Fisher Team
Fisher Team
What We're Working on Now
We have recently initiated our 3rd year of camera surveys in the Key Watersheds part of the Fisher Study Area. As fall progresses into winter, we will expand our camera surveys into other areas to verify continued fisher activity where they were previously found. Data on fisher presence/occupancy in the Key Watersheds are being used to help understand how fishers respond to fuel reduction treatments, one of our primary research objectives.
We have initiated the fall season of intensive trapping focused on juvenile-aged fishers. Fisher kits that were born in the spring are now separating from their mothers and becoming independent. We need to capture and tag these “juveniles” to monitor their survival and determine how many of them eventually reach reproductive maturity. The first year of life is very risky for juvenile animals; during this period they must learn to forage unassisted and establish home ranges in suitable areas not already occupied by territorial and aggressive adults. This process often requires long distance movement by juveniles away from where they were born (dispersal). Quantitative data on juvenile and adult survival, dispersal, and reproduction are very important for determining whether the relatively small population of fishers in the southern Sierra Nevada is likely to persist into the future, which is our second primary research objective.
We are currently monitoring around 30 radiocollared fishers, including a number of recently captured juvenile fishers. Winter snows will soon blanket the fisher study area, and we are preparing our vehicles, snowmobiles, and other equipment for the 3rd season of winter field work.
The Fisher workplan is available here
Updates
Discussion
Having just heard from the USFS Regional Forester yesterday that the next round of forest planning will make fisher habitat ...
After the SNAMP Annual meeting in November 2008, the issue of identifying private landownership and obtaining permission to access private ...
Description
The Fisher Team is determining the limiting factors for the Pacific Fisher (Martes pennanti) population through the life of the SNAMP project in the southern site.
Researchers
Primary Investigators
Reginald H. Barrett
Reginald Barrett is a Professor of Wildlife Biology and Management in the department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on the response of terrestrial vertebrates to forest and range management practices, the ecology and management of introduced species, and the autecology of economically or politically important wildlife.
Rick Sweitzer
Rick A. Sweitzer is Project Leader for the SNAMP Fisher Study. His research focus is applied aspects of wildlife conservation and population ecology of mammals with emphases in predator-prey systems, behavioral ecology, and the ecological effects of introduced species on native ecosystems.
Dear Linda,
Thanks for your question, and yes, we are aware of the extensive logging that occurred throughout the Fisher ...