The fact that you already know something about the Newfoundland marten (if only that it exists, and is at-risk) demonstrates that at least the educational component of the recovery plan has been successful.
Just in case you never had the model forest's poster on your classroom wall all the way through grade school, let's go over some of the basic info. The Newfoundland marten goes by several names: pine marten, marten cat, American marten, and Newfoundland marten. The marten is a member of the weasel family, and has an elongate body with dark brown fir, and a bushy tail.
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They're also kinda cute
Source: COSEWIC, 2007
Photographer: Lem Meyo
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The martens found in Newfoundland are actually one of five subspecies of American martens found in North America. The subspecies can only be found on the island of Newfoundland and parts of Labrador, but the Newfoundland population has been designated as genetically distinct from the Labrador population as a result of geographic isolation. It is the Newfoundland population that is considered at risk, so that's the one we will be discussing today. For the sake of convenience, we'll keep calling it the Newfoundland marten so you know which subspecies we're talking about
Newfoundland martens, like American martens in general, live in boreal forests, and so, since this covers most of the province, it seems they should be found across the entire province. And that's true, because looking at calculated historic distributions, the marten had a very wide range in the province. That cannot be said anymore, however, as martens are now confined to a few small areas
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Location of 2007 Newfoundland marten habitats. Note that the population consists of five discontinuous locations
Source: The Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team, 2010 |
The cause of this shrinking range has been linked to habitat loss through deforestation, and accidental catching of Newfoundland marten in snares set for rabbits. When Newfoundland marten populations were assessed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) in 1986, they were first classified as at-risk, and a national recovery plan was made up. In 2002, the provincial Endangered Species Act listed the marten population as endangered, but it was reduced to threatened in 2008 (The Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team, 2010).
Although the threat level has been reduced, there is still a great deal of work left to be done to stabilize the Newfoundland marten population. To guide further efforts, an updated recovery plan was released in 2010, by the Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team, under the Wildlife Division of the provincial Department of Environment of Conservation. This document (which is available online), details historic distributions and recovery efforts of the Newfoundland marten, and also outlines future efforts which will be taken. The key points of this recovery plan are summarized in a press release by Department of Environment and Conservation, which you can read here.
The goal of this recovery plan has remain unchanged from the 1995 version. They both outline methods which can be undergone to stabilize the population, and this is considered to be done when the population reaches 1,000.
To reach this goal, seven different recovery objectives have been created. These objectives range from implementing strategies to mitigate accidental marten mortality as a result of snaring, to continuing population monitoring, so it can be determined if the recovery plan is actually bringing results.
The approach to recovery is sub-divided even further through the creation of 15 different recovery actions, within five different categories. These are more direct actions which must be undertaken to fulfil the recovery objectives, as well as the overall recovery goal. Actions include developing public support (which means putting up more posters in schools, amongst many other things), supporting the establishment of protected areas (which are great for a whole bunch of reasons, you can read more about them here), and analyzing the need for re-introducing the marten to areas to create more sub-populations.
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Newfoundland marten Recovery Goals, along with priority level and timeframe of implementation
Source:The Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team, 2010
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When looking at the changes to the population size of the Newfoundland marten, it appears that the recovery planning process has had some degree of success. When the marten was first designated as an at-risk species in 1986, it was estimated that the population size was less than 875 individuals. Since there was no formal action actually taken other than designation, the population dropped to less than 300 in 1995, when the first recovery plan was made. In a 2007 report by COSEWIC, marten populations were estimated to be less than 852, with some degree of stability in the population.
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Population of Newfoundland marten when first assessed (orange), when recovery plan was first introduced (blue), and most recently published data (green)
Source: Modified from COSEWIC, 2007
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While the population did increase after the implementation of the 1995 recovery plan, it is clear that there is still work to be done in order to reach the target population size of 1000 martens. Hopefully the 2010 recovery plan will help make this goal a reality. With its multifaceted approach to conservation, the new recovery plan addresses all the major threats, and also makes a commitment to maintaining research and monitoring, which will definitely give the Newfoundland marten a fighting chance.
-Asfa and Shane
References
COSEWIC. (2007). COSEWIC Assessment and status update on the American marten (Martes americana atrata)Newfoundland population. Retrieved from http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2007/ec/CW69-14-46-2007E.pdf
The Newfoundland Marten Recovery Team. (2010). Recovery plan for the threatened
Newfoundland population of American marten (Martes americana atrata). Wildlife
Division, Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Newfoundland
and Labrador.
Given that some of the threats affecting NL martens are likely also affecting mainland populations, why is it that the mainland populations are not similarly at risk? Or are they? If so, how are they or the forests they inhabit being managed?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Mainland populations are also facing problems. In an article titled "Mortality risk increases with natal dispersal distance in American martens" published by the Royal Society Biological Sciences, showcased that those martens that did disperse themselves suffered higher mortality rates. This also reduces their foraging success.
ReplyDeleteThey did this study in Ear Falls, Ontario.
Managers of forest must provide tracts of old conifer large enough to maintain marten population.
In 1996, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources suggested ways to sustain the population in forests. You can find more information by following this link!
Thank you for your feedback!
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@forests/documents/document/mnr_e000514.pdf
ReplyDeleteSorry the link didn't paste the first time!
Excellent post. I love to eat wild rabbit but one of the major risks facing Newfoundland Pine martin is accidental snaring from rabbit trapping. Over recent years, as Newfoundlanders move away from rural life and into town, traditional Newfoundland cultural activities such as rabbit trapping in on the decline. How much of the recovery of the Newfoundland Pine martin is due to reduced trapping activities compared to the actions laid out in the the recovery plan?
ReplyDeleteThat is a very interesting point, one that defintely emphasizes the need to look at the bigger picture of the relationship between human activities and conservation.
DeleteWhile we were unable to find any type of actual statistics on declining rabbit snaring (despite the "rabbits" actually being showshoe hares), it is likely that marten increases can be largely attributed to a change in snaring laws. By making 22 gauge
brass and six-strand picture cord the only legal material for snares, the martens are much safer.
These wire types have been shown to hold onto 75% of captured hares, but are weak enough to allow 90% of accidentally captured martens to escape, which greatly reduces the threat to their population.
These regulations are outlined in the 2009-2010 Hunting and Trapping Guide, available online at http://www.gs.gov.nl.ca/licenses/hunting/bear_caribou/2009_10_hunting_trapping_guide.pdf