Relating marten scat contents to prey consumed

Abstract

A European ferret, Mustela putorius furo, was fed typical marten food items to discover the relationship between prey weight and number of scats produced per unit weight of prey. A correction factor was derived that was used in the analysis of pine marten, Martes americana, scats to produce a method capable of comparing foods on a "percent-by-prey-weight" basis. The results of this analysis are compared to traditional scat analysis methods and found to differ substantially. The differences were greatest when compared to analysis by "frequency-of-occurrence".

Citation

Zielinski, William J. 1986. Relating marten scat contents to prey consumed. California Fish and Game 72(2):110-116