Ecology and conservation of lynx in the United States

Abstract

Once found throughout the Rocky Mountains and forests of the northern states, the lynx now hides in pockets of its former range while feeding mostly on small animals like snowshoe hares. A team of government and university scientists review the newest scientific knowledge of this unique cat's history, distribution, and ecology. The chapters on this web site provide information for current scientific and public debates regarding the fate of the lynx in the United States. Chapters look at the relationships among lynx, its habitat, and its prey. The attributes of northern versus southern lynx populations are compared and contrasted. The authors caution against making decisions without enough knowledge and show where we lack information. While the authors present the latest preliminary research results on lynx and offer some qualified insights into lynx management, the book's intent is to assess the current state of knowledge regarding lynx.Hard copies of the report will be available in late 1999 from the University Press of Colorado,

Variable effects of snow conditions across boreal mesocarnivore species

“…However, their high occupancy probability in areas of less compact (fluffy) snow suggests that lynx were most frequently using areas with shallow, but fluffy snow. Like canids, lynx may use shallow snow to reduce energetic costs, and lynx have been shown to avoid areas with compact snow to avoid competitive interactions with canids (Ruggiero et al 2000). We found that lynx tracks sank into snow more deeply than either canid species, contrary to our expectations based on foot-load ratios (Murray and Boutin 1991;Murray et al 1994).…”

“…Lynx are generally thought to use areas where they can most successfully access their primary prey source, with snow conditions playing a minimal role in use patterns (Ruggiero et al 2000). Lynx are suited to hunt in a variety of snow conditions because they can hunt effectively with either a chasing or ambushing strategy, in contrast to coyotes, which change their hunting behaviour from chasing to a less familiar ambushing approach in deep snow (Murray and Boutin 1991;Murray et al 1995).…”

“…Lynx, perhaps one of the best examples of a predatory specialist, are well known for their dietary dependence on snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus (Erxleben, 1777)) and are therefore associated with mature or mixed-age forest and tall shrub habitats that support hares (Ruggiero et al 2000;Feierabend and Kielland 2015). For specialist species (lynx and marten), we expected relatively high occupancy probabilities in forested habitats based on their prey requirements and species behaviour (Ruggiero et al 2000;Zielinski et al 2005). For generalist species (wolverine, coyote and fox), we did not expect to find differences in occupancy based on habitat type because these species are well adapted to a variety of habitats.…”

“…Marten are also able to exploit a wide range of prey resources, but they are fairly restricted to mature forest habitat (Zielinski et al 2005). Lynx, perhaps one of the best examples of a predatory specialist, are well known for their dietary dependence on snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus (Erxleben, 1777)) and are therefore associated with mature or mixed-age forest and tall shrub habitats that support hares (Ruggiero et al 2000;Feierabend and Kielland 2015). For specialist species (lynx and marten), we expected relatively high occupancy probabilities in forested habitats based on their prey requirements and species behaviour (Ruggiero et al 2000;Zielinski et al 2005).…”

A Morphometric Survey among Three Iranian Horse Breeds with Multivariate Analysis

“…In the view point of the environment, ignoring the diversity of inner species, like the presence of different breeds, could result in the peril species (Ruggiero et al, 1999). One of the best methods in investigating horse breeds is morphometric method.…”