Camera trapping and solicitation of wildlife images through citizen science have become common tools in ecological research. Such studies collect many wildlife images for which correct species classification is crucial; even low misclassification rates can result in erroneous estimation of the geographic range or habitat use of a species, potentially hindering conservation or management efforts. However, some species are difficult to tell apart, making species classification challenging—but the literature on classification agreement rates among experts remains sparse. Here, we measure agreement among experts in distinguishing between images of two similar congeneric species, bobcats (Lynx rufus) and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). We asked experts to classify the species in selected images to test whether the season, background habitat, time of day, and the visible features of each animal (e.g., face, legs, tail) affected agreement among experts about the species in each image. Overall, experts had moderate agreement (Fleiss’ kappa = 0.64), but experts had varying levels of agreement depending on these image characteristics. Most images (71%) had ≥1 expert classification of “unknown,” and many images (39%) had some experts classify the image as “bobcat” while others classified it as “lynx.” Further, experts were inconsistent even with themselves, changing their classifications of numerous images when they were asked to reclassify the same images months later. These results suggest that classification of images by a single expert is unreliable for similar‐looking species. Most of the images did obtain a clear majority classification from the experts, although we emphasize that even majority classifications may be incorrect. We recommend that researchers using wildlife images consult multiple species experts to increase confidence in their image classifications of similar sympatric species. Still, when the presence of a species with similar sympatrics must be conclusive, physical or genetic evidence should be required.

Understanding the distribution of a species is useful before undertaking management and conservation actions. Distribution estimates provide ecological insights about a species, and help frame the scope and scale of research questions. However, compiling reliable distribution information is a challenge for elusive mesocarnivores such as bobcats (Lynx rufus) and Canada lynx (L. canadensis). In British Columbia, Canada, bobcats and lynx are key mesocarnivores ecologically and are important furbearers, but their distributions are poorly understood. We compiled and compared 5 independent sources of bobcat and lynx records in British Columbia to gain a better understanding of their provincial distributions: trapping records, hunting records, vehicle-kill records, trapper surveys, and images solicited from the public. Our objectives were to compare bobcat and lynx distributions derived from each of these data sources, and provide reliable estimates for the distribution of each species in British Columbia between 2008 and 2017. Although each method has unique advantages and limitations, all data sources indicated similar distributions, and each data source provided unique locations for the final distribution maps that we derived. Bobcats were restricted to the southern half of British Columbia, whereas lynx occurred across most of the interior of the province. Bobcat and lynx distributions broadly overlapped in southern British Columbia, but image detections generally occurred at higher elevations for lynx than bobcats. We demonstrate the utility of combining multiple data sources when estimating species distributions, and highlight the usefulness of citizen science in such studies. Ó

Species across the planet are shifting their ranges in response to climate change and habitat loss. However, range shifts may vary, with populations moving in some areas but remaining stable in others; the conditions that encourage range stability rather than range shifts are poorly known. Bobcats (Lynx rufus (Schreber, 1777)) and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis Kerr, 1792) are congeneric mesocarnivores with wide ranges across North America and range overlap in southern boreal and montane forests (the southern edge for lynx and the northern edge for bobcat). The ranges of both species are shifting in some parts of North America, in most cases resulting in a northward expansion for bobcats and a northward contraction for lynx. However, their range dynamics in the Pacific Northwest, which contains the northwestern range margin for bobcats and the southwestern range margin for lynx, have not been thoroughly documented. Here, we examine whether the range of each species has shifted in British Columbia (BC), Canada, provincially during 1983–2013 or in central BC during 1935–2013. Trapping records indicated that ranges have remained stable, and surveys from trappers supported these findings. Our findings are consistent with previous work showing that many wide-ranging species do not shift their range uniformly across their entire range edge. For bobcats and lynx, their range stability in BC contrasts with their range dynamics in other parts of North America.