Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance
We assessed habitat preference of a lynx (Lynx canadensis) population through 8 years of a snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) cycle. Seventy-four percent of our southern Yukon study area was approximately 30-year-old regenerating forest resulting from a large wildfire. The study area was not trapped a...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Language: | English |
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2003
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-174 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-174 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z03-174 2024-09-30T14:46:23+00:00 Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance Mowat, Garth Slough, Brian 2003 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-174 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-174 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 81, issue 10, page 1736-1745 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 journal-article 2003 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-174 2024-09-12T04:13:26Z We assessed habitat preference of a lynx (Lynx canadensis) population through 8 years of a snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) cycle. Seventy-four percent of our southern Yukon study area was approximately 30-year-old regenerating forest resulting from a large wildfire. The study area was not trapped and lynx density was very high compared with other populations in North America. Contrary to our prediction, there was no discernable shift in habitat preference through the hare cycle; however, our habitat types were coarsely mapped and our radiolocations relatively inaccurate. Lynx may have altered their habitat preferences at finer scales (for patches <2 ha). Lynx showed strong preference for regenerating habitats over mature white spruce (Picea glauca) and alpine–subalpine. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) dominated regenerating stands were preferred over spruce–willow (Salix spp.) stands of equal age. Riparian willow stands were also preferred over mature spruce forest and alpine. Lynx used riparian willow stands more in winter, but we detected no other shifts in habitat preference between snow-free and winter periods. We did not detect any difference in habitat preference between sexes. Independent juveniles made greater use of mature forest and perhaps riparian willow than adults, but no other difference in preference between the two age groups was noted. Lynx preference for regenerating habitat over mature forest suggests that burns will benefit lynx, especially if the regenerating community is pine dominated. Logging will only likely provide similar benefits if a dense pine understory results, which is unlikely in intensively managed stands. The suppression of forest fires in recent decades may have contributed to the decline of lynx numbers in the south of their range. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lynx Yukon Canadian Science Publishing Yukon Canada Canadian Journal of Zoology 81 10 1736 1745 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
We assessed habitat preference of a lynx (Lynx canadensis) population through 8 years of a snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) cycle. Seventy-four percent of our southern Yukon study area was approximately 30-year-old regenerating forest resulting from a large wildfire. The study area was not trapped and lynx density was very high compared with other populations in North America. Contrary to our prediction, there was no discernable shift in habitat preference through the hare cycle; however, our habitat types were coarsely mapped and our radiolocations relatively inaccurate. Lynx may have altered their habitat preferences at finer scales (for patches <2 ha). Lynx showed strong preference for regenerating habitats over mature white spruce (Picea glauca) and alpine–subalpine. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) dominated regenerating stands were preferred over spruce–willow (Salix spp.) stands of equal age. Riparian willow stands were also preferred over mature spruce forest and alpine. Lynx used riparian willow stands more in winter, but we detected no other shifts in habitat preference between snow-free and winter periods. We did not detect any difference in habitat preference between sexes. Independent juveniles made greater use of mature forest and perhaps riparian willow than adults, but no other difference in preference between the two age groups was noted. Lynx preference for regenerating habitat over mature forest suggests that burns will benefit lynx, especially if the regenerating community is pine dominated. Logging will only likely provide similar benefits if a dense pine understory results, which is unlikely in intensively managed stands. The suppression of forest fires in recent decades may have contributed to the decline of lynx numbers in the south of their range. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mowat, Garth Slough, Brian |
spellingShingle |
Mowat, Garth Slough, Brian Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
author_facet |
Mowat, Garth Slough, Brian |
author_sort |
Mowat, Garth |
title |
Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
title_short |
Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
title_full |
Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
title_fullStr |
Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
title_full_unstemmed |
Habitat preference of Canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
title_sort |
habitat preference of canada lynx through a cycle in snowshoe hare abundance |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z03-174 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z03-174 |
geographic |
Yukon Canada |
geographic_facet |
Yukon Canada |
genre |
Lynx Yukon |
genre_facet |
Lynx Yukon |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 81, issue 10, page 1736-1745 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z03-174 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
81 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
1736 |
op_container_end_page |
1745 |
_version_ |
1811646417747312640 |