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=__**The Pine Marten **__= Martes americana atrata

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 * Natural Habitat:** Martens were once thought to live only in old conifer (evergreen) forests. But now biologists have learned that martens now live in all of northern Minnesota in both deciduous (leafy) and conifer forests that are young and old. Adult martens live in an area of about two to four square miles.
 * Food:** Omnivorous, preferring to catch and eat small mammals, but readily consuming fish, frogs, insects, carrion, and fruit and other vegetation when
 * Length:** 30 to 24 inches, including the tail.
 * Weight:** Adults are about 2 pounds. The males are slightly larger than the females.
 * Color:** Brown, tinted with gold or yellow.
 * Reproduction**: Martens are pregnant for about nine months, but the fetus only develops during the last two months. The litter of two or three babies, called kits, is usually born in a hollow log or under bushes.
 * Predators:** Fishers, bobcats, and a wide variety of hawks and owls will all kill martens. Some people trap them for their fur.
 * Abiotic factors**: temperature, access to water, human impacts (roads, buildings).
 * Biotic factors**: amounts of food, appropriate habitat conditions (living space)
 * Population trends:** an estimated 190,000 pine martens live in the North Eastern region of the US.
 * Why is it endangered:** Logging has had major effects on marten populations. Since the martens rely on old growth forests for food and shelter, clearing the forests leaves the animals hungry and homeless. In Newfoundland there was a point where the population was down to 500.
 * What would happen if it were to go extinct:** They feed on many small rodents and if they were to go extinct there would be an overabundance in the rodent population, the producers in that ecosystem would not be able to support the larger population, causing the ecosystem to collapse.

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