Bio-monitoring Canada lynx to reveal intricate predator-prey interactions and boreal ecosystem dynamics

也许最著名的捕食者-猎物相互作用涉及加拿大猞猁和它的主要猎物，雪鞋兔。在整个北方森林，猞猁和野兔的种群经历了9-11年的剧烈波动，这是由它们复杂的捕食者-猎物关系驱动的，这些波动通过北方森林生态系统产生反响，深刻影响各种物种的动态。然而，由于猞猁和野兔的神秘习性，它们的捕食者-猎物相互作用以及这些相互作用如何转化为北方森林生态系统水平的变化仍然存在许多不确定性。所要求的基础设施（卫星无线电发射机、加速度计、录音机）将由Kluane Lynx-Hare团队（KLHT; D。Murray，TrentU; S. Boutin，UAlberta; M. Humphries，McGillU）在育空地区的Kluane湖破译猞猁和它们的环境之间复杂的相互作用。将对最先进的卫星发射机进行编程，以便高强度地收集细微规模的运动，并在野外的猞猁身上部署;将在这些设备上安装加速计，以精确测量猞猁的行为，包括进食和狩猎;将部署微型录音机，以揭示猎物选择和狩猎成功的模式。总的来说，这些设备将有助于集中跟踪猞猁并记录杀戮事件，以评估对野兔的捕食率是如何通过以下因素形成的：i）野兔丰度; ii）猞猁之间的竞争性相互作用; iii）替代猎物的相对可用性（即，红松鼠）;及iv）个别猞猁的觅食行为。其次，这些设备将有助于阐明猞猁的运动和狩猎成功是否反映了两种流行的觅食理论模型（即，补丁选择vs.猎物选择）。第三，由于仪表化的猞猁将与目前佩戴类似设备的野兔在空间上重叠，该设备将提供前所未有的洞察力，以了解捕食者和猎物如何在空间上相互作用，以及猎物是否：i）在某些栖息地类型中被不成比例地杀死（例如，低结构覆盖）;和ii）避免在高重叠区域的捕食者。第四，明年野兔种群数量预计将大幅下降，猞猁的身体状况也将相应恶化。因此，我们的仪器将使我们能够以高效率重新捕获个体猞猁，因此我们可以通过这种极端的自然压力源跟踪生理学，身体状况和表观遗传学的变化，并将观察到的变化与从所需仪器收集的数据相关联。总的来说，这一基础设施将通过应用最先进的技术来解决有关猞猁生态和保护的主要问题，以及更普遍的北方森林中捕食者-猎物种群动态，来扩大我们长期以来的猞猁研究。这项研究还将有助于填补有关一种标志性哺乳动物物种的知识空白，这种哺乳动物物种通过毛皮诱捕具有重要的经济价值。

Perhaps the most celebrated predator-prey interaction involves the Canada lynx and its primary prey, the snowshoe hare. Across the boreal forest, lynx and hare populations undergo dramatic 9-11 year fluctuations that are driven by their intricate predator-prey relationship, and these fluctuations reverberate through the boreal forest ecosystem to profoundly affect the dynamics of a variety of species. However, due to the cryptic habits of lynx and hares there remains a number of uncertainties associated with their predator-prey interaction, and how these translate to ecosystem-level changes in the boreal forest. The requested infrastructure (satellite radio-transmitters, accelerometers, audio recorders) will be used by the Kluane Lynx-Hare Team (KLHT; D. Murray, TrentU; S. Boutin, UAlberta; M. Humphries, McGillU) to decipher complex interactions between lynx and their environment at Kluane Lake, Yukon. State-of-the-art satellite transmitters will be programmed for high-intensity collection of fine-scale movements, and deployed on lynx in the field; accelerometers will be attached to these devices to provide precise measurement of lynx behavior, including feeding and hunting; miniaturized audio recorders will be deployed to reveal patterns of prey selection and hunting success. Collectively, these devices will help track lynx intensively and document killing events to assess how the predation rate on hares is shaped by: i) hare abundance; ii) agonistic interactions between lynx; iii) relative availability of alternate prey (i.e., red squirrel); and iv) foraging behaviour of individual lynx. Second, this equipment will serve to elucidate whether lynx movements and hunting success reflect either of two prevailing models of foraging theory (i.e., patch choice vs. prey choice). Third, because instrumented lynx will overlap spatially with hares currently wearing similar devices, the equipment will provide unprecedented insight into how predators and prey interact spatially, and whether prey: i) are killed disproportionately in certain habitat types (e.g., low structural cover); and ii) avoid predators in regions of high overlap. Fourth, the hare population is expected to crash in the next year and lynx body condition will deteriorate correspondingly. Accordingly, our instruments will allow us to recapture individual lynx with a high efficiency so we can track changes in physiology, body condition, and epigenetics through this extreme natural stressor, and relate observed changes to data collected from the requested instruments. Collectively, this infrastructure will expand our longstanding lynx research by applying state-of-the-art technologies toward solving major questions regarding lynx ecology and conservation, and more generally, predator-prey population dynamics in the boreal forest. The research also will contribute to knowledge gaps about an iconic mammal species that has an important economic value through fur trapping.