IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| O'Donoghue, M.; Slough, B.G.; Poole, K.G.; Boutin, S.; Hofer, E.J.; Mowat, G.; Krebs, C.J. | |
| Canada Lynx: Behaviour and Population Dynamics in Northern Canada | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
Canada lynx, _Lynx canadensis_, have been relatively well-studied, largely because of their well-known regular "10-year" population cycles, and their economical importance to fur trappers. Most research, however, has been conducted in the southern part of their contiguous geographical range, where their boreal forest habitat is more fragmented and human influences on their dynamics greater. From the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, three intensive studies of lynx were conducted in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of northern Canada. This presentation summarises and synthesises the main results of these studies. Lynx reached peak densities of between 17 and 45 animals per 100 km2 in 1990-91, a year after the cyclical peaks in abundance of snowshoe hares, their main prey, and then their populations crashed over the next two to three years to densities of about 2 per 100 km2. Cyclical changes in the abundance of lynx were associated with major changes in their demography, movements, patterns of habitat use, social organisation, and foraging behaviour. We present the major results of these studies and discuss outstanding research questions and implications for lynx conservation. |
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