Lynx cycles and barriers: Evaluating dispersal versus climate change in flatlining populations

由专业捕食者及其猎物产生的持续和定期的种群周期在自然界中是罕见的，但似乎是在北方生态系统中创造周期性节奏的主要力量。加拿大山猫和雪鞋兔(Lepus Americanus)表现出这种普遍的10年周期。这些动态系统的健康处于危险之中，美国山猫的地位受到威胁，加拿大山猫南部地区的山猫数量很少，这就是明证。例如，近年来，加拿大南部和华盛顿州北部喀斯喀兹山脉的山猫数量大约减少了一半。山猫在加拿大-美国边境附近的持久性可能取决于与加拿大核心种群的扩散联系的质量，或者在气候变化永久改变物种动态之前阻止气候变化的进展。

Persistent and regular population cycles produced by specialist predators and their prey are a rarity in nature, but appear to be a major force creating a periodic rhythm in boreal ecosystems. Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis) and snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) display such a pervasive 10-year cycle. The health of these dynamic systems are at risk as evidenced by the threatened status of the lynx in the US and low numbers in what remains of its southern range in Canada. For instance, lynx numbers in the Cascades Mountain Range of southern Canada and northern Washington have approximately halved in recent years. The persistence of lynx near the Canada-US border may depend on either quality of dispersal connections with the core Canadian population or stemming the progression of climate change before it permanently alters the species' dynamics.