Where to sleep in a rural landscape? A comparative study of resting sites pattern in two syntopic Martes species

Abstract

The niche‐complementarity hypothesis predicts that two sympatric species must differ in their requirements for one of the three main ecological dimensions (i.e. habitat use, diet, and activity time) to coexist. European pine marten Martes martes and stone marten M. foina are syntopic medium‐sized mustelids with very similar morphology and ecology for which resting sites are a key resource. To better understand how these species coexist, we investigated whether key features of their resting site pattern (number of resting sites, area over which they are distributed, main habitat type used for resting) differed. We used diurnal telemetry to identify resident individuals (e.g. spatially stable individuals over time) and to locate them during resting periods in a fragmented forested area in France. Stone marten used fewer resting sites distributed over a smaller surface area than pine marten. Most stone marten resting sites were located in open habitat (83%) in the proximity of human habitations, whereas pine martens rested almost exclusively in forest (98%). Sex, age, and season explained some variability in both the number of resting sites and the probability of resting within forested habitat for stone marten but not pine marten. The area covered by resting sites was larger in males than in females, but age modulated this difference in an opposite way for the two species. Such a pattern was expected given the intra‐sexual territoriality and the reproductive phenology of these species. Overall, stone marten showed higher inter‐individual variability in resting site pattern than pine marten. The particular pattern observed in subadult male stone martens during summer (increase in resting site surface area and in the probability to rest in forest) may reflect an attempt to settle in forests, and we discuss these implications in the context of interspecific competition.

Far from the madding crowd: Tolerance toward human disturbance shapes distribution and connectivity patterns of closely related Martes spp.

“…In this context, the lower “distance to water” recorded for the stone marten may indicate its selection for residual riparian woods, which often represent the only vegetation cover in agricultural landscapes (Balestrieri et al, ; Rondinini & Boitani, ). Variation in each species' tolerance for human disturbance was consistent with patterns of resting sites, a key resource for both species (Gough & Rushton, ), with the stone marten establishing its resting sites both in open and forest habitats while those of the pine marten occur almost exclusively in forests (Larroque et al, ).…”

“…The closely related pine marten Martes martes and stone marten Martes foina (Koepfli et al, ) are the most similar European sympatric carnivores (Larroque, Ruette, Vandel, & Devillard, ). They are comparable in size, morphology and feeding habits (Balestrieri et al, ; Balestrieri, Remonti, Capra, Canova, & Prigioni, ; Marchesi, ), with extensively overlapping trophic niches (Posluszny, Pilot, Goszczynski, & Gralak, ; Remonti et al, ).…”

“…Although several studies have been conducted on morphological variation and character displacement in small‐ and medium‐sized mustelids (e.g., Dayan & Simberloff, ; Loy, Spinosi, & Carlini, ; Meiri & Dayan, ), only a few recent studies have addressed the habitat preferences of both martens in syntopy (Larroque et al, ; Larroque, Ruette, Vandel, & Devillard, ; Vergara, Cushman, Madeira, & Ruiz‐González, ; Vergara, Cushman, Urra, & Ruiz‐González, ; Wereszczuk & Zalewski, ). By applying multiscale, habitat suitability models Vergara et al () compared pine marten and stone marten habitat use at the southern limit of pine marten distribution in Spain, recording a clear spatial segregation and niche divergence, with the pine marten often displacing the stone marten from forested landscapes (see also Vergara, Cushman, Madeira, & Ruiz‐González, ; Vergara, Cushman, & Ruiz‐González, ).…”

Quantifying the age- and sex-dependent morphological variation in two syntopic mustelids: Martes martes and Martes foina

“…This ruled out the hypercarnivory hypothesis to explain the larger size of SM than PM. As an alternative explanation, the highly "anthropogenous life style" of SM in our study area (Larroque et al, 2015) may give this species the opportunity to hunt larger preys, but comparative diet analysis is needed to investigate this hypothesis.…”

Nutritional ecology provides insights into competitive interactions between closely-related marten species

“…Pine marten Martes martes and stone marten Martes foina are the most similar European carnivores (see [1]) and co-exist over a large area, including most of central and southern Europe [2]. While forested habitats are key-features for both species, the stone marten often occurs in rural and suburban areas [3,4].…”