Browsing by Subject "Canada lynx"

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    Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) in Minnesota: Road Use and Movements within the Home Range
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2012) Terwilliger, Lauren; Moen, Ronald
    Responses of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) to linear corridors, particularly roads and trails, depend on geographic area, individual lynx, road characteristics and local habitat. Roads and trails may benefit lynx by increasing both the ease and speed of travel between use areas. However, proximity to roads may increase the probability of lynx-human interactions and the risk of mortality from vehicle collisions and incidental human-caused mortality. In Minnesota, lynx frequently travel along and cross roads and trails, and proximity to road features occurs both within home ranges and during long-distance movements outside of established territories. The use of linear features by lynx was assessed within seasonal home ranges based on about 4,500 GPS locations from 7 lynx collected during a 6 year radiotelemetry study in the Superior National Forest. Within home ranges, lynx were closer to roads than both water or wetland features, and about 3% of locations occurred on roads/trails. As expected, male lynx had faster movement rates and larger home ranges than female lynx. Although the sample size was small preventing statistical analysis, movement rates were faster for consecutive locations on a road/trail than locations not on a road/trail for female lynx, but similar for male lynx. Distance to roads/trails decreased with increasing road density; however movement rate was not affected by road/trail density which was similar among individuals, home ranges and seasons. Road crossings were also not related to road density, and were proportionate to the total length of various road surface types present within a home range. Finally, distance to roads/trails did not differ between actual locations and random locations. This suggested that lynx were not selecting for or against roads within their home ranges, although within 25 m of a road/trail lynx were closer to roads than random expectation. It appears that the consistent road density across the study area (< 2 km/km2) may account for the lack of relationship between road density and lynx use of roads. It is also probable that lynx use roads/trails within home ranges for more than just movement, potentially foraging along road corridors. Interactions with prey, and encounters with human activities, vehicles and competitors near roads and trails likely explains why movement rates were not increased by road/trail presence. The frequency of lynx occurrence near roads within the home range and during long-distance movements indicates that lynx in Minnesota are occasionally vulnerable to mortality associated with roads. The extent of this potential threat to lynx in Minnesota is unknown.
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    Canada Lynx in the Great Lakes Region: 2008 Report to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009) Moen, Ronald
    2008 was a year of transition for the Canada lynx project in Minnesota. It is the end of the 6th year of the project, and radiocollared lynx have been present in Minnesota for the entire project. Other than the study by Dr. L.D. Mech in the early 1970’s in which 14 lynx were radiocollared and monitored for up to a year, this project remains the only radiotelemetry project on Canada lynx in the central portion of their range in North America. In part because Canada lynx were listed as a Threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, we also know more about Canada lynx in Maine, Montana, and Wyoming than was ever known before because of radiotelemetry projects in those states. Results from all of these studies are appearing in the peer-reviewed literature. The project in Minnesota began when GPS collars became available that were light enough to be worn by lynx. We obtained over 15,000 locations of Canada lynx, and have technical reports, peerreviewed papers, and annual reports both published and in preparation. We review these new papers and provide an update on the status of Canada lynx in Minnesota based on interpretation of historical records and data collected during this radiotelemetry project. Information contained in this update could be useful to MN DNR personnel currently deciding whether the status of lynx in Minnesota should be changed to endangered, threatened, or a species of special concern. We will continue to monitor radiocollared lynx, and place new radiocollars on lynx with available funding. We had three animals radiocollared at the start of 2008 in Minnesota and by the end of 2008 only two male lynx in Minnesota had functioning transmitters. We could not locate the last transmitting radiocollared female in Minnesota (L31) after April 2008. There were two additional radiocollared lynx (one male and one female) with transmitting collars located in Ontario in May 2008. We continued to count snowshoe hare pellets in spring 2008. Pellet counts showed continued presence of snowshoe hare at densities adequate to support lynx. The highest snowshoe hare densities are found in cover types that have a conifer component or have a brushy layer at the ground surface. These same cover types (Regenerating Forest, Upland Conifer, and Shrubby Grassland) are also selected by Canada lynx during daily movements within their home range. Since 2003 the project has been supported by several agencies with common deliverables and with some deliverables that varied with agency. The report covers the lynx project in its entirety and we indicate specific deliverables in Appendix 2. We continue to use the project website (www.nrri.umn.edu/lynx) to provide information to biologists and the general public. This website is a historical record of the project, lists project goals and accomplishments, and is a source of publications available for download.
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    Canada Lynx in the Great Lakes Region: Annual Report to USDA Forest Service and MN Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2004) Moen, Ronald; Niemi, Gerald J; Burdett, Christopher L.; Mech, L. David
    In this report we summarize accomplishments of the Canada Lynx Ecology in the Great Lakes Region project. We carried out initial work in the Superior National Forest to address 4 major questions about this Canada lynx population: distribution, abundance, persistence, and habitat requirements. In the first 8 months of this project we have captured and deployed radiotelemetry collars on 8 Canada lynx. Each animal was relocated approximately weekly after being collared. Of the 8 Canada lynx that have been collared, 2 have died. Two of the collars deployed on Canada lynx were GPS collars. This marked the first time ever that a GPS collar was deployed on Canada lynx. We downloaded the locations from one of these GPS collars when one of the collared animals was recaptured on December 30th, 2003 after wearing the GPS collar for 3 weeks. The importance of GPS collar data for understanding movements and habitat use of Canada lynx should not be underestimated. In addition to the telemetry research, we have also conducted the first year of surveys for the major prey species of Canada lynx: snowshoe hare and red squirrel. Permanent pellet plots were established throughout the SNF for snowshoe hare. Plots were distributed based on stratified random, systematic, and selective site selection strategies. We established new plots to estimate red squirrel abundance in an area of known high lynx density, and also utilized an existing long-term data set for red squirrel abundance from SNF. Another year of surveys following the National Lynx Survey protocol was completed, and a snow-track survey for Canada lynx and other mesocarnivores was completed on the National Lynx Survey grid. There were also many opportunities to disseminate information on Canada lynx to the biological community and to the general public. More than 10 presentations on lynx biology were given by project personnel. Project personnel assisted in planning, helped with field trips, and gave presentations at the National Lynx and Wolverine Steering Committee Meeting in May 2003 and the Interagency Lynx Biology Team Meeting in October 2003, both of which were hosted by SNF. We have developed a website for the Canada Lynx Ecology in the Great Lakes Region project (www.nrri.umn.edu/lynx). This website provides a history of the project, lists project goals and accomplishments, and includes links to press coverage of the project. We begin the report with a brief chronological summary of the Canada lynx ecology in the Great Lakes Region project. The project was supported by several agencies with some common deliverables and some deliverables that varied among agencies. To produce a cohesive, logically organized Annual Report, we describe the project in its entirety, and we indicate specific deliverables in Appendix 1. We first describe Canada lynx trapping and the deployment of radiotelemetry collars. The radiotelemetry program is very important because each of the major deliverables depends on telemetry data. Next, we address progress made on each of the major questions: (1) Location, (2) Distribution, (3) Persistence, and (4) Habitat use. Prey species surveys and National Lynx Survey results are also summarized. We conclude each section with the current status and future plans for each research topic. We believe it is important to recognize that the project is only 8 months old. A complete answer for any of the questions will require the several years of data collection which is built into the project master plan. We caution that results presented in this report are preliminary because of the few animals that have been collared, and because of the relatively few locations that have been obtained. Management recommendations should not be made from the little information that has been obtained to date. However, with the number of Canada lynx now radiocollared, and with expectations of more in the near future, there will be sufficient data for management recommendations by the end of the second year of this project.
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    Den sites of radiocollared Canada Lynx in Minnesota 2004-2007
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009) Moen, Ronald
    Den sites are used by female Canada lynx to raise kittens for a period of about 50 days after parturition. We reported on litter size, movements around the den site, and broad-scale habitat types around ten den sites in a peer-reviewed publication (Moen et al. 2008). Pictures of each den site, personal observations, and comments on den site characteristics that are not in the peerreviewed publication are included in this report, in which we describe den sites found in Minnesota in more detail than can be done in a peer-reviewed publication. We also discuss characteristics of Minnesota den sites with respect to the den sites described in published literature.
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    Diet of Canada Lynx in Minnesota Estimated from Scat Analysis
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2008) Hanson, Kayla; Moen, Ronald
    We estimated winter diet composition of lynx in Minnesota from 87 scats we collected while trailing lynx, from live-traps that were being used to capture lynx for a radiotelemetry study in northeastern Minnesota, and opportunistically while searching for lynx. We separated scats into a confirmed category (DNA analysis, collected from live traps or along trail of radio-collared lynx) and a probable category (no DNA analysis, tracks likely lynx but not certain or not found, scat dimensions and odor) for analysis. Scats were soaked, washed, and then undigested hair and bones from prey items and vegetation were identified. Undigested prey items were identified to species through comparison to a reference collection. We used the point-frame method for estimates of species composition in scats from hairs. Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) remains were present in 76% of scats. If scats in which only white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) hair was found were eliminated, snowshoe hare remains were found in 97% of scats. We believe most, if not all, deer hair found in lynx scats was from bait used during the radiotelemetry project. Over 80% of the diet of Canada lynx in other parts of the range has been snowshoe hare. We also found evidence of predation or scavenging on other species, including deer, marten, grouse, and other birds. We found one instance of scavenging and possible predation on another lynx. Vegetation was present in trace quantities in many scats and was identified in broad categories of conifer needles, deciduous leaves or grass, and bark, possibly consumed while lynx were eating snowshoe hares they had caught. Scat analysis indicated snowshoe hare are the most important component of Canada lynx diet in northeastern Minnesota in the winter.
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    Lynx habitat suitability in and near Voyageurs National Park
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2009) Moen, Ronald; Windels, Steven K
    Voyageurs National Park (VOYA) is within historical distribution limits of Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). Records of lynx exist for the area in and near VOYA since the 1970s, and recent sightings have been confirmed with DNA analysis. We initiated this project to determine habitat suitability for lynx in VOYA, and if possible to deploy radiocollars on lynx in VOYA. The lynx radiotelemetry project on the Superior National Forest provided data on home range size, density, cover type use, and prey density to which VOYA could be compared. We used remote cameras and snow-tracking to search for lynx in and near VOYA in 2007 and 2008. We estimated density of the lynx’s primary prey, snowshoe hare (Lepus americanns) with hare pellet counts, extrapolated hare density to the landscape level, and contrasted VOYA with lynx home ranges from the Superior National Forest radiotelemetry project. Remote cameras and track searches did not provide evidence to suggest there were resident lynx in VOYA. No lynx were seen in pictures taken at camera stations where other carnivore species were photographed during this project. We did not positively identify any tracks to be from lynx. The hare pellet data indicated that VOYA and the surrounding area may not be good habitat for lynx at the present time. Hare pellet densities in core areas of lynx home ranges in northeastern Minnesota were 1.5 to 2.0 times higher than hare pellet densities in and near VOYA. If hare density were to increase in or near VOYA, at least 3 to 4 female lynx home ranges and 2 male lynx home ranges could fit in VOYA and the surrounding area. Although there may be local areas of high hare density a lynx could use for a short period, it does not appear that there are currently resident lynx in VOYA given the search effort over the past seven years. Lynx documented on and near VOYA are probably transient animals.
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    National Interagency Canada Lynx Detection Survey in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan
    (University of Minnesota Duluth, 2006) Burdett, Christopher L.; Lindquist, Ed; Moen, Ronald; Niemi, Gerald J; Route, Bill
    A variety of non-invasive techniques including hair snagging, snow-tracking, and remote cameras can be used to monitor mammalian carnivores. The National Interagency Canada Lynx Detection Survey (NLDS) was a survey designed to detect lynx with a hair-snagging protocol applied throughout the conterminous U.S. range of the lynx. Hare-snagging stations consisted of a scent lure, a carpet piece with nails to snag hair, and a pie tin to attract the cat’s attention. We applied the NLDS protocol in the Superior and Chippewa National Forests in Minnesota, the Chequamegon and Nicolet National Forests in Wisconsin, and the Ottawa National Forest in Michigan. Mammalian species detected included black bears (Ursus americanus), bobcats (Lynx rufus), coyotes (Canis latrans), ungulates, and other canids. The NLDS did not detect lynx in the Great Lakes Geographic Area (GLGA) despite their likely presence on some of the Minnesota NLDS grids. We also opportunistically set up hair snagging stations in areas in Minnesota where we knew lynx were present to further test the efficacy of hair-snagging stations. We had limited success using hair snares to selectively sample for lynx despite placing snares in areas regularly used by lynx. We suspect the detection probability for lynx hair-snagging surveys in the GLGA may be low and other survey techniques may prove more useful, particularly for localized selective sampling for lynx presence.
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    Using GPS Radiotelemetry Locations to Interpret Road and Trail Use by Canada Lynx (Lynx canadensis) in Minnesota
    (2016-12) Terwilliger, Lauren
    The continental United States, including Minnesota, represents the southern extent of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) range. Based on 6 years of radiotelemetry data for lynx in the Superior National Forest, I examined methods for addressing data gaps common to GPS monitoring of free-ranging animals, and examined the use of road infrastructure by lynx within their home ranges. I found that the midpoint between successful locations more accurately estimated the position and cover type of missed locations than imputation using known movement angles and distances. Based on 4,500 GPS locations from 7 individuals, I also found that 3% of lynx locations within seasonal home ranges occurred on roads and trails and lynx crossed road features about 3 times/day. When compared to random locations, lynx were not closer to road infrastructure at the home range scale, but may have been selecting for road infrastructure within 50 m of road features.