Diet, spatial organization, and habitat relationships of fishers in south-central British Columbia

Diet, spatial organization, and habitat relationships of fishers (Martes pennanti) were examined in British Columbia using fisher carcasses and a field study of transplanted and resident fishers. Nineteen species of food were found in 261 stomachs. The primary prey of fishers were snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), and southern red-backed voles (Clethrionomys gapperi). Female fishers consumed small prey more frequently and mustelids less frequently than did males.;Fifteen fishers (13 F, 2 M) were radio-collared and transplanted into the study area during 2 winters. Fishers wandered extensively while transient. Nine of 15 transplanted fishers established home ranges while in radio-contact, and 8 of them established home ranges by mid-April. Home range establishment appeared to be mediated by reproductive requirements.;Home ranges of fishers in the Sub-Boreal Spruce Biogeoclimatic Zone of British Columbia were smallest during winter and largest during summer. Home ranges of female fishers with kits were smaller than those of females without offspring. Fishers exhibited temporal avoidance rather than intrasexually exclusive home ranges.;Fishers selected habitats at the landscape, stand, patch, and habitat element scales. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).