期刊
ACTA THERIOLOGICA
卷 56, 期 3, 页码 199-207出版社
SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s13364-010-0015-8
关键词
PCR-RFLP method; Non-invasive sampling; Rodent availability; Diet analysis; Range expansion
类别
资金
- Department of Education Universities and Research of the Basque Government [BFI09.396]
- Basque Country Government [IT317-10, GIC10/76]
- River Po Park (Vercelli and Alessandria provinces)
We assessed the diet of pine marten (Martes martes) expanding in the heavily human-altered agricultural plain of the River Po, northern Italy. Between February 2008 and November 2009, surveys were carried out twice a week during seasonal sampling sessions of three to four consecutive weeks. To distinguish the faecal samples from those of sympatric carnivores, a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method was applied. The availability of small mammals was assessed by the analysis of 59 barn owl (Tyto alba) pellets. A total of 109 pine marten faeces were analysed. Its diet consisted of fruit, rodents, lagomorphs and birds. Seasonal variation occurred for fruit, which prevailed in summer, and rodents, which were more preyed upon in autumn. In winter, the diet of the pine marten was almost totally based on vertebrates, and lagomorphs were the main source of protein in summer. Use of small mammals differed significantly from their availability, voles, particularly bank vole Myodes glareolus, being preferred to mice (Apodemus sp.) and rats (Rattus sp.). Medium-size mammals formed about 18% of pine marten diet, a value generally reported for high-latitude habitats. In agricultural areas, the pine marten proved to be an opportunistic predator, able to face the reduced availability of small mammals by preying upon medium-size prey and fruit.
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