scholarly journals Seasonal Diets of Newfoundland Martens, Martes americana atrata

2005 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 43 ◽  
Author(s):  
John W. Gosse ◽  
Brian J. Hearn

We analyzed scats (n = 679) and stomach contents (n = 25) collected from 1980-2003 to assess the relative frequencies of food types utilized by Newfoundland Marten (Martes americana atrata) during summer and winter. Meadow Voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) were the most prevalent food item occurring in 80% and 47.5% of samples from summer and winter, respectively. Apart from Snowshoe Hares (Lepus americana), which occurred in 28% of winter samples, all other food types occurred in <16% of samples during each season. Diet breadth was widest during winter and may be related to a lower availability of Meadow Voles during this time of year. Erratum included.

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 1565-1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marie Bergeron

One hundred and ninety-five meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus (Ord.) were captured by means of 485 traps installed each month during the summer of 1974 in four types of culture. The analysis of minerals in their diet indicates low variation in potassium levels, whereas nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium levels appear to be much more environment-dependent. There are a few differences between the diets of males and females. Stomach contents of captured voles do not vary significantly from one type of culture to another, but the physiological reproductive condition of the animals accounts for significant differences in stomach contents.[Journal translation]


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1020-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra L. MacPherson ◽  
Frederick A. Servello ◽  
Roy L. Kirkpatrick

Regression equations for estimating diet digestibility in meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) were developed using laboratory digestion trials and chemical analyses of diets and stomach contents. These equations were used to obtain estimates of the apparent digestible dry matter (DDM) and apparent digestible energy (DE) in the diets of wild meadow voles. The estimated DDM and DE in the diets of two wild meadow vole populations varied between 62.9 and 75.2% and 62.0 and 74.2%, respectively, and were similar to those reported previously for pine voles (Microtus pinetorum).


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (10) ◽  
pp. 2028-2032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marie Bergeron ◽  
Jacques Juillet

Stomach content analyses performed on 272 meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) revealed that the animal feeds on 35 of the 45 species of plant present in its habitat. Timothy is the most abundant and the most common plant in the vole's diet. The abundance of the plants sampled in the habitat is positively correlated with the abundance of the plants found in the stomach contents. However, some species, like meadow grass (Poa spp.), aredefinitely preferred by the voles since they appear more frequently in the stomach contents than in the habitat. Some feeding habits are also sex dependent.[Translated by the journal]


Author(s):  
Lauren Flynn ◽  
Tess Kreofsky ◽  
Adam Sepulveda

Introduced American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) have been present in Grand Teton National Park since approximately the 1950s, but little is known about their distribution and potential impacts. In this study, we surveyed the current bullfrog distribution and spatial overlap with sympatric native amphibians in the park, and characterized post-metamorphic bullfrog diets from July – September 2015. Despite surveys in multiple large rivers and floodplain habitats, we only documented bullfrogs in a geothermal pond and 5 km of stream channel immediately downstream of this pond. In these waters, bullfrogs overlapped with native amphibians at the downstream end of their distribution, and we did not document native amphibians in bullfrog stomach contents. Larger bullfrogs (SVL ≥ 96 mm) primarily consumed native rodents (especially meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus), while smaller bullfrogs frequently consumed native invertebrates and less frequently consumed non-native invertebrates and fish. Taken together, these data indicate that the distribution and implications of the bullfrog invasion in Grand Teton National Park are currently localized to a small area, so these bullfrogs should therefore be vulnerable to eradication.


1975 ◽  
Vol 53 (8) ◽  
pp. 1004-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian N. Turner ◽  
Michael R. Perrin ◽  
Stuart L. Iverson

Beginning in November 1973, numerous meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) moved onto a spruce forest grid occupied by red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi). A resident meadow vole population resulted, the two species coexisting until April 1974, when most meadow voles disappeared from the grid during a relatively short period. Interspecific aggression levels, as determined from voles temporarily removed from the populations and tested in paired encounters in a laboratory arena, were low during the winter, but increased when males of both species entered reproductive condition in the spring. Microtus was generally dominant in early breeding period encounters, but this dominance declined concurrently with the meadow voles' disappearance from the forest. It is argued that meadow voles did not leave the forest to breed, or because the snow cover melted, since this species will live and reproduce in forest in the absence of Clethrionomys. The results are interpreted as support for an earlier hypothesis that competitive habitat exclusion varies seasonally with reproduction-related aggression. Thus, these species apparently may coexist in either of their preferred habitats when interspecific aggression is low (the nonbreeding season), but this relationship terminates when interspecific aggression levels increase with the resumption of breeding in the spring.


2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashlee A. Vaughn ◽  
Daniel A. Ferkin ◽  
Javier Delbarco-Trillo ◽  
Michael H. Ferkin

Abstract The behaviors that surround copulation are characterized as sociosexual behaviors. These behaviors displayed by males that are directed at females may include allogrooming, wrestling, chasing, approach, and time spent together. The data supported the hypothesis that the duration of sociosexual behaviors differs during the pre-copulatory, peri-copulatory, and post-copulatory phases of the mating bout in meadow voles. Voles spent more time approaching conspecifics during the pre- and peri-copulatory phases than during the post-copulatory phase. Voles spent more time allogrooming, wrestling, and chasing during the pre-copulatory phase than during the peri- and post-copulatory phases. Voles spent similar amounts of time together during the pre-, peri-, and post-copulatory phases. The data suggest that sociosexual behaviors displayed by males may be involved in setting the pace and temporal components of the mating bout. During the pre-copulatory phase particular behaviors by male voles may attract females, during the peri-copulatory phase some of these behaviors may stimulate or motivate the female to mate, and during the post-copulatory phase certain behaviors may prepare the male to mate again.


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