Pliocene-Early Pleistocene Geological Events Structure Pacific Martens (Martes caurina).

The complex topography, climate, and geological history of Western North America have shaped contemporary patterns of biodiversity and species distributions in the region. Pacific martens (Martes caurina) are distributed along the northern Pacific Coast of North America with disjunct populations found throughout the Northwestern Forested Mountains and Marine West Coast Forest ecoregions of the West Coast. Martes in this region have been classified into subspecies; however, the subspecific designation has been extensively debated.

Diets of denning female Pacific martens vary with the developmental stage of their kits.

Food resources can be a limiting factor and natural and anthropogenic influences that alter the abundance of food resources can affect population performance and persistence. Reproduction in mammals is energetically costly; therefore, understanding how food resources influence reproduction is essential, especially for species of conservation concern.The objectives of this study were to characterize Pacific marten () diets during the denning period and determine whether diets differed by sex or by phase of the denning period.