PACIFIC MARTENS, A FOREST OBLIGATE, PERSISTED AFTER A MEGAFIRE

Deirdre L. Replinger; California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt; dr327@humboldt.edu; Christopher J. Collier, Micaela S. Gunther, Katie M. Moriarty, Alyssa M. Roddy, Ho Yi Wan

Increasing frequency, size, and severity of wildfires in the western U.S. threatens forest-dependent wildlife species. The Pacific marten (Martes caurina) has been considered to rely on mature, structurally-complex forest but has recently been found to occupy forest burned at high severity. To ascertain the relationship between the marten and burned landscapes, we used remote camera traps and non-invasive hair snares to assess marten occurrence, density, and home range in Lassen National Forest in northeastern California, burned by the 2021 Dixie Fire—the largest recorded single fire in California history. We detected martens at sites across the burn severity gradient, from unburned forest to stands burned at high severity. Preliminary results indicate that an individually identifiable marten’s home range spanned multiple burn severity classes, from unburned forest outside the fire perimeter to high-severity burn. Genetic analysis will identify individuals and sex ratio; subsequent analyses will estimate marten abundance and density, as well as the effect of the spatial heterogeneity of burn severity on marten occurrence. Because we detected multiple martens in 2022, 2023, and now 2024, we provide evidence for marten survival following an expansive high severity and intensity fire as well as short-term persistence of a rare forest-associated species.

Poster Session   Student Paper