Data from: Data from camera surveys identifying co-occurrence and occupancy linkages between fishers (Pekania pennanti), rodent prey, mesocarnivores, and larger predators in mixed-conifer forests
dataset
posted on 2024-02-08, 22:00authored byRichard Alan Sweitzer, Brett J. Furnas
<p>These data provide additional information relevant to the frequency of fisher detections by camera traps, and single-season occupancy and local persistence of fishers in small patches of forest habitats detailed in "Landscape Fuel Reduction, Forest Fire, and Biophysical Linkages to Local Habitat Use and Local Persistence of Fishers (<em>Pekania pennanti</em>) in Sierra Nevada Mixed-conifer Forests", <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.11.026">Sweitzer et al. 2016</a>. The data provides insight on camera trap detections of 3 fisher predators (bobcat [<em>Lynx rufus</em>]). Coyote [<em>Canis latrans</em>], mountain lion [<em>Puma concolor</em>], 5 mesocarnivores in the same foraging guild as fishers (gray fox [<em>Urocyon cinereoargenteus</em>]) ringtail [<em>Bassariscus astutus</em>], marten [<em>Martes americana</em>], striped skunk [<em>Mephitis mephitis</em>] spotted skunk [<em>Spilogale gracilis</em>], and 5 Sciuridae rodents that fishers consume as prey (Douglas squirrel [<em>Tamiasciurus douglasii</em>]), gray squirrel [<em>Sciurus griseus</em>], northern flying squirrel [<em>Glaucomys sabrinus</em>], long-eared chipmunk [<em>Neotamias quadrimaculatus</em>], California ground squirrel [<em>Spermophilus beecheyi</em>]. These data are used to identify basic patterns of co-occurrence with fishers, and to evaluate the relative importance of presence of competing mesocarnivores, rodent prey, and predators for fisher occupancy of small, 1 km^2^ grid cells of forest habitat. </p><div><br>Resources in this dataset:</div><br><ul><li><p>Resource Title: Data from camera surveys identifying co-occurrence and occupancy linkages between fishers (Pekania pennanti), rodent prey, mesocarnivores, and larger predators in mixed-conifer forests.</p> <p>File Name: Web Page, url: <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235234091600038X">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235234091600038X</a> </p><p>This <em>Data in Brief</em> article provides tabular data summarizing camera trap detections of 3 fisher predators (bobcat, coyote, mountain lion), 5 mesocarnivores in the same foraging guild as fishers (gray fox, ringtail, American marten, striped skunk, spotted skunk), and 5 Sciuridae rodents that fishers prey on (Douglas squirrel, gray squirrel, northern flying squirrel, long-eared chipmunk, California ground squirrel) in the Sierra Nevada region of California, USA. These data identify basic patterns of co-occurrence of rodent prey and other carnivores with fishers, as well as how presence of these species influence fisher occupancy within small, 1-km^2^ patches of forest habitat in California, USA.</p></li></ul><p></p>
These data provide new insights on how the distribution and habitat use of fishers is influenced by presence of multiple co-occurring carnivores and rodent prey in California, USA. These data indicated that fishers co-occurred with multiple species of rodent prey, multiple other mesocarnivores in the same foraging guild, and 3 larger predators that commonly attack and kill them. These data identified a positive association between fisher occupancy and presence of known prey of fishers. Mesocarnivores consume similar prey, and these data identified a negative association between fisher occupancy and presence of other mesocarnivores, indicative of interspecific competition. The data on local occupancy of fishers with prey and competing mesocarnivores can improve models of their distribution in forest ecosystems.
Sweitzer, R. A., & Furnas, B. J. (2016). Data from camera surveys identifying co-occurrence and occupancy linkages between fishers (Pekania pennanti), rodent prey, mesocarnivores, and larger predators in mixed-conifer forests. Data in Brief, 6:783-792. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2016.01.032.