Density of Wild Prey Modulates Lynx Kill Rates on Free-Ranging Domestic Sheep

Oddén, John; Nilsen, Erlend B.; Linnell, John D. C.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079261

Cited by 34 publications

(28 citation statements)

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“…That nonreproducing females did not reduce their HR size during summer despite an increase in prey availability (i.e., small prey and domestic sheep; Odden et al. , ; Gervasi et al. ) suggests that nonreproducing female HR size is regulated by prey availability during the winter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, reductions in HR size for reproducing females during suckling is likely due to young, dependent kittens limiting the mother's mobility (Dahle and Swenson 2003) as well as female lynx avoiding human disturbance during this period (White et al 2015). That nonreproducing females did not reduce their HR size during summer despite an increase in prey availability (i.e., small prey and domestic sheep; Odden et al 2006Odden et al , 2013Gervasi et al 2014) suggests that nonreproducing female HR size is regulated by prey availability during the winter. Our results highlight the importance of simultaneously considering resources and intraspecific interactions as determinants of animal spacing patterns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The study area encompasses a north–south environmental gradient where primary productivity, roe deer abundance ( Capreolus capreolus : the primary prey for lynx in this region; Odden et al. , ; Gervasi et al. ), proportion of agricultural land, and human density increase to the south, whereas the period with snow cover increases to the north.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used location data from 1998 to 2010 (Sweden) and 1996 to 2012 (Norway) from the south-central part of the Scandinavian Peninsula (57°-63°N, 9°-17°E) for resident animals ≥20 months old. The study area encompasses a north-south environmental gradient where primary productivity, roe deer abundance (Capreolus capreolus: the primary prey for lynx in this region; Odden et al 2006Odden et al , 2013Gervasi et al 2014), proportion of agricultural land, and human density increase to the south, whereas the period with snow cover increases to the north. For a detailed description of the study areas, see Andr en et al (2006) and Odden et al (2013).…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Intensity of space use reveals conditional sex‐specific effects of prey and conspecific density on home range size

Aronsson

Low

López‐Bao

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

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Home range (HR) size variation is often linked to resource abundance, with sex differences expected to relate to sex‐specific fitness consequences. However, studies generally fail to disentangle the effects of the two main drivers of HR size variation, food and conspecific density, and rarely consider how their relative influence change over spatiotemporal scales. We used location data from 77 Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) from a 16‐year Scandinavian study to examine HR sizes variation relative to prey and conspecific density at different spatiotemporal scales. By varying the isopleth parameter (intensity of use) defining the HR, we show that sex‐specific effects were conditional on the spatial scale considered. Males had larger HRs than females in all seasons. Females' total HR size declined as prey and conspecific density increased, whereas males' total HR was only affected by conspecific density. However, as the intensity of use within the HR increased (from 90% to 50% isopleth), the relationship between prey density and area showed opposing patterns for females and males; for females, the prey density effect was reduced, while for males, prey became increasingly important. Thus, prey influenced the size of key regions within male HRs, despite total HR size being independent of prey density. Males reduced their HR size during the mating season, likely to remain close to individual females in estrous. Females reduced their HR size postreproduction probably because of movement constrains imposed by dependent young. Our findings highlight the importance of simultaneously considering resources and intraspecific interactions as HR size determinants. We show that sex‐specific demands influence the importance of prey and conspecific density on space use at different spatiotemporal scales. Thus, unless a gradient of space use intensity is examined, factors not related to total HR size might be disregarded despite their importance in determining size of key regions within the HR.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Intensity of space use reveals conditional sex‐specific effects of prey and conspecific density on home range size

Aronsson

Low

López‐Bao

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

Self Cite

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“…Roe deer are the major wild prey for Eurasian lynx in most of Norway (Odden et al ). We used hunting statistics at the county level as an index of roe deer density (< http://www.ssb.no >).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality and lamb body mass growth in free‐ranging domestic sheep – environmental impacts including lethal and non‐lethal impacts of predators

et al. 2015

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The management and recovery of large predator populations in areas where human persecution has driven them to ecological extinction requires a solid understanding of the effects of both predation and food limitation on prey populations. We used 11 yr of data on reported losses among 17.3 million free‐ranging sheep Ovis aries in the Norwegian farming industry to elucidate the relative roles of climate, vegetation characteristics, sheep densities, lamb body mass and densities of predators and alternative prey on the number of lambs and ewes lost on summer pastures. We first examined whether predator densities predicted autumn lamb body mass through possible impacts of predators on body growth (non‐lethal effects) but found no evidence for such effects in our study system. This might be due to weak anti‐predator behavioral responses in domesticated sheep. However, autumn lamb body mass was predicted by both sheep density and winter and spring weather conditions, probably through food availability. Losses of both lambs and ewes were positively and strongly related to the density of Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx, wolverine Gulo gulo and brown bear Ursus arctos. In addition, food availability and spring weather conditions were associated to losses of lambs, while precipitation in May predicted losses of ewes. There was little evidence for interaction effects of predator species on losses, suggesting that most of the effects of the predators were additive to each other. Given the strong effect of predator densities on sheep losses, we conclude that changing livestock husbandry practices towards a system that actively protects sheep and/or active management of predator densities may be necessary to reduce sheep losses where predators are recolonizing.

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Effectiveness of contemporary techniques for reducing livestock depredations by large carnivores

et al. 2016

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Mitigation of large carnivore depredation is essential to increasing stakeholder support for human-carnivore coexistence. Lethal and non-lethal techniques are implemented by managers, livestock producers, and other stakeholders to reduce livestock depredations by large carnivores. However, information regarding the relative effectiveness of techniques commonly used to reduce livestock depredations is currently lacking. We evaluated 66 published, peer-reviewed research papers that quantitatively measured livestock depredation before and after employing 4 categories of lethal and non-lethal mitigation techniques (livestock husbandry, predator deterrents and removal, and indirect management of land or wild prey) to assess their relative effectiveness as livestock protection strategies. Effectiveness of each technique was measured as the reported percent change in livestock losses. Husbandry (42-100% effective) and deterrents (0-100% effective) demonstrated the greatest potential but also the widest variability in effectiveness in reducing livestock losses. Removal of large carnivores never achieved 100% effectiveness but exhibited the lowest variation (67-83%). Although explicit measures of effectiveness were not reported for indirect management, livestock depredations commonly decreased with sparser and greater distances from vegetation cover, at greater distances from protected areas, and in areas with greater wild prey abundance. Information on time duration of effects was available only for deterrents; a tradeoff existed between the effectiveness of tools and the length of time a tool remained effective. Our assessment revealed numerous sources of bias regarding the effectiveness of techniques as reported in the peer-reviewed literature, including a lack of replication across species and geographic regions, a focus on Canid carnivores in the United States, Europe, and Africa, and a publication bias toward studies reporting positive effects. Given these limitations, we encourage managers and conservationists to work with livestock producers to more consistently and quantitatively measure and report the impacts of mitigation techniques under a wider range of environmental, economic, and sociological conditions. Ó 2016 The Wildlife Society.KEY WORDS human-carnivore coexistence, human-wildlife conflict, large carnivore conservation, lethal control, non-lethal management.

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Density of Wild Prey Modulates Lynx Kill Rates on Free-Ranging Domestic Sheep

Cited by 34 publications

References 50 publications

Intensity of space use reveals conditional sex‐specific effects of prey and conspecific density on home range size

Intensity of space use reveals conditional sex‐specific effects of prey and conspecific density on home range size

Mortality and lamb body mass growth in free‐ranging domestic sheep – environmental impacts including lethal and non‐lethal impacts of predators

Effectiveness of contemporary techniques for reducing livestock depredations by large carnivores

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