Sexual Maturity and Implantation of Blastocysts in the Wild Pine Marten
Jonkel CJ and Weckwerth RP. 1963. Sexual Maturity and Implantation of Blastocysts in the Wild Pine Marten. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 27(1):93-98
Wild female martens (Martes americana) are apparently not sexually mature as yearlings, but wild males may reach sexual maturity as yearlings. In 1955, 1957, and 1958, 29 juvenile males, 34 juvenile females, and 4 females considered probable juveniles were captured, marked, and released. Of these, one male was recaptured as a yearling, and four females were recaptured after the breeding season in the year following initial capture. The male had sperm in the testes and epididymides when collected in July. Three of the females were nulliparous. The fourth female, tentatively classified as a juvenile when first captured, was pregnant when recaptured a year later. Examination of her skeleton raised doubts that she was a juvenile when first captured. A delay of 7 to 8½ months intervenes between the breeding season in July and August and the implantation of blastocysts from February to April. One adult female captured on December 22 implanted blastocysts about February 22. A second adult did not implant blastocysts until about April 10 after capture on December 31. A third adult captured on January 7 had not implanted blastocysts by April 28. There is about a 27-day delay between implantation of the blastocysts and parturition in martens.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Jonkel, Charles; Weckwerth, Richard
- Units
- GLAC
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, blastocyst transfer, Marten (Martes americana), Reproduction