The pine marten ( Martes martes ) and stone marten ( Martes foina ) are considered similar carnivores in terms of morphology, habitat requirements, diet and distribution. Despite their range overlap widely throughout Europe, few studies have analysed their spatial distribution in sympatry. With the aim of investigating the environmental factors which may enhance their coexistence, we focused on the Italian sector of the Alpine biogeographical region, an area offering homogeneous environmental conditions and resources. Recent, presence-only data were collected through a collaboration network and ad hoc surveys for faecal DNA, yielding a total of 1658 and 329 records for stone marten and pine marten, respectively. Species distribution models (SDM) were run using MaxEnt with sampling bias correction. Three detailed models were fitted, each considering different landscape descriptors (land use, topography and climate) and, finally, an overall model was developed for each species. The pine marten selected forested areas, particularly coniferous forests, at intermediate altitude, while lower-altitude belts, partially including cultivated and urban areas, were more suitable for the stone marten. Both martens avoided open areas. Moreover, the thermophilic stone marten preferred warmer and drier areas than the pine marten. About 50% of the Alpine area was filed as suitable for each species, with 34.6% of cells resulting suitable for both martens. Differential use of space, probably associated with segregation along with other dimensions of their niches (e.g. the temporal niche), lowers resource competition and enhances the coexistence of these strictly-related species.

中文翻译：

---

松貂（Martes martes）和石貂（Martes foina）在意大利阿尔卑斯山的空间分布

松貂 (Martes martes) 和石貂 (Martes foina) 在形态、栖息地要求、饮食和分布方面被认为是相似的食肉动物。尽管它们的范围在整个欧洲广泛重叠，但很少有研究分析它们的空间分布。为了调查可能促进它们共存的环境因素，我们专注于阿尔卑斯生物地理区域的意大利部分，该区域提供均质的环境条件和资源。最近，通过协作网络和粪便 DNA 临时调查收集了仅存在的数据，分别产生了 1658 和 329 条石貂和松貂的记录。物种分布模型 (SDM) 使用 MaxEnt 和采样偏差校正运行。安装了三个详细的模型，每个都考虑了不同的景观描述（土地利用、地形和气候），最后，为每个物种开发了一个整体模型。松貂选择中等海拔的林区，特别是针叶林，而低海拔地带，部分包括耕地和城市地区，更适合石貂。两只貂都避开开放区域。此外，嗜热的石貂比松貂更喜欢温暖和干燥的地区。大约 50% 的阿尔卑斯地区被归档为适合每种物种，其中 34.6% 的细胞适合两种貂。空间的差异化利用，可能与其生态位的其他维度（例如时间生态位）的隔离有关，降低了资源竞争并增强了这些严格相关物种的共存。