Ecological and intrinsic drivers of foraging parameters of Eurasian lynx at a continental scale

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68081766%3A_____%2F25%3A00602517" target="_blank" >RIV/68081766:_____/25:00602517 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/60460709:41320/25:100343 RIV/62156489:43210/25:43926026 RIV/62156489:43410/25:43926026

Result on the web

<a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.14228" target="_blank" >https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.14228</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.14228" target="_blank" >10.1111/1365-2656.14228</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Ecological and intrinsic drivers of foraging parameters of Eurasian lynx at a continental scale

Original language description

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.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2025

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Animal Ecology

ISSN

0021-8790

e-ISSN

1365-2656

Volume of the periodical

94

Issue of the periodical within the volume

1

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

154-167

UT code for WoS article

001363329700001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85210407752