Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania
By the early 2000s, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) were nearly extirpated in Lithuania. To determine their status, we used snow-track counts in 2006–2012 and volunteer monitoring in 1999–2005 and 2015–2018. Using simple questionnaires, we collected incidental observations from hunters, foresters, and o...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229777 https://doaj.org/article/52bbd36117e045eb939bc0eae0d7e7ee |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:52bbd36117e045eb939bc0eae0d7e7ee 2023-05-15T18:50:22+02:00 Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania Linas Balčiauskas Laima Balčiauskienė John A. Litvaitis Eugenijus Tijušas 2020-11-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229777 https://doaj.org/article/52bbd36117e045eb939bc0eae0d7e7ee EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9777 https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050 doi:10.3390/su12229777 2071-1050 https://doaj.org/article/52bbd36117e045eb939bc0eae0d7e7ee Sustainability, Vol 12, Iss 9777, p 9777 (2020) large carnivores volunteer monitoring threatened species Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229777 2022-12-31T15:17:35Z By the early 2000s, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) were nearly extirpated in Lithuania. To determine their status, we used snow-track counts in 2006–2012 and volunteer monitoring in 1999–2005 and 2015–2018. Using simple questionnaires, we collected incidental observations from hunters, foresters, and other interested citizens to estimate lynx distribution, abundance and extent of breeding. Citizen scientists provided 206 reports of 278 individual lynx that suggested expanding lynx distributions in central, western, southwestern, and southern parts of Lithuania. A decrease in range fragmentation has also been observed since 2015. Nationwide, the lynx population quadrupled from 2010 to 162 individuals in 2018. The number of breeding individuals reported was just seven in both 2007 and 2008, limited to two forests in the very north and central part of the country. This increased to 46 in 2015–2018. Our results indicate that the lynx population in Lithuania has increased and its conservation status should be reconsidered. Article in Journal/Newspaper Lynx Lynx lynx lynx Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Sustainability 12 22 9777 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
large carnivores volunteer monitoring threatened species Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
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large carnivores volunteer monitoring threatened species Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Linas Balčiauskas Laima Balčiauskienė John A. Litvaitis Eugenijus Tijušas Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania |
topic_facet |
large carnivores volunteer monitoring threatened species Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
By the early 2000s, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) were nearly extirpated in Lithuania. To determine their status, we used snow-track counts in 2006–2012 and volunteer monitoring in 1999–2005 and 2015–2018. Using simple questionnaires, we collected incidental observations from hunters, foresters, and other interested citizens to estimate lynx distribution, abundance and extent of breeding. Citizen scientists provided 206 reports of 278 individual lynx that suggested expanding lynx distributions in central, western, southwestern, and southern parts of Lithuania. A decrease in range fragmentation has also been observed since 2015. Nationwide, the lynx population quadrupled from 2010 to 162 individuals in 2018. The number of breeding individuals reported was just seven in both 2007 and 2008, limited to two forests in the very north and central part of the country. This increased to 46 in 2015–2018. Our results indicate that the lynx population in Lithuania has increased and its conservation status should be reconsidered. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Linas Balčiauskas Laima Balčiauskienė John A. Litvaitis Eugenijus Tijušas |
author_facet |
Linas Balčiauskas Laima Balčiauskienė John A. Litvaitis Eugenijus Tijušas |
author_sort |
Linas Balčiauskas |
title |
Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania |
title_short |
Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania |
title_full |
Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania |
title_fullStr |
Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania |
title_full_unstemmed |
Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania |
title_sort |
citizen scientists showed a four-fold increase of lynx numbers in lithuania |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229777 https://doaj.org/article/52bbd36117e045eb939bc0eae0d7e7ee |
genre |
Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
genre_facet |
Lynx Lynx lynx lynx |
op_source |
Sustainability, Vol 12, Iss 9777, p 9777 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9777 https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050 doi:10.3390/su12229777 2071-1050 https://doaj.org/article/52bbd36117e045eb939bc0eae0d7e7ee |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su12229777 |
container_title |
Sustainability |
container_volume |
12 |
container_issue |
22 |
container_start_page |
9777 |
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1766244093364535296 |