Geographic and sexual variation of the American pine marten (Martes americana) in the Pacific Northwest : with special reference to the Queen Charlotte Islands
Date
1986
Authors
Giannico, Guillermo Roberto
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Abstract
The American Pine Marten (Martes americana) is among the few native species of mammals on the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. On these islands marten have evolved distinctive traits. My objectives in the first part of this study were (1) to analyse phenotypic differentiation of marten from the Queen Charlotte Islands and nearby areas, and (2) to determine if the pattern of differentiation among these populations supported the subspecific designations of Swarth (1911) and Hagmeier (1955).
Morphometric analysis suggested that the Queen Charlotte Islands marten form a distinctive group, and marten from other localities should not be included within the same subspecies. I recommend that the trinomial Martes americana nesophila be restricted to marten on the Queen Charlotte Islands.
Marten from Vancouver Island were very similar to those on the nearby mainland. Specimens from Baranof and Chichagof Islands (Alaska) were similar to those from the coastal area. More research, especially genetical analysis, is recommended to clarify certain relationships discussed here.
In the second part of this study, I used multivariate methods of analysis to describe sexual dimorphism and its changes with age, and to estimate whether insular populations are more sexually dimorphic than mainland ones. Sexual dimorphism was greatest in insular samples, and this finding is discussed in relation to the main hypotheses proposed to explain the strong differences between male and female. There was no clear pattern of variation in sexual dimorphism with age.