IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
| Tatara, M.; Doi, T. | |
| Comparative analyses on food habits of Japanese marten, Siberian weasel and leopard cat in the Tsushima islands, Japan | |
| 1994 Ecological Research (9): 99-107 | |
Food habits of three sympatric carnivore mammals in the Tsushima islands of Japan were studied during 1986-91. Scats of the Tsushima marten (n = 1236), the Siberian weasel (n = 218) and the Tsushima leopard cat (n = 350) were collected monthly and the food items were determined by scat contents analysis. Marten was omnivorous showing a high level of diversity of food throughout the year. The important foods for marten were fruits and berries from spring to autumn, insects in summer and autumn and small mammals all year round. Leopard cat preferred to hunt wood mice and birds, and remained a flesh meat specialist throughout the year. Weasel was intermediate between marten and leopard cat, but was slightly biased towards the flesh meat eater. The three carnivores do not compete against one another for food, except for small rodents. A conflict for food between leopard cat and weasel was suggested to be more intense than that of other combinations based on diet overlapping. Marten may be characterized as an opportunistic generalist. When interspecific competitors existed, or human disturbance to the habitat occurred, the preferential flexibility of the marten to alternative food resources might become more advantageous than the other two species. |
|
 |
PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here |
(c) IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group ( IUCN - The World Conservation Union) |