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| Squires, J.R.; Ruggiero, L.F. | |
| Winter prey selection of Canada lynx in northwestern Montana | |
| 2007 Journal of Wildlife Management (71): 310-315 | |
The roles that diet and prey abundance play in habitat selection of Canada lynx (_Lynx canadensis_) in the contiguous United States is poorly understood. From 1998-2002, we back-tracked radiocollared lynx (6 F, 9 M) for a distance of 582 km and we located 86 kills in northwestern Montana, USA. Lynx preyed on 7 species that included blue grouse (_Dendragapus obscurus_), spruce grouse (_Canachites canadensis_), northern flying squirrel (_Glaucomys sabrinus_), red squirrel (_Tamiasciurus_ _hudsonicus_), snowshoe hare (_Lepus americanus_), least weasel (_Mustela nivalis_), and white-tailed deer (_Odocoileus virginianus_). Snowshoe hares (69 kills) accounted for 96% (4-yr average, range = 94-99%) of prey biomass during the sample period. Red squirrels were the second-most-common prey (11 kills), but they only provided 2% biomass of the winter diet. Red squirrels contributed little to the lynx diet despite low hare densities. A logistic regression model of snowshoe hare, red squirrel, and grouse abundance, as indexed by the number of track crossings of use and available lynx back-tracks, was a significant (Wald statistic = 19.03, df = 3, P< 0.001) predictor of habitat use. As we expected, lynx (P< 0.001) selected use-areas with higher snowshoe hare abundance compared to random expectation. However, the red squirrel index had a weak (P = 0.087) negative relationship to lynx use, and grouse was nonsignificant (P=0.432). Our results indicate that lynx in western Montana prey almost exclusively on snowshoe hares during the winter with little use of alternative prey. Thus, reductions in horizontal cover for hares would degrade lynx habitat. |
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