Bowman, J.C. & Robitaille, J.-F. 1997: Winter habitat use of American martens Martes americana within second-growth forest in Ontario, Canada. - Wildl. Biol. 3: 97-105.
A combination of discriminant function analysis and multiple regression was used to develop a linear model of American marten Martes americana winter habitat use within second-growth boreal forest in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Four structural variables significantly discriminated between sites that were used or not used by martens: the percentage of spruce or fir trees, tree height, the number of downed logs, and canopy closure. The model was tested against a second data set and was not invalidated. The results demonstrated that martens were using second-growth forests in Ontario, and that their response to structural characteristics was similar to responses described previously in uncut forests.
Key words: discriminant function analysis, habitat model, marten, Martes americana, second-growth forest, snow-tracking, winter
Jeffrey C. Bowman* & Jean-François Robitaille, Department of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada, P3E 2C6
*Present address: New Brunswick Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of New Brunswick, PO Box 45111, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 6E1
Received 15 December 1996, accepted 14 May 1997
Associate Editor: Tommy Asferg