Humboldt marten
Individual on tree in Six Rivers National Forest

Critically Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Mustelidae
Genus: Martes
Species:
M. caurina
Subspecies:
M. c. humboldtensis
Trinomial name
Martes caurina humboldtensis
Grinnell and Dixon, 1926

The Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) is an endangered, genetically distinct subspecies of the Pacific marten known from the old-growth coastal redwood forests, forests with dense shrub cover, areas with serpentine soils, and forested areas with dense understory cover of the U.S. states in coastal California and Oregon.[2][3][4]

Humboldt marten on redwood tree

Habitat and distribution

Fewer than 500 of them survive in both states combined, in four different populations; one in northern California, one straddling the California-Oregon border, one in southern Oregon, and one in the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. It is speculated that Humboldt martens in northern California and southern Oregon may be genetically connected into one large population, but there is no data to inform genetic connectedness as of 2020.

Conservation

The subspecies was considered extinct until being rediscovered in the Six Rivers National Forest in 1996.[5] They are most threatened by a lack of population expansion and by human-caused mortalities, including trapping and road mortality.[6]

California banned all commercial trapping of martens since the 1950's, and Oregon banned trapping west of Interstate 5[5] in 2019. In California, the marten is threatened by the increasing number of marijuana farms destroying its habitat in the area.[7] Humboldt martens were rated Endangered in California in 2019. Overall, the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Distinct Population Segment of coastal martens, synonymous with Humboldt martens, as Federally Threatened in 2020.[8] Prior to 2020, there was confusion of the genetic composition of western marten subspecies.[9]

Ecology

Much is unknown regarding the Humboldt marten's diet,[10][11][12] habitat requirements,[13] and opportunities for restoration.[14] Research is ongoing and collaborative among entities.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  2. ↑ Moriarty, Katie M.; Verschuyl, Jake; Kroll, Andrew J.; Davis, Raymond; Chapman, Joshua; Hollen, Bruce (2019). "Describing vegetation characteristics used by two rare forest-dwelling species: Will established reserves provide for coastal marten in Oregon?". PLOS ONE. 14 (1): e0210865. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1410865M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210865. PMC 6354973. PMID 30703124.
  3. ↑ Slauson, Keith M.; Zielinski, William J.; Hayes, John P. (2007). "Habitat Selection by American Martens in Coastal California". Journal of Wildlife Management. 71 (2): 458–468. Bibcode:2007JWMan..71..458S. doi:10.2193/2004-332. S2CID 12344579.
  4. ↑ Moriarty, Katie M.; Thompson, Joel; Delheimer, Matthew; Barry, Brent R.; Linnell, Mark; Levi, Taal; Hamm, Keith; Early, Desiree; Gamblin, Holly; Gunther, Micaela Szykman; Ellison, Jordan; Prevéy, Janet S.; Hartman, Jennifer; Davis, Raymond (2021-07-21). "Predicted distribution of a rare and understudied forest carnivore: Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis)". PeerJ. 9: e11670. doi:10.7717/peerj.11670. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 8354145. PMID 34434640.
  5. 1 2 "Coastal Trapping Ban Sought to Protect Oregon's Vanishing Humboldt Martens". www.biologicaldiversity.org. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  6. ↑ Linnell, Mark A.; Moriarty, Katie; Green, David S.; Levi, Taal (2018-04-04). "Density and population viability of coastal marten: a rare and geographically isolated small carnivore". PeerJ. 6: e4530. doi:10.7717/peerj.4530. ISSN 2167-8359. PMC 5889706. PMID 29637018.
  7. ↑ Park, Madison. "Growing marijuana could make these furry creatures an endangered species". CNN. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  8. ↑ "Humboldt Martens Receive Long-awaited Endangered Species Act Protection".
  9. ↑ Young, Michael K.; Quinn, Cate B.; Zarn, Katherine E.; Sacks, Benjamin N.; Aubry, Keith B.; Zielinski, William J.; Slauson, Keith M.; Moriarty, Katie M.; Pilgrim, Kristine L.; Walters, Ashley D.; Schwartz, Michael K. (2020). "Pliocene–Early Pleistocene Geological Events Structure Pacific Martens (Martes caurina)". Journal of Heredity. 111 (2): 169–181. doi:10.1093/jhered/esaa005. PMID 32161974.
  10. ↑ Eriksson, Charlotte E.; Moriarty, Katie M.; Linnell, Mark A.; Levi, Taal (2019). "Biotic factors influencing the unexpected distribution of a Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) population in a young coastal forest". PLOS ONE. 14 (5): e0214653. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1414653E. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0214653. PMC 6493723. PMID 31042737.
  11. ↑ Manlick, Philip J.; Petersen, Shelby M.; Moriarty, Katie M.; Pauli, Jonathan N. (2019). "Stable isotopes reveal limited Eltonian niche conservatism across carnivore populations". Functional Ecology. 33 (2): 335–345. Bibcode:2019FuEco..33..335M. doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13266.
  12. ↑ Slauson, Keith M.; Zielinski, William J. (2017). "Seasonal specialization in diet of the Humboldt marten (Martes caurina humboldtensis) in California and the importance of prey size". Journal of Mammalogy. 98 (6): 1697–1708. doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyx118.
  13. ↑ Delheimer, Matthew (March 13, 2023). "Structural complexity characterizes fine-scale forest conditions used by Pacific martens". The Journal of Wildlife Management. 87 (4): 24. Bibcode:2023JWMan..87E2388D. doi:10.1002/jwmg.22388. S2CID 257553937.
  14. ↑ Wengert, Greta (September 1, 2021). "Distribution of trespass cannabis cultivation and its risk to sensitive forest predators in California and Southern Oregon". PLOS ONE. 16 (9): e0256273. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1656273W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256273. PMC 8409643. PMID 34469430.
  15. ↑ "Endangered martens are living on the edge in Oregon". 18 November 2020.
  16. ↑ Martin, Marie (October 6, 2022). "Conservation of rare and cryptic species: Challenges of uncertainty and opportunities for progress". Conservation Science and Practice. 4 (11): 11. Bibcode:2022ConSP...4E2809M. doi:10.1111/csp2.12809. S2CID 252803942.
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