Space-use, diet, demographics, and topographic associations of lynx in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains: a study

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Snowshoe hares are considered the primary prey of Canada lynx throughout their range. Relative to northern populations, hares occurring in mountainous regions at southern latitudes are thought to remain at low and stable densities through time. Hence, the ecology of associated southern lynx populations is expected to resemble that of northern populations during the low phase of the hare population cycle. The space use, diet, and demographics of lynx in the Rocky Mountains of southeastern British Columbia and southwestern Alberta are consistent with this hypothesis, based on data collected from 10 lynx, including six (three males, three females) resident adults, during two years of an assumed increase phase of a hare cycle. Mean hare densities were low, ranging from 0.01 to 0.47/ha among cover types and landscapes. Lynx winter diet (n = 137 kills) was diverse and included hares (52%), red squirrels (30%), northern flying squirrels (5%), grouse (3%), martens (3%), and voles (3%). Kitten recruitment to winter was zero among adult females for four lynx-years. Family groups that did occur in the study area during winter were associated with small litters of two. Survival among resident adults was 100%, but three of four subadults monitored during winter did not survive to mid-May. Home ranges were large, with annual 95% adaptive kernel utilization distributions averaging 381 and 239 km2 for resident males and females, respectively. Minimum daily movements averaged 3.8 and 3.0 km, respectively. Two juvenile dispersals were short (44 and 17 km) and ended in starvation. Space use by lynx may also relate to physiography, the influence of which may vary seasonally in mountainous landscapes. Most lynx selected mid elevations (1,550–1,850 m) and moderate to gentle slopes (<40%) within home ranges. Residents used higher elevations, and some used steeper slopes during summer than during winter. Highways were crossed less than random expectation within home ranges, suggesting that they influenced lynx movements. Sexual differences in home range size were not significant, but daily movements of males were greater than those of females, indicating that they used space more extensively.

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ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology

Generic citation: Apps, Clayton D. 2000. Space-use, diet, demographics, and topographic associations of lynx in the southern Canadian Rocky Mountains: a study. Pages 351-371 in Ruggiero, L. F., K. B. Aubry, S. W. Buskirk, G. M. Koehler, C. J. Krebs, K. S. McKelvey, and J. R. Squires, editors. Ecology and conservation of lynx in the contiguous United States. University Press of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. 480 pp.