Timing and synchrony of birth in Eurasian lynx across Europe

Abstract

The ecology and evolution of reproductive timing and synchrony have been a topic of great interest in evolutionary ecology for decades. Originally motivated by questions related to behavioral and reproductive adaptation to environmental conditions, the topic has acquired new relevance in the face of climate change. However, there has been relatively little research on reproductive phenology in mammalian carnivores. The Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) occurs across the Eurasian continent, covering three of the four main climate regions of the world. Thus, their distribution includes a large variation in climatic conditions, making it an ideal species to explore reproductive phenology. Here, we used data on multiple reproductive events from 169 lynx females across Europe. Mean birth date was May 28 (April 23 to July 1), but was ~10 days later in northern Europe than in central and southern Europe. Birth dates were relatively synchronized across Europe, but more so in the north than in the south. Timing of birth was delayed by colder May temperatures. Severe and cold weather may affect neonatal survival via hypothermia and avoiding inclement weather early in the season may select against early births, especially at northern latitudes. Overall, only about half of the kittens born survived until onset of winter but whether kittens were born relatively late or early did not affect kitten survival. Lynx are strict seasonal breeders but still show a degree of flexibility to adapt the timing of birth to surrounding environmental conditions. We argue that lynx give birth later when exposed to colder spring temperatures and have more synchronized births when the window of favorable conditions for raising kittens is shorter. This suggests that lynx are well adapted to different environmental conditions, from dry and warm climates to alpine, boreal, and arctic climates. This variation in reproductive timing will be favorable in times of climate change, as organisms with high plasticity are more likely to adjust to new environmental conditions.

Prerequisites for coexistence: human pressure and refuge habitat availability shape continental-scale habitat use patterns of a large carnivore

“…Due to the lack of consistent information on the breeding status of females, we defined the postnatal period as the first 100 days after the beginning of the parturition season, irrespective of breeding status (most female lynx are reproducing each year; López-Bao et al 2019). Based on data from a recent study on the distribution of parturition dates of lynx across Europe (Mattisson et al 2022), we defined the beginning of the parturition season as 145th day of the year for datasets north of 65° latitude (May 25th in non-leap years), and as the 130th day of the year for all other locations (May 10th).…”

Rehabilitation and release of orphaned Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) in Europe: Implications for management and conservation

“…Cox proportional hazard models were used to investigate the association of survival time and the following predictor variables: age at capture, having received hunting training during rehabilitation or not, age at release, release weight, time in enclosure, release time, type of release and release location [ 32 ]. Age was measured in months, assuming that kittens were born at the end of May [ 18 ], and release mass was recorded. Release time was classified into three categories: spring release between January and May, representing the time of separation from the mother in nature [ 22 ], summer release between June and August, and autumn release from September to December.…”

“…The lynx follows a monoestrus reproductive cycle where ovulation generally occurs once a year [ 17 ]. The mating season is mid-February to early April and kittens are usually born in May and June [ 18 ]. For the first 6–8 weeks after giving birth, females show a foraging behaviour centred around a den [ 19 , 20 ].…”

Revealing functional responses in habitat selection of rocky features and rugged terrain by Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) using LiDAR data

“…To account for lynx selection of familiar habitat (i.e., within their home ranges -95% MCP), we removed the periods of long-distance mating excursions (i.e., the period when they temporarily left their territory to find additional mates; Oliveira et al 2023) and periods for females during the denning period (birth date and the following 60 days; Mattisson et al 2022;Dalpiaz 2023). Furthermore, we removed the periods of the initial exploratory excursions for translocated lynx (i.e., the period before they established their territories; Topličanec et al 2022).…”