Year of Award
2021
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
Master of Science (MS)
Degree Name
Wildlife Biology
Department or School/College
W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, Division of Biological Sciences, Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit
Committee Chair
Dr. Jedediah Brodie
Commitee Members
Dr. Scott Mills, Dr. Jason Ransom, Dr. Michael Schwartz
Keywords
Fisher, Pekania pennanti, Reintroduction, Survival, Prey RSFs, Washington State
Subject Categories
Biodiversity | Biology | Population Biology | Zoology
Abstract
Increasing human impacts on biodiversity highlight the global need for ecological restoration. For many wildlife species, reintroduction is necessary to re-establish populations in parts of their historic range where they have been extirpated. Reintroduction efforts are commonly used to help restore ecosystem integrity, but are often expensive, time consuming, and unsuccessful at generating self-sustaining populations. Thus, a more complete understanding of the factors affecting restoration success is important for ensuring successful outcomes and responsible stewardship. Fishers (Pekania pennanti) are one of the most commonly reintroduced carnivores in North America, but the success of such efforts is highly variable, potentially due to differences among sites in predator and prey assemblages. We examined factors associated with differences in survival rates between reintroduced fisher populations in the southern and northern Cascade Mountains, Washington, USA. Fisher survival rates, based on radio telemetry data, were significantly lower in the North Cascades than in the South Cascades. The relative abundance of important fisher prey species was significantly lower in the North than in the South. Our findings are consistent with the survival of reintroduced fishers being affected by differences in prey assemblages between release sites, though there are many other factors that also differ between the study areas, so we cannot necessarily infer that prey differences are the causative factor. We produced prey habitat maps across the North Cascades study area based on habitat use of three important fisher prey species: snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), Douglas squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii), and mountain beaver (Aplodontia rufa). Future reintroduction efforts may benefit from preliminary assessment of prey assemblages, abundance, and habitat use prior to release site selection.
Recommended Citation
Humphries, Tanner S.T., "A REINTRODUCTION RETROSPECTIVE: COMPARATIVE FISHER (PEKANIA PENNANTI) SURVIVAL AND PREY HABITAT USE IN THE CASCADE MOUNTAINS OF WASHINGTON STATE" (2021). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 11849.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/11849
© Copyright 2021 Tanner S.T. Humphries