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Dryad

Data from: Southern range dynamics of Canada lynx over seven decades

Data files

Feb 21, 2022 version files 428.29 KB

Abstract

The range of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) has contracted substantially from its historical range. Using harvest records, we found that the southern range of the lynx in Ontario in the late 1940s collapsed and then, in a short period of time, increased to its largest extent in the mid-1960s when the lynx range spread south of the boreal forest for a decade. After this expansion the southern range contracted northwards beginning in the 1970s. Most recently, there has been a slight expansion between 2010-2017. We have attributed these dynamics on the southern range periphery to the fluctuation of the boreal lynx population in the core of the species’ range. In addition, connectivity to boreal lynx populations and snow depth seemed to condition whether the lynx expanded into an area. However, we did not find any evidence to suggest that these changes were due to anthropogenic disturbances or competition. The boreal lynx population does not reach the peak abundance it once did, without which we would not expect to see large expansions of the southern lynx range as in the mid-1960s. Our results suggest that southern lynx range in Ontario have been driven by the magnitude of the boreal lynx population cycle, connectivity to the boreal forest, and snow conditions. Therefore, it is quite unlikely that southern lynx population in the Great Lakes will recover, since the warming climate and habitat changes are causing a northward contraction of the boreal forest and likely with it the core lynx populations.