Graduation Date
Winter 1982
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Other
Program
Master of Science
Committee Chair Name
Archie S. Mossman
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Richard G. Botzler
Third Committee Member Name
John O. Sawyer
Keywords
x
Abstract
Individual range and movement, habitat utilization, and effects of logging on fisher (Martes pennanti) were studied near Big Bar, California, between November, 1977 and June, 1979. Fishers were trapped, immobilized, fitted with radio collars and released. Location data were obtained from trapping, track observations and from air and ground telemetry. Field sampling and U.S. Forest Service timber type maps were used for analysis of habitat. Thirteen individual fishers were captured during the study. An overall male to female sex ratio of 9:4 was found. The overall age composition was 8:5, adult to juvenile. Mean individual range size for 2all fishers was 12.6 km . Mean range size for males was approximately· 2 215.0 km compared to 8.0 km for females. Adult males had .the largest ranges and adult females had the smallest. Juvenile ranges for both sexes were slightly smaller than those of adult males. Range overlap was common, especially among adult male fishers. Adult males showed a tendency to move outside of their ranges during breeding season. All sex and age classes combined avoided pure hardwood stands and occurred most frequently in stands composed of mature closed conifers. Within mature closed conifer stands fishers occurred most frequently in multiple species stands. Adult males seemed to avoid stands that had a large proportion of hardwoods. Adult females did not seem to avoid hardwood areas. Riparian areas appear to be important habitat for fishers. The overall effect of logging, especially selective cutting, has been a reduction of preferred mature closed conifer habitat. This may have resulted in the stronger adult males restricting female and juvenile distribution to the less . preferred hardwood and mixed conifer hardwood habitats.
Recommended Citation
Buck, Slader, "Habitat Utilization by Fisher (Martes Pennanti) Near Big Bar, California" (1982). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2633.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2633