Klamath Fisher Project
This past two weeks, my team and I collected our first hair and track samples as part of a research project run through the Oregon State University Institute for Natural Resources to study fishers and other mesocarnivores, in the Klamath National Forest of California and Oregon. Even within this first two weeks of having our hair snare and track plate boxes baited, we collected a number of fisher samples. While the track plates are helpful to see who visits our boxes, the real meat and potatoes of the project are the hair samples. Much like the marten hair snaring project my team and I conducted back in July and August, the hair samples are being sent off for genetic confirmation of species, and for the individual identifications of fishers.
The researchers behind this project (Dr. Sean Matthews, Marie Martin, and Erika Anderson) have been collecting hair and track samples in these same hair snare locations since 2006. This long-term dataset has revealed how the mesocarnivore community has ebbed and flowed, particularly how it has been affected by wildfires. Since the project began, over 50% of the project area has burned, much of which has burned in the past few years. Sean, Marie, and other authors wrote a great paper using past data from this project revealing how fishers, gray foxes, and ringtails respond to fires: https://lnkd.in/gxZbUtzQ. Fires present a growing threat for fishers especially. Therefore, this long-term dataset is a vital insight into the potential for fishers to persist in this changing world.
One of our hair snare and track plate boxes
Fisher tracks and hair sample
Ringtail tracks
Gray fox tracks