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Zhang, Z.; Yi, T.; Zhenqing, L.
Factors affecting hare-lynx dynamics in the classic time series of the Hudson Bay Company, Canada
2007 Climate research (34): 83-89
The 10 yr hare-lynx (_Lepus americanus- Lynx canadensis_) cycles in boreal forest of North America have been well known for >100 yr, but the underlying mechanism is still not fully understood. Prey-predator interactions are generally thought to be the major causative factor for the cycle. The effect of climate on the hare-lynx cycle has been largely ignored. By using partial cross correlation and stepwise multiple regression methods, we re-analyzed the Hudson Bay Company's well known hare-lynx time series (1847-1903), to evaluate effects of intrinsic self-regulation, prey-predator interactions and El Ni¤o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on hare-lynx dynamics. Our results clearly indicate that the widely cited classic hare-lynx dynamic is mostly explained by intrinsic self-regulation factors, instead of by prey-predator interaction; ENSO has small effects on rates of increase in hare and lynx populations.
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