19 Jun Supporting Professional Development: Pine Marten Training
BSG Ecology has worked with pine marten specialist Malcolm Ginns on various projects over the last few years. Malcolm recently provided training for Ecologists from our Newcastle and Newport teams on pine marten ecology, and how an understanding of this should inform the approach to survey work and the interpretation of results.
Pine marten are protected under both European and UK legislation. In addition to affording protection to the animals, the legislation extents to breeding dens and resting places. Pine marten are present across Scotland extending down into Northern England, there are also populations in northern / mid Wales, the Forest of Dean and the New Forest. Pine marten are solitary and territorial with large home ranges ( between 20 and 3,000+ hectares depending on suitability of habitat), they therefore occur at low densities, and are also typically nocturnal. Understanding these basic aspects of their ecology helps to provide insight into designing survey scope and interpreting results.
The training provided information on identifying field signs, the typical habitat that pine marten uses and different options for survey. Key points included:
- Pine marten is an elusive species, and confirming presence can be extremely difficult;
- Identifying dens and resting sites is equally difficult, with the species using natural features on the ground (under tree roots, old badger setts / otter holts, caves), in trees (old squirrel dreys, holes in trees) and in some cases human dwellings. Resting site entrances can be very small;
- Surveying over the winter, looking for footprints in snow is very effective whereas searching for footprints in wet mud is less so (as in Malcolm’s experience they typically avoid walking through it);
- Transect walks along forestry tracks collecting spraints (and subsequently sending these off for DNA analysis) can help to identify which areas within a woodland pine marten are using;
- Baited camera trapping can be useful to confirm presence, but is likely to skew results by pulling animals into an area from a wide range (particularly in the case of very smelly bait);
During the training Malcolm also provided insights into pine marten ecology based on his experience. This included thoughts on reintroductions and relationships with other protected species, range expansion, and pine martens’ ability to adjust habitat use to forest activities (moving away from areas during felling, and back into them when felling is complete).
Take away messages from the training included:
- It may be useful to speak to game keepers, gillys and forestry managers about potential or confirmed sightings which may not have made it to local record centres.
- Pine marten field signs are extremely difficult to find, particularly when there is no snow on the ground. It is often the case that suspected pine marten scat may just be red fox. It is always prudent to send a scat sample off to a laboratory for expert analysis.
- If pine marten is present within parts of a plantation, it’s likely that they will move through other parts of it during the year (including riparian habitat).
A really useful training session learning more about pine marten from someone who has practical and detailed knowledge of the species.
Alex Permain, Senior Ecologist said: “Malcolm shared with us his extensive experience from his years spent studying pine marten behaviour and habitat usage. As pine marten range expands, it is important that we apply proportionate survey effort. From the training I took away a lot of useful information which can be applied to pine marten survey going forward.”