Yellow-throated marten (Martes flavigula chrysospila) is an endemic subspecies in Taiwan. In the past few years, the number of reported sightings of yellow-throated marten increased significantly in Tataka, a recreation area in the Yushan National Park. When the contact between visitors, their pets and the martens increases, conflicts and risk of disease transmission between them might also rise. As a result, it is crucial to understand the cause of higher sightings and the impact of tourism on the population and distribution of yellow-throated marten. This study, along with the survey started in 2019, focused on investigating the population, home range, activity pattern, social structure of yellow-throated marten and their interaction with visitors in the Tataka recreation area. Nineteen trail cameras have been implemented in Tataka since 2019 to monitor the relative abundance of yellow-throated marten. Additionally, 16 cameras were set along the trail route of Mt. Jade to compare with the relative abundance of meso and large mammals documented in the research project conducted in 2010 and 2011. The results showed that the relative abundance of yellow-throated marten did not change significantly either in Tataka or the area surrounding Mt. Jade during the past ten years, while the abundance of Formosan Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor)and Formosan Muntjac(Muntiacus reevesi micrurus) increased almost 3 folds recently. The abundance of Taiwan least weasel(Mustela formosana) increased significantly only in the Mt. Jade area, while the Formosan weasel showed an opposite trend in the Tataka area.
In this project, 19 individuals, including 11 males and 8 females, were captured, sampled and radio-collared in 2019 and 2020. Sightings of yellow-throated marten being reported by tourists, volunteers and the staff working in the Tataka recreation area were recorded. Based on the images or video recorded by trail cameras, it was found that male yellow-throated marten underwent a reduction in testis size from January to August, and then became most prominent during the mating season- October to December. During the same period, the female martens showed signs of heat period, and gave birth between late March and the middle of April.
Results from the radio and GIS tracking showed that the average home range(KDE95) of female (n=5) and male (n=5) individuals was 13.7 ± 5.86 km2 and 54.33± 32.37 km2 separately. The isopleths of 4 martens wearing GPS collars showed that all martens repetitively visited the recreation area to search for food left by the visitors, which corresponded with the sighting records.
Tissue samples collected from 26 individuals between 2020 and 2022 were used for kinship analysis, and 7 parental pairs, 6 full-sibling pairs and 19 half-sibling pairs were recognized. All of the male martens that remained in the same group for 4 to 6 months were not kinship groups.
In terms of disease surveillance, all of the martens ( n=32) captured since 2019 were infected with Hepatozoon sp., and about one-third of them were co-infected with Canine mastadenovirus. Furthermore, 3 and 4 individuals captured separately in 2020 and 2022 were infected with Canine Parvovirus type 2c and Canine distemper virus. Blood biochemistry tests revealed the elevation of hepatic and cardiac indices in some individuals. Whether the pathogens detected among those individuals affected their fitness in the wild requires further study.