Ecological and intrinsic drivers of foraging parameters of Eurasian lynx at a continental scale
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The estimation of foraging parameters is fundamental for understanding predator ecology. Predation and feeding can vary with multiple factors, such as prey availability, presence of kleptoparasites and human disturbance. However, our knowledge is mostly limited to local scales, which prevents studying effects of environmental factors across larger ecological gradients. Here, we compared inter-kill intervals and handling times of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) across a large latitudinal gradient, from subarctic to the Mediterranean ecosystems, using a standardised dataset of predicted adult ungulate kills from 107 GPS-collared lynx from nine distinct populations in Europe. We analysed variations in these two foraging parameters in relation to proxies reflecting prey availability, scavengers' presence and human disturbance, to improve our understanding of lynx predation at a continental scale. We found that inter-kill intervals and handling times varied between populations, social status and in different seasons within the year. We observed marked differences in inter-kill intervals between populations, which do not appear to be driven by variation in handling time. Increases in habitat productivity (expressed by NDVI, used as a proxy for prey availability) resulted in reduced inter-kill intervals (i.e. higher kill rates). We observed less variation in handling (i.e. feeding) times, although presence of dominant scavengers (wild boars and brown bears) and higher human impact led to significantly shorter handling times. This suggests that kleptoparasitism and human disturbance may limit the energetic input that lynx can obtain from their prey. We also observed that the human impact on foraging parameters can be consistent between some populations but context-dependent for others, suggesting local adaptations by lynx. Our study highlights the value of large-scale studies based on standardised datasets, which can aid the implementation of effective management measures, as patterns observed in one area might not be necessarily transferable to other regions. Our results also indicate the high degree of adaptability of these solitary felids, which enables them to meet their energy requirements and persist across a wide range of environmental conditions despite the constraints imposed by humans, dominant scavengers and variable prey availability.
Source: Journal of Animal Ecology
Authors: Teresa Oliveira, Jenny Mattisson, Kristina Vogt, John Linnell, John Odden, Julian Oeser, Joseph Premier, Mariano Rodríguez‐Recio, Elisa Belotti, Ludek Bufka, Rok Černe, Martin Duľa, Urša Fležar, Andrej Gonev, Micha Herdtfelder, Marco Heurich, Lan Hočevar, Tilen Hvala, Tomáš Iľko, Raido Kont, Petr Koubek, Jarmila Krojerová‐Prokešová, Jakub Kubala, Marko Kübarsepp, Josip Kusak, Miroslav Kutal, Beňadik Machciník, Peep Männil, Dime Melovski, Paolo Molinari, Aivars Ornicāns, Aleksandar Pavlov, Maruša Prostor, Vedran Slijepčević, Peter Smolko, Branislav Tam, Miha Krofel
Institutions: University of Ljubljana, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, University of Inland Norway, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Bavarian Forest National Park, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Šumava National Park, Friends of the Earth Czech Republic, Mendel University in Brno, Macedonian Ecological Society, Forstliche Versuchs- und Forschungsanstalt Baden-Württemberg, University of Freiburg, University of Tartu, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Technická univerzita vo Zvolene, Keskkonnaagentuur, Koç University, University of Zagreb, Lynx (Italy), Latvian State Forest Research Institute "Silava", Karlovac University of Applied Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
Awards: G1012866483, G1056961586, Integrating multi-scale and multi-population analyses on the spatial and foraging ecology of the Eurasian lynx: a transboundary approach, ExtremePredator: Revealing ecological roles of apex predators in extreme environments, G4168816020, G4563774451, G4808270207, Insight into inter- and intra-specific interactions among wild cat species in Europe and Africa, G655515101, G6947935290, G7686489562, G8687711924, G931454151
OpenAlex ID: W4404774498