Rates and causes of mortality in a fragmented population of Iberian lynx Felis pardina Temminck, 1824

Abstract

Data are presented on mortality rates of the Iberian lynx Felis pardina in Doñana National Park and the surrounding area in southwestern Spain, collected from 1983 to 1989. Data from radio-tagged lynxes and records of lynx mortality were used to assess causes of death. Annual mortality rate, estimated by using the Heisey and Fuller methodology, was 037. Human activities were the main cause of lynx mortality in this mainly fully protected area, either directly (illegal trapping: 417%; road traffic: l67%; hunting with dogs: 83%) or indirectly (artesian wells: 8.3%). Only 83% of the annual mortality can be related unequivocally to natural causes. Sex, age, social status, year, and home range situation influenced mortality rates. The trend of this lynx population during the seven years of study revealed serious threats to its survival. This case study exemplified how a small population can approach extinction because of increased mortality due to habitat fragmentation, despite full protection of the main portion of its range.

Assessing large-scale wildlife responses to human infrastructure development

“…We overlaid distance maps to transportation infrastructure with distribution maps (10 × 10-km cells) (44) of six emblematic species of the Iberian fauna known to be negatively affected by roads at local scales: Strix aluco (Tawny owl), Otis tarda (Great bustard), Aquila adalberti (Spanish imperial eagle), Canis lupus (Gray wolf), Lynx pardinus (Iberian lynx), and Ursus arctos (Brown bear) (28,29,38,(45)(46)(47). For each species, we quantified the median distance to transport infrastructure in presence cells and classified resulting distances by bands of 500 m from the nearest infrastructure for graphical representation as a normalized histogram.…”

Food Habits of the Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus) in Korea

“…Daily travel distance averaged 7 km, with males generally travelling further than females. Diurnal activity peaks during the winter (Beltran et al 1987 Longevity: (W) up to 13 years (Ferreras et al 1992). …”

“…Dofiana II* (Spain). Delibes 1992). Distribution in Portugal is less wellknown, but has also been substantially reduced since the 1940s.…”

“…Eurasia, European wildcat natural causes (Ferreras et al 1992). Rodriguez and Delibes (1990) compiled records on cause of death for 1,2 15 lynx killed in Spain over the past 30 years.…”

Road-killed bats, highway design, and the commuting ecology of bats

“…Collision with vehicles is the primary cause of death of moose Alces alces in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska (Bangs et al 1989) and of barn owls Tyto alba in the UK (Newton et al 1991). Road kill also takes a significant toll on Iberian lynx Felis pardina populations in southwestern Spain (Ferreras et al 1992), white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus in New York (Sarbello & Jackson 1985), wolves Canis lupus in Minnesota (Fuller 1989), and American crocodiles Crocodylus acutus in southern Florida (Kushlan 1988). While much documentation of road-kill mortality has focused on terrestrial mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, the impact of highways on bat populations has only recently been identified (Kiefer et al 1995, Wray et al 2006, Lesinski 2007, López et al 2007).…”