Habitat selection of American marten in a logged landscape at the southern fringe of the boreal forest

Abstract

American marten (Martes americana), a species sensitive to intensive logging, is often associated with old-growth coniferous forest. Recent results, however, question the specificity of this association. We studied habitat selection of marten at the southern fringe of the boreal forest, in mixed forest types. The presence of a white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) wintering area protected part of the study area from large-scale intensive logging [clear-cuts with protection of regeneration and soils (CPRS) and precommercial thinning (PCT)] but not from partial logging of mature coniferous stands. We radio-tracked 15 marten over 2 y and analyzed habitat selection at 2 scales: landscape and home range. Marten selected mature (> 60 y) coniferous forests at both scales, while they neither selected nor avoided Mature mixed forests. PCT forests (0–15 y old) were strongly avoided at the landscape scale (P < 0.001), as were Young forests (21–60 y old; P = 0.005). At the home range scale, marten avoided CPRS (0–20 y old; P < 0.001). Partial logging had no effect on selection at either scale. Female home ranges were smaller in the partially logged sector of the study area (2.6 ± 0.6 versus 7.4 ± 0.2 km2), while male home range averaged 5.5 ± 1.0 km2, resulting in a significant interaction between location of home ranges in the white-tailed deer wintering area and sex of individuals (F1,11 = 5.618, P = 0.037). Also, home ranges tended to be larger as the road density and proportion of light outbreak cover type increased. Our results showed that partial logging, CPRS, and PCT have different impacts on marten habitat selection and use of space. We conclude that partial logging rather than clear-cuts and precommercial thinning should be favored for conservation of American marten.