More evidence that the spread of pine martens may help red squirrels in Britain
A recent paper by Emma Sheehy and colleagues (Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 2018) has provided empirical evidence that, as pine martens extend their range in the north of Britain, alien grey squirrel numbers fall. In contrast, native red squirrel populations are not affected and can recover from the competitive effects of grey squirrels. This work supports the earlier studies carried out in Ireland by Emma Sheehy and shows the benefits of pine martens, not only to red squirrels, but also to reducing the economic costs of damage to trees carried out by grey squirrels. (The Guardian, The Scotsman, Mail Online, The Times, BBC News).