influence du climat et de la prédation sur l'utilisation de l'habitat et la ...

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Switzerland). To check sex and reproductive status of an individual, we twisted the net
several times to restrain its movements. We detetmined male reproductive status from the
abdominal or sc rotai position of testicles, and female reproductive status by palpation and
manual extraction ofmilk (Ilse & Hellgren 2001). We used chemical immobilization (Morin
& Berteaux 2003) only when marking or collaring porcupines.
Marking
We ear-tagged porcupines with a unique combination oftwo color- and sign-coded
plastic tags (15 x45 mm, modified from Sweitzer and Berger (1992), Alltlex Canada, St-
Hyacinthe, Que.) to allow identification at a distance. Both tags bore the same sign but colors
were independent. We attached plastic tags to the bottom part of the ear using self-piercing
aluminum ear tags (tag size three, National Band and Tag Co., Newport, KY). We disinfected
ears by washing the site with chlorexidine veterinary soap, rinsing with water, and applying
iodine tincture before piercing. We attached tags in the cartilaginous bottom part of the ear.
We attached two smaller self-piercing aluminum ear tags (tag size one, National Band and
Tag Co.; hereafter ca lied mini-tags) to the upper part of the ears. We suspected they wou Id be
lost less often than larger aluminum tags bearing plastic tags, and would therefore help to
maintain identification of individuals. We tested this hypothesis by comparing loss rate of
tags versus mini-tags.
Ears of juveniles were too small to support tags so we marked them using two mini-tags
only. We threaded unique combinations of colored plastic-coated wires through mini-tags for
identification of juveniles at a distance. Capture techniques and immobilization procedures
were approved by the McGill Animal Care Committee (permit 4213), the Comité de
protection des animaux de l'Université du Québec à Rimouski (permit CPAI2-02-06) and the
Société de la Faune et des Parcs, Gouvernement du Québec (permits 20000417-001-0 I-S-P to
20060501-002-01-S-F).
Co /laring
We used Lotek SMRC-5RB VHF transmitters (Lotek Wireless Inc., Newmarket, Ont.)
mounted on customized, home made collars (Morin et al. 2005). We did not test back pack
attachment for our radio transmitters (Craig & Keller 1986) because we believed animal
movements would be less constrained by collars. We first tested leather collars modified
from nylon coll ars described in Griesemer et al. (1999). Following Sweitzer and Berger