Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
-
Peroth Balakrishnan
Abstract
Tree hollows are a critical resource for many wildlife taxa, thus declining tree hollow availability across forest ecosystems worldwide presents a critical conservation challenge. In this note, the characteristics of trees and tree hollows used by the Nilgiri marten, a threatened small carnivore endemic to the Western Ghats of India were described. Nilgiri martens were observed on 11 occasions using eight species of hollow trees, including two red listed tree species. Hollows were typically located on tree trunks in the forest subcanopy below 10 m. Trees containing hollows had an average height of 27.44 ± 5.23 m (range: 20–38 m) and an average GBH of 3.43 ± 0.49 m (range: 2.80–4.10 m). Although limited in number, these observations suggest that large hollow trees could be important to Nilgiri marten life history, similar to marten species elsewhere. Policies that target retention of such trees in mid-elevation evergreen and shola forests may benefit long-term conservation of martens and other hollow-using wildlife in India.
Funding source: Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, India
Funding source: Mohammed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund
Funding source: Department of Science and Technology, Government of Kerala
Funding source: Department of Science and Technology, India
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Department of Science and Technology, Goverment of India; Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Abu Dhabi; Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment for financial support. Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department provided permissions and logistic support. I am grateful to Karuppuswamy, Mari, Mohanan and Sudheesh for the assistance in the field.
-
Research ethics: The fieldwork was conducted with the permission and following the ethical guidelines from Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department.
-
Informed consent: Not applicable.
-
Author contribution: The author has accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
-
Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.
-
Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest.
-
Research funding: Data for this paper were collected during the projects funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Department of Science and Technology, Goverment of India; Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, Abu Dhabi; Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.
-
Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.
References
Balakrishnan, P. (2005). Recent sightings and habitat characteristics of the endemic Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in Western Ghats, India. Small Carniv. Conserv. 33: 14–16.Suche in Google Scholar
Balakrishnan, P., Das, K.S.A., Patel, B., and Sivaraman, S. (2022). Predation of Indian giant flying squirrel and Travancore flying squirrel in the Western Ghats, India. Mammalia 86: 497–500, https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2021-0097.Suche in Google Scholar
Bull, E.L. and Heater, T.W. (2000). Resting and denning sites of American marten in northeastern Oregon. Northwest Sci. 74: 179–185.Suche in Google Scholar
Cockle, K.L., Martin, K., and Wesołowski, T. (2011). Woodpeckers, decay, and the future of cavity- nesting vertebrate communities worldwide. Front. Ecol. Environ. 9: 377–382, https://doi.org/10.1890/110013.Suche in Google Scholar
Cooper, N., Freckleton, R.P., and Jetz, W. (2011). Phylogenetic conservatism of environmental niches in mammals. Proc. R. Soc. B 278: 2384–2391, https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2207.Suche in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Delheimer, M.S., Moriarty, K.M., Munro, H.L., Early, D.A., Hamm, K.A., and Green, R.E. (2023). Structural complexity characterizes fine-scale forest conditions used by Pacific martens. J. Wild. Manag. 2023: e22388.10.1002/jwmg.22388Suche in Google Scholar
Horsfield, T. (1851). Martes gwatkinsii. In: A catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum of the honorable East-India Company. J & H Cox, London, pp. 99–101.Suche in Google Scholar
Hughes, S.S. (2012) Synthesis of Martes evolutionary history. In: Aubry, K.B., Zielinski, W.J., Raphael, M.G., Proulx, G., and Buskirk, S.W. (Eds.). Biology and conservation of martens, sables, and fishers: a new synthesis. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, pp. 3–22.Suche in Google Scholar
Krishna, Y.C. and Karnad, D. (2010). New records of the Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in western Ghats, India. Small Carniv. Conserv. 43: 23–27.Suche in Google Scholar
Lindenmayer, D.B., Laurance, W.F., and Franklin, J.F. (2012a). Global decline in large old trees. Science 338: 1305–1306, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1231070.Suche in Google Scholar PubMed
Lindenmayer, D.B., Blanchard, W., McBurney, L., Blair, D., Banks, S., Likens, G.E., Franklin, J.F., Laurance, W.F., Stein, J.A.R., and Gibbons, P. (2012b). Interacting factors driving a major loss of large trees with cavities in a forest ecosystem. PloS One 7: e41864, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0041864.Suche in Google Scholar PubMed PubMed Central
Mudappa, D. (2013) Herpestids, viverrids and mustelids. In: Johnsingh, A.J.T., and Manjeraker, N. (Eds.). Mammals of South Asia, Vol. I. Universities Press, Hyderabad, India, pp. 471–498.Suche in Google Scholar
Mudappa, D., Jathana, D., and Raman, T.R.S. (2015). Martes gwatkinsii (errata version published in 2016). In: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2015: e.T12847A86161239, Available at: https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T12847A45199025.en (Accessed on 10 February 2024).Suche in Google Scholar
Newton, I. (1998). Population limitation in birds. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 597.Suche in Google Scholar
Patel, B., Sivaraman, S., and Balakrishnan, P. (2021). Use of tree cavities by Indian vertebrates: status of research, knowledge gaps and future conservation perspectives. Curr. Sci. 121: 490–501.10.18520/cs/v121/i4/490-501Suche in Google Scholar
Patel, B., Sivaraman, S., Hrideek, T.K., and Balakrishnan, P. (2024). Diversity and abundance of tree microhabitats in the tropical forests of southern Western Ghats, India. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.03.23.586393.Suche in Google Scholar
Proulx, G. and Aubry, K.D. (2014). The “Martes Complex” - an opportunity to bring together marten, fisher, sable, wolverine, and tayra biologists. Can. Wildl. Biol. Manage. 3: 30–33.Suche in Google Scholar
Proulx, G. and Aubry, K.D. (2017) The Martes Complex: a monophyletic clade that shares many life-history traits and conservation challenges. In: Zakwski, A., Wierzbowska, I.A., Aubry, K.B., Birks, J.D.S., O’Mahony, D.T., and Proulx, G. (Eds.). The Martes Complex in the 21st century: ecology and conservation. Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, Bialowieza, Poland, pp. 3–24.Suche in Google Scholar
Sanders, R.L., Cornman, A., Keenlance, P., Jacquot, J.J., Unger, D.E., and Spriggs, M. (2017). Resting site characteristics of American marten in the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. Am. Midl. Nat. 177: 211–225, https://doi.org/10.1674/0003-0031-177.2.211.Suche in Google Scholar
Shameer, T., Mungi, N., Backer, S., Raman, S., Reddy, S., Easa, P.S. and Sanil, R. (2023). Distribution and conservation status of the endemic Nilgiri marten (Martes gwatkinsii). Mammalia 87: 360-366, https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2021-0113.Suche in Google Scholar
Tweedy, P.J., Moriarty, K.M., Bailey, J.D., and Epps, C.W. (2019). Using fine scale resolution vegetation data from LiDAR and ground-based sampling to predict Pacific marten resting habitat at multiple spatial scales. For. Ecol. Manag. 452: 117556, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117556.Suche in Google Scholar
Vajravelu, E. (1990). Flora of palghat district, including Silent Valley National Park, Kerala. Botanical Survey of India, Calcutta, India, p. 646.Suche in Google Scholar
Vijay, A., Chandran, K. and Hameed, H. (2022). First sighting record of the elusive Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in Wayanad, Southern Western Ghats, India. Mammalia 86: 439-443, https://doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2021-0119.Suche in Google Scholar
© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Conservation
- Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
- Ecology
- New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
- Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
- Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
- Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
- How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
- First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
- Biogeography
- The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
- First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
- Ethology
- Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
- Taxonomy/Phylogeny
- On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
- New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
- Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
- Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Conservation
- Tickell’s bat, Hesperoptenus tickelli (Blyth, 1851), in Sri Lanka with new records after 58 years and roosting ecology notes
- Ecology
- New ecological aspects of the pacarana (Dinomys branickii) in southeastern Peru
- Variation in mammal ecological patterns in response to seasonality in a Brazilian tropical dry forest
- Niche partitioning between two marsupials inhabiting the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina: overlapping diets in non-overlapping lifestyles?
- Characteristics of tree hollows used by Nilgiri marten Martes gwatkinsii in the Western Ghats, India
- How much do we know about wild canid (Carnivora: Canidae) ectoparasites in Mexico? Current state of knowledge
- First and new records of albinism and leucism in Jaculus orientalis and Jaculus jaculus (Rodentia, Dipodidae)
- Biogeography
- The first record of the long-eared hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Gmelin, 1770) in Lebanon
- First record of Andersen’s leaf-nosed bat, Hipposideros gentilis, and hairy-faced myotis, Myotis annectans from Bangladesh
- Ethology
- Temperature and pups influence daytime roosting behavior of the great fruit-eating bat, Artibeus lituratus, in an urban southern Brazilian habitat
- Taxonomy/Phylogeny
- On the phylogenetic position of Rhinolophus sakejiensis (Chiroptera: Rhinolophidae)
- New geographical records of Phyllostomidae (Chiroptera) for the Brazilian Caatinga, with taxonomic notes
- Complete mitogenome of Prionailurus bengalensis alleni and taxonomic revisions of leopard cat subspecies
- Karyotype of the lesser gymnure Hylomys maxi and comparison with its Vietnamese congeners (Mammalia: Eulipotyphla: Erinaceidae)
