Behavioral classification and observational error correction methods are often needed when analyzing mammal behavior using GPS. The switching state-space model (SSSM) has been proposed for this problem. However, various positioning intervals have been used to attempt to balance the research purposes and battery life of the GPS. Thus, we may come to different conclusions regarding the appropriate positioning intervals using the same analysis. In this study, we used Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) behavior data. We generated various time interval positioning data from the real positioning data, to verify the effect of the interval on the SSSM estimates. By combining the SSSM with activity sensors, we can classify the behavior into transiting, resting, and foraging, using 5- to 120-minute intervals. Moreover, time-spatial scales (which recognize the core area) increased as the positioning interval increased. We compared the relative moving distances for the different positioning intervals. Our analysis of the habitat selection performed better using short positioning intervals of 30 minutes or less. We expect that new knowledge will be obtained by applying SSSM with short interval positioning data (e.g., at 5- to 30-minute intervals).

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The food habits of the Japanese marten (Martes melampus melampus) at Otome Highland, central Japan were studied via fecal analysis (n = 756) from April 2006 to April 2012. Food habits were characterized by a predominance of fleshy fruits in autumn and winter (frequencies of occurrence, FO, were higher than 80%), insects in summer (FO = 40–80%), and mammals in winter and spring (FO = 60–80%). This study firstly showed the high frequency of cicada larvae in early summer (FO = 46.7%) in the martens’ feces. Camel crickets (FO = 10–40%) were also important foods in autumn and winter. Many plants bearing fleshy fruits fed on by the marten were forest edge plants. Among them, Actinidia arguta (FO = 33.6%) and Vitis coignetiae (FO = 19.5%), both forest edges lianas, were frequently found. Among the 10 species and 3 genera of seeds recovered from the droppings, about half (5 species and 1 genus) were forest-edge plants (FO = 79.9%). This result suggests the marten selectively used the fruits of forest-edge plants. The FO of sika deer (Cervus nippon) hair did not show a yearly increase, suggesting that the marten began eating it as early as in 2006.

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Our newly developed telemetry system, GPS-TX, applied Long-Distance radio communication techniques to track wildlife can track animals using GPS and transmit their locations to a base station by radio in real time. The time lag associated with surveying these location points is less than that for conventional GPS telemetry. After applying GPS-TX to survey bear habitat in the Kitakami Mountains in 2011–2012, we extracted three bears’ core areas within the home ranges. Soon after confirming the core areas, we conducted a field survey. From field survey results for core areas, we inferred the bears’ behaviors with traces left in the forest and the undergrowth status. This report presents a summary of the current circumstances and problems related to tracking bears using this system.

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We conducted a survey on aging and habitat use of the sika deer (Cervus nippon) population, which is newly established in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture. We compared the use times of forest and orchard of sika deer using cameras. There was significant bias in the number of shots across time periods: the number of shots increased to around sunset and sunrise in the forest, while in the orchard it increased in the middle of the night and before and after sundown. In addition, we compared the population structure and the frequency of imaging sika deer the first half (Dec. 2011–Nov. 2012) and the second half (Dec. 2012–Nov. 2013) of the study period. We found that imaging frequency increased in the second half to two times that of the first half. The shooting percentage of females increased.

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Small mammal fauna were surveyed in July and October 2014 in small forests, grasslands and riparian forests in a rice field area, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. One adult female Japanese white-toothed shrew Crocidura dsinezumi was captured in a riparian forest of the Chubetsu River. The ground was covered thick with Japanese pampas grass Miscanthus sinensis. This is the first record in Asahikawa and the northernmost record in Japan of this species. External measurements of the specimen were body weight, 6.3 g; length of head and body, 74.0 mm; tail length, 53.0 mm and length of hind foot, 14.0 mm.

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We conducted a feeding experiment to test the effect of soy sauce on the ability to efficiently capture sika deer (Cervus nippon). We set baits (only soy sauce, only dried grass and dried grass with soy sauce) 3–5 times and recorded photographic frequency using a camera-trap survey on Nakanoshima Island, Hokkaido, Japan, on 7th November and 17th November in 2012. We investigated differences in photographic frequencies among the three baits after each feeding and throughout the study period. The photographic frequency of soy sauce was significantly lower than at dried grass and dried grass with soy sauce, respectively. The frequency at dried grass with soy sauce was significantly higher than that in dried grass. Therefore, we suggest that there was no effect of only soy sauce. However, we showed that deer preferred grass baits with soy sauce.

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The exchange meeting of mammal research was held by young researchers and graduate students in Hokkaido in September 2015. In total 31 people attended not only from Hokkaido but also form outside of Hokkaido, and the grade of participants was broad, ranging from undergraduate students to post doctors. Regardless of age, affiliate and target species, such diversity made the interaction of participants more dynamic, which was a most distinctive feature of this meeting. According to the questionnaire, participants were satisfied with the meeting and they wanted this meeting to be held regularly such as once a year or twice a year. Since some people wished the variety of contents to include not only a research meeting but also lectures on methods in field research and career support, the organizers need to consider these demands in the future. While people attended from many places, advertisement for participants officially seemed to be required in advance because 80% of participants were informed of this meeting by their colleagues. It would be important for the next meeting to spread information via mailing lists and also reflects the requirements of people who want to attend in advance. We hope that reflection on the outcome of this meeting will encourage young researchers and contribute to the development of mammal research.

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Although there are many deer cull programs for population control in Japan, successful examples are scarce. One of the reasons is the lack of a training program for wildlife rangers and cullers. To consider this problem, we held a symposium, entitled “A training system of future wildlife rangers and cullers” on Feb. 14, 2015 in Sapporo, Hokkaido. We invited Mr. Norman Healy, a wildlife management officer from the Forestry Commission England, to give a keynote lecture on the training system for rangers and “Deer Stalking Certificate”. He also talked about a return system for income from deer meat and hunting licenses into forest management. Some approaches for training hunters done by Hokkaido government were insufficient. It would be difficult to achieve the target level of sika deer (Cervus nippon) population management in Hokkaido because of a lack of working systems. We pointed out that we should distinguish the roles of cullers from those of hunters and create systems to utilize the former properly in culling programs. In 2015, the new certification for wildlife rangers and cullers will be established. This certification is modeled on the Deer Stalking Certificate in England, and is improved corresponding to the Japanese style. We propose the training system of human resources for wildlife management in Japan.

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In 2001, “the State Nature Reserve Kurilskiy” established the “Stolbovsky Ecological Road” on central Kunashiri Island for nature conservation, ecological research, and environmental education. On this road, dominant trees are Ulmus laciniata, U. davidiana, Acer pictum and Alnus hirsute. Forest floor is characterized by Sasa senanensis, Filipendula camtschatica, Urtica platyphylla and Petasites japonicus. There are many beetle and butterfly species. Butterfly species richness is higher than other areas of Kunashiri Island. In central Kunashiri Island, including this road, 46 bird species are identified. Also, there are 26 terrestrial mammal species on this island. From 15–16 August 2015, we surveyed for sign of mammals along this road and in adjacent areas. We observed one Tamias sibiricus in Sasa-Pinus pumila shrubs. We also found feces: 12 Vulpes vulpes, 1 Martes zibellina and 1 Ursus arctos, and recognized many murids hairs in 10 V. vulpes feces. Since these mammal species frequent the road, there is risk of bear attacks. Risk of echinococcosis infection, carried by red fox, may be high. Therefore, the people of Kunashiri Island need training to prevent human-wildlife conflict and control infection.

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