Habitat-mediated variation in predation risk by the American marten.

The probability of prey encounter, attack, capture, and kill are often hypothesized to depend on habitat structure, but field evidence in terrestrial systems is rare. We tested whether predation efficiency by the American marten (Martes americana) and fear of predation by their primary prey, the red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi), differed between 20- to 50-year-old regenerating forest stands and older uncut stands. Our results showed that the frequency of prey encounter, prey attack, and prey kill were higher in old uncut forests, despite the fact that small-mammal density was similar to that in younger logged forests. These differences in predation efficiency were linked to higher abundance of coarse woody debris, which seems to offer sensory cues to martens, thereby increasing the odds of hunting success. Red-backed voles in regenerating forest stands exhibited increased wariness compared to voles living in old uncut forest, suggestive of a behavioral response to habitat-mediated variation in predation risk.

[1]  D. Morris.  Optimally Foraging Deer Mice in Prairie Mosaics: A Test of Habitat Theory and Absence of Landscape Effects , 1997 .

[2]  Burt P. Kotler.  Patch use by gerbils in a risky environment: manipulating food and safety to test four models , 1997 .

[3]  J. A. Baker,et al.  Accuracy of forest inventory mapping : Some implications for boreal forest management , 2007 .

[4]  P. Colgan,et al.  Prey choice by marten during a decline in prey abundance , 1990, Oecologia.

[5]  D. Tallmon,et al.  Use of Logs within Home Ranges of California Red-Backed Voles on a Remnant of Forest , 1994 .

[6]  M. Boyce,et al.  Landscape heterogeneity shapes predation in a newly restored predator-prey system. , 2007, Ecology letters.

[7]  Douglas W. Morris,et al.  OPTIMALLY FORAGING MICE MATCH PATCH USE WITH HABITAT DIFFERENCES IN FITNESS , 2000 .

[8]  A. B. Carey,et al.  Small mammals in managed, naturally young, and old-growth forests. , 1995 .

[9]  S. Loeb.  Responses of small mammals to coarse woody debris in a southeastern pine forest , 1999 .

[10]  Yves Bergeron,et al.  Coarse woody debris in the southeastern Canadian boreal forest: composition and load variations in relation to stand replacement. , 2000 .

[11]  Russell V. Lenth,et al.  On Finding the Source of a Signal , 1981 .

[12]  D. McCullough,et al.  Winter diet and habitat selection of marten in Yosemite National Park , 1984 .

[13]  Larry B. Crowder,et al.  Habitat structural complexity and the interaction between bluegills and their prey , 1982 .

[14]  Burt P. Kotler,et al.  Applying patch use to assess aspects of foraging behavior in Nubian ibex , 1994 .

[15]  J. Bissonette,et al.  Marten subnivean access point use: response to subnivean prey levels , 1994 .

[16]  D. J. Hall,et al.  Experimental Tests of Optimal Habitat Use in Fish: The Role of Relative Habitat Profitability , 1983 .

[17]  Kimberly G. Smith,et al.  Microhabitat factors influencing predation and success of suburban Blue Jay Cyanocitta cristata nests , 1995 .

[18]  Burt P. Kotler,et al.  Factors Affecting Gerbil Foraging Behavior and Rates of Owl Predation , 1991 .

[19]  Owen Anderson,et al.  Optimal Foraging by Largemouth Bass in Structured Environments , 1984 .

[20]  Joel s. Brown,et al.  Patch use as an indicator of habitat preference, predation risk, and competition , 2004, Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.

[21]  Craig Packer,et al.  Planning for success: Serengeti lions seek prey accessibility rather than abundance , 2005 .

[22]  Oswald J. Schmitz,et al.  Behaviorally mediated trophic cascades : Effects of predation risk on food web interactions , 1997 .

[23]  J. W. Thomas,et al.  Wildlife habitats in managed forests--the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington , 1981 .

[24]  W. Mccomb,et al.  Associations of forest-floor vertebrates with coarse woody debris in managed forests of Western Oregon , 2000 .

[25]  W. J. Bell.  Searching Behaviour , 1990, Chapman and Hall Animal Behaviour Series.

[26]  C. Harrington,et al.  Small mammals in young forests: implications for management for sustainability , 2001 .

[27]  J. Bowman,et al.  The association of small mammals with coarse woody debris at log and stand scales , 2000 .

[28]  I. Thompson,et al.  HABITAT SUITABILITY FOR MARTEN OF SECOND-GROWTH BALSAM FIR FORESTS IN NEWFOUNDLAND , 1995 .

[29]  A. Houston,et al.  Starvation and Predation as Factors Limiting Population Size , 1987 .

[30]  G. Jones,et al.  Habitat complexity modifies the impact of piscivores on a coral reef fish population , 1998, Oecologia.

[31]  Jacqueline F. Savino,et al.  Behavioural interactions between fish predators and their prey: effects of plant density , 1989, Animal Behaviour.

[32]  Philip J. Burton,et al.  Coarse woody debris in sub-boreal spruce forests of west-central British Columbia , 1998 .

[33]  P. Colgan,et al.  Numerical responses of martens to a food shortage in Northcentral Ontario , 1987 .

[34]  Mark Hebblewhite,et al.  Spatial decomposition of predation risk using resource selection functions: an example in a wolf /elk predator /prey system , 2005 .

[35]  A. Martell.  Changes in small mammal communities after logging in north-central Ontario , 1983 .