Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)?
Age at primiparity is a flexible life-history trait that purportedly responds to changing population dynamics and variable resource abundance. We examined placental scars in yearling Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis (Kerr, 1792)) from the island of Newfoundland and used pregnancy rates and litter sizes...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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2017
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 2024-09-15T18:20:10+00:00 Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? Reynolds, John J. Vander Wal, Eric Adams, Barry K. Curran, Richard M. Doucet, Christine M. 2017 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 95, issue 10, page 779-785 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2017 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 2024-08-01T04:10:02Z Age at primiparity is a flexible life-history trait that purportedly responds to changing population dynamics and variable resource abundance. We examined placental scars in yearling Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis (Kerr, 1792)) from the island of Newfoundland and used pregnancy rates and litter sizes to indicate primiparity. We modelled these lynx productivity data with snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) population attributes using seven multiple a priori competing hypotheses. Hare abundance showed peak, decline, and increase phases, and densities based on capture–mark–recapture estimates ranged from 0.11 to 1.19 hares·ha −1 . Overall, yearling pregnancy rate was 23.5% and the model with hare abundance fitted alone had the most support. However, surprisingly hare abundance explained little (6%) variation in yearling pregnancy rate. Mean (±SE) litter size was 3.51 ± 0.27. None of our covariate models provided unequivocal support for predicting yearling litter size. We speculate that individuals may exhibit behavioural plasticity such that they can dampen the impact of primary prey abundance on yearling pregnancy rate by exploiting alternate prey. Furthermore, intraspecific social interactions may provide additional insight into the determinants of pregnancy rate in yearling lynx. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland Lynx Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Zoology 95 10 779 785 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
Age at primiparity is a flexible life-history trait that purportedly responds to changing population dynamics and variable resource abundance. We examined placental scars in yearling Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis (Kerr, 1792)) from the island of Newfoundland and used pregnancy rates and litter sizes to indicate primiparity. We modelled these lynx productivity data with snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) population attributes using seven multiple a priori competing hypotheses. Hare abundance showed peak, decline, and increase phases, and densities based on capture–mark–recapture estimates ranged from 0.11 to 1.19 hares·ha −1 . Overall, yearling pregnancy rate was 23.5% and the model with hare abundance fitted alone had the most support. However, surprisingly hare abundance explained little (6%) variation in yearling pregnancy rate. Mean (±SE) litter size was 3.51 ± 0.27. None of our covariate models provided unequivocal support for predicting yearling litter size. We speculate that individuals may exhibit behavioural plasticity such that they can dampen the impact of primary prey abundance on yearling pregnancy rate by exploiting alternate prey. Furthermore, intraspecific social interactions may provide additional insight into the determinants of pregnancy rate in yearling lynx. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Reynolds, John J. Vander Wal, Eric Adams, Barry K. Curran, Richard M. Doucet, Christine M. |
spellingShingle |
Reynolds, John J. Vander Wal, Eric Adams, Barry K. Curran, Richard M. Doucet, Christine M. Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? |
author_facet |
Reynolds, John J. Vander Wal, Eric Adams, Barry K. Curran, Richard M. Doucet, Christine M. |
author_sort |
Reynolds, John J. |
title |
Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? |
title_short |
Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? |
title_full |
Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? |
title_fullStr |
Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the Canada lynx ( Lynx canadensis)? |
title_sort |
does prey density predict characteristics of primiparity in a solitary and specialized predator, the canada lynx ( lynx canadensis)? |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 |
genre |
Newfoundland Lynx |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland Lynx |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 95, issue 10, page 779-785 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2016-0269 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
95 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
779 |
op_container_end_page |
785 |
_version_ |
1810458537624600576 |