Differences in spatial ecology between the sexes are generally expected for mammalian carnivores because of physiological (e.g., sexual dimorphism) or behavioral (e.g., uniparental care of offspring) differences, but sex is rarely included in studies of occurrence or occupancy. We evaluated differences in landscape-scale occurrence, as a function of habitat amount and configuration, between male and female American martens in the heterogeneous, commercially-managed forests of northern Maine. Our analysis focused on resident adults; individuals that had survived to >1 year old, dispersed, and successfully established their home range.

Home range data were derived from a long-term live-trapping and radio-telemetry study (1994-1997) and modeled using time-specific maps of suitable habitat derived from Landsat satellite imagery.