Full text loading...
Mammal Study
Abstract
Abstract.
Seasonal and short-term foraging patterns of the Tsushima marten (Martes melampus tsuensis) were examined using the stomach content analysis. To do this, the indices of frequency, amount, and number of consumed individual animals and plants taken from 120 stomachs of roadkilled martens were investigated. The frequency of occurrence and the total wet weight and number of consumed individual insects, earthworms, and fruits represented 40–90% of all foraged food categories from spring to autumn. Thus, these three categories were regarded as the main foods of the Tsushima marten. However, martens did not forage on specific food categories intensively in winter. As the availability of the three main categories generally decreased in winter, martens expanded their target food categories and dietary niche breadth. The consumed wet weight of fruits was higher than that of the other main categories from summer to winter. As large fruits were available in these seasons, martens would obtain high food biomass over short periods efficiently. Quantitative stomach content analysis of the omnivorous Tsushima marten allowed us to reveal their seasonal different diet, the utilization of digestible foods (i.e., earthworms), and the influence of the fruiting period and size of each fruit on the short-term foraging efficiency.
We are grateful to the staff of Road Maintenance Section and Kamiagata Civil Engineering Branch Office in Tsushima Promotion Bureau, Nagasaki Prefectural Government, Cultural Properties Section in Tsushima City, Tsushima Wildlife Conservation Center, Dr. Kawada, Department of Zoology, National Museum of Nature and Science, and the regional inhabitants for their great cooperation for the sample collection. We sincerely thank Dr. K. Tachihara, University of the Ryukyus, for the species identification of fish contained in stomachs. We also warmly thank the students at University of the Ryukyus for their assistance in the stomach content analysis. This study was supported in part by the Inui Memorial Trust for Research on Animal Science and Natural History Foundation and Pro Natura Foundation Japan.
Data & Media loading...