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Welcome to our newest SNAMP newsletter! To read previous newsletters and for more information, please visit our project website at: http://snamp.cnr.berkeley.edu. In this and our upcoming newsletters, we will highlight the work of the individual science teams. This issue focuses on the Fisher Science Team.

THE SNAMP SCIENCE TEAMS The science teams are made up of researchers from the University of California Berkeley, the University of California Merced, University of California Cooperative Extension, and the University of Minnesota. The science teams study fire and forest health, wildlife (focusing on fisher and spotted owl), water, and public participation. All science teams are supported by spatial analysis and GIS.

FISHER TEAM PEOPLE. Dr. Reginald H. Barrett at UC Berkeley heads the California Fisher Team. He oversees the research efforts investigating the status of CA fisher populations in the southern site. Dr. Rick Sweitzer, a research scientist affiliated with UC Berkeley, is project leader directing the field research.

FISHER TEAM PLAN. The SNAMP fisher study is designed to determine whether the fisher population in the southern study area is stable or decreasing, which vital rate is most important in population change, and which environmental factors are correlated with these changes. Our working hypothesis is that the population is in decline over the long term due to low rates of survival, and that low survival is related to decreased canopy cover in the study area, which in turn is a function of forest management practices on the Sierra National Forest. The approach being used by the Fisher Science team includes intensive monitoring of the survival and behavior of all known individual fisher residing within the boundaries of four focal watersheds (Sugar Pine, Nelder Creek, Rainier Creek and White Chief Branch watersheds). We are also monitoring survival and habitat use by multiple individual fisher living outside the focal watersheds. Our objective is to continuously monitor a minimum of 20 fisher; when animals are known to have dispersed or died, additional individuals will be captured for monitoring. Since Dec ‘07 we have

A Newsletter from the SNAMP Public Participation Science Team - Volume 2, Number 1 September 2008

SNAMP Newsletter Vol. 2 No. 1 p. 2

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SNAMP HIGHLIGHT: THE PACIFIC FISHER The Pacific Fisher (Martes pennanti) is a State and Federal Species of Special Concern. In the Sierra Nevada, the fisher lives in mature forests in the upper Mixed Conifer and Upper Montane Belts at about 3,000 to 7,000 ft, feeding on squirrels, other rodents and birds. They use large areas of mixed coniferous forests with dense canopies and large trees, snags, and down logs. Fishers den in rotting logs, tree cavities, and rocky crevices of mature forests. Solitary and apparently needing large areas of mature forest free of human disturbance, this secretive animal is rarely seen.

Fisher form: a mammal with the shape of a large weasel. The nose, lower legs, tail and feet are black. The body of the fisher is a dark chocolate brown, becoming light brown and grizzled on the head and over the shoulders. There is often a patch of white fur on the chest. This fisher above was photographed by one of our field cameras. -- This section taken !om Storer et al, 2004.Sierra Nevada Natural History. CA Natural History Guide Series No. 73. Univ. of CA Press.

theSierra Nevada

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captured and fitted 25 different fisher with radio-collars, but not all of them survived to Jul ‘08. By the end of the study we anticipate having information on cause of death for around 40 individual fisher whose age, home range, and habitat use were well known. This sample of fisher fitness measures (e.g. lifespan, reproductive output) will be correlated with habitat and other environmental measures. We are also determining fisher “occupancy” of 1 km2 blocks throughout the study area. Temporal change in occupancy during the 7 year research period will be used to assess how different forest treatments influence habitat quality for fisher.

FISHER FIELD PLANStudy Area: The overall Fisher study area extends from the Merced River south to the San Joaquin River and from 3000 ft elevation to 7000 ft elevation. Within this large geographical region we have defined a smaller area outlined by the boundaries of the Sugar Pine, Nelder Creek, Rainier Creek and White Chief Branch watersheds for determination of fisher occupancy and habitat use. A 1 x 1 km grid is being used to organize the sampling effort. National Forest land within each 1 km2 cell will be surveyed annually for fisher occupancy by automatic cameras.

Camera Trapping: Automatic digital cameras (Top left: Jeff Schneiderman setting up a camera) that are triggered by heat and motion are installed for approximately 1 month within each 1 km2 grid cell and baited with scent lures. When a fisher approaches the bait, the camera snaps a picture (photo top right). A wooden slat marked with infrared reflective tape is affixed to the bait tree, which allows us to measure the size of the fisher directly from digital photographs. Male fisher are much larger than female fisher, making it possible to determine sex and the number of males and females residing in the study area. Camera trapping is being done year-round for estimating both fisher occupancy and for locating un-

collared fisher. These cameras will not operate without a password.

Live Trapping and Radio Collaring: When an un-collared fisher is detected at a camera station, live traps fitted with wood cubbies are deployed in the area to capture the animal. Captured animals are restrained in a specialized capture cone for sedation, whereupon data on body mass, sex, age, numbers and types of ectoparasites (fleas and ticks), reproductive status, and overall body condition and size are recorded. Blood, hair, and stool samples are taken for a variety of genetic, disease and dietary analyses. Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) tags are inserted under the skin in the shoulder area for permanent animal identification; ear tags are not used for this purpose because they readily tear out and damage ear tissue. Once all necessary samples and measurements are taken, each animal is fitted with a small radio-collar for monitoring by aerial and ground-based radiotelemetry. Fishers are then placed in the cubby portion of the trap, and allowed to fully recover from the effects of sedation before release (right: a recovered fisher ready to leave a cubby box). All procedures for handling animals have been approved by the UC Berkeley Animal Care and Use Committee, and are carried out under a

Scientific Collection permit from the California Department of Fish and Game.

Radio Tracking: All radio-collared fishers are located daily from a fixed wing airplane to monitor survival, movement behavior, and habitat use (left: Rick Sweitzer and Dan English from Lassen Aviation next to the telemetry plane). The radio-collars we use are specially designed to emit a different signal when the animal has been immobile for an extended period, thereby indicating possible death. Locations of mortality signals are radioed to a ground crew for immediate investigation and recovery of the animal. All recovered carcasses are transported to a collaborating team of disease specialists at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine for determination of cause of death. In addition, during the spring period, ground crews regularly “walk in” on resting female fisher to identify natal and maternal den trees. These trees are then monitored by cameras for verifying successful reproduction and counting

the number of “kits” produced by the mother fishers.

Why this research is critical: Although some aspects of the behavior of the Pacific fisher are known, information on year-to-year survival and other basic vital rates are not. These types of data are being generated by the Fisher Science team, and the information will be crucial for understanding how current forest management practices are influencing fisher popula-tions, and whether changes in forest structure under different types of treatments may or may not contribute to further

decline in the number of these rare animals in California.

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F o r M o r e I n f o r m a t i o n : h t t p : / / s n a m p . c n r . b e r k e l e y . e d uThis SNAMP Newsletter created by Maggi Kelly and Rick SweitzerNewsletter Photographs courtesy of the SNAMP Fisher Science Team