Kubala Jakub, Signer Johannes, Finďo Slavomír, Duľa Martin, Krojerová-Prokešová Jarmila, Mysłajek Robert W, Nowak Sabina, Bučko Jozef, Skuban Michaela, Kutal Miroslav, Bojda Michal, Labuda Jiří, Figura Michał, Barančeková Miroslava, Homolka Miloslav, Koubek Petr, Slamka Marián, Tám Branislav, Belák Michal, Iľko Tomáš, Machciník Beňadik, Klinga Peter, Sedliak Maroš, Kropil Rudolf, Smolko Peter
Department of Applied Zoology and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry, Technical University in Zvolen, T. G. Masaryka 24, 960 01, Zvolen, Slovakia.
DIANA - Carpathian Wildlife Research Centre, Mládežnícka 47, 974 04, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia.
Sci Rep. 2024 Sep 16;14(1):21600. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-71800-w.
Understanding how large carnivores utilize space is crucial for management planning in human-dominated landscape and enhances the accuracy of population size estimates. However, Eurasian lynx display a large inter-population variation in the size of home ranges across their European range which makes extrapolation to broader areas of a species distribution problematic. This study evaluates variations in home range size for 35 Eurasian lynx in the Western Carpathians during 2011-2022 based on GPS telemetry and explains how intrinsic and environmental factors shape lynx spatial behaviour when facing anthropogenic pressure. The average annual home range size of lynx ranged from 283 (± 42 SE) to 360 (± 60 SE) km for males and from 148 (± 50 SE) to 190 (± 70 SE) km for females, depending on home range estimator (95% MCP, KDE and AKDE). Females with kittens had smaller annual and summer home ranges compared to non-reproducing females and subadults had smaller home ranges compared to adults. Lynx home range size was explained by availability of roe deer, except for summer, when alternative prey was likely available. We also found clear evidence of human-induced changes in lynx home range size, in particular, forest cover significantly decreased the home range size of male lynx during summer while road density led to an expansion of both annual and summer lynx home ranges. Lynx exhibited consistent fidelity to their home ranges throughout consecutive seasons, showing no seasonal variations. Strong territoriality was observed among competing males maintaining relatively low home range overlaps and considerable distances between centres of activity. The most pronounced tendency for association was observed between males and females, maintaining relatively close proximity year-round. The insights into lynx spatial requirements provided by our study will greatly enhance the accuracy of population size estimates and effectiveness of mitigation measures across the Western Carpathians.
了解大型食肉动物如何利用空间对于人类主导景观中的管理规划至关重要，并提高了种群数量估计的准确性。然而，欧亚猞猁在其欧洲分布范围内的家域大小存在很大的种群间差异，这使得将其推断到物种分布的更广泛区域存在问题。本研究基于GPS遥测评估了2011 - 2022年西喀尔巴阡山脉35只欧亚猞猁的家域大小变化，并解释了在面临人为压力时，内在因素和环境因素如何塑造猞猁的空间行为。根据家域估计方法（95% MCP、KDE和AKDE），雄性猞猁的年平均家域大小在283（±42 SE）至360（±60 SE）平方公里之间，雌性在148（±50 SE）至190（±70 SE）平方公里之间。与未繁殖的雌性相比，有幼崽的雌性年家和夏季家域较小，与成年猞猁相比，亚成年猞猁的家域较小。除夏季可能有其他猎物外，狍子的可获得性解释了猞猁的家域大小。我们还发现了人类导致猞猁家域大小变化的明确证据，特别是森林覆盖率在夏季显著降低了雄性猞猁的家域大小，而道路密度导致了猞猁年家和夏季家域的扩大。猞猁在连续的季节中对其家域表现出一致的忠诚度，没有季节性变化。在竞争的雄性之间观察到强烈的领地性，家域重叠相对较低，活动中心之间有相当的距离。在雄性和雌性之间观察到最明显的关联倾向，全年保持相对较近的距离。我们的研究对猞猁空间需求的洞察将大大提高西喀尔巴阡山脉种群数量估计的准确性和缓解措施的有效性。
