et al, 2019;Schley & Roper, 2003), thus it is not surprising that they also considered scented plasticine models as prey. Mammal predators quickly realize if they are not catching real prey, so the plasticine mice remain near the placement site with the predator's tooth marks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The predatory mammals, red fox Vulpes vulpes, badger Meles meles, stone marten Martes foina, pine marten Martes martes, weasel Mustela nivalis, wild boar Sus scrofa and house or feral cat Felis catus are common in the study area (e.g. Lanszki et al, 2019;Purger et al, 2017).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Scent, rather than fur pattern, determines predation of mice: an in‐the‐wild experiment with plasticine mouse models

2021

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Wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus and striped field mouse A. agrarius are the most abundant mouse species in Central Europe coexisting in several habitats not only such as in forests but also in rural and urban areas. Their basic colours are similar, but the striped field mouse has a pronounced black stripe on its back. The biological function of this phenotypic difference is unexplored; therefore, our goal was to study the impact of fur pattern as well as the scent on the survival of these species. In our study, we used plasticine models mimicking wood mouse and striped field mouse. For imitating mouse scent, cotton pads saturated with mouse urine were placed under the models. In spring 2016, 200 plasticine mice divided into four types (non-striped with scent, non-striped without scent, striped with scent, striped without scent) were placed randomly in four sampling sites in the mid-sized city, P ecs, Hungary. During 4 weeks of exposure, we recorded predation on 71 plasticine models. Birds (51%) and large mammals (25%) were the most common predators, and in 24% of the cases, the models disappeared. Considering predation only by large mammals, we found that the daily survival rate of both striped and non-striped models with scent decreased in comparison to models without scent. Thus, large mammalian predators could discover plasticine models sooner than avian predators, which suggests a strong impact of scent. Despite the high rate of bird predation, we did not detect an effect of fur pattern suggesting that it may not be related to survival but might have other functional roles. With the dummy mouse experiment, we showed that fur pattern may play a minor role in mice detection by predators, thus further studies are needed to discover its ecological function.

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The Stone Marten and the Red Fox consumed predominantly fruits all year round: a case study

Cited by 5 publications

References 37 publications

Dietary composition and overlap among small‐ and medium‐sized carnivores in Flanders, Belgium

Dietary composition and overlap among small‐ and medium‐sized carnivores in Flanders, Belgium

Utilization of cultivated fruits by Japanese martens and red foxes in a snowy environment: a comparison of feeding habits between rural and forest landscapes

Scent, rather than fur pattern, determines predation of mice: an in‐the‐wild experiment with plasticine mouse models

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