https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/wanted-photos-of-bobcats-and-lynx/&ct=ga&cd=CAEYACoTMzEwOTk5OTI4MTM1ODY5NzM5MDIaMWZiYWM0NmZiZmUyN2MzODpjb206ZW46VVM&usg=AFQjCNGMoylIv0sWqapWsZ_vA7YNQJIihg
Wanted: Photos of bobcats and lynx(bobcat in picture above)
A bobcat/lynx study is underway at the University of BC Okanagan in partnership with the provincial Ministry of Environment — and they need your help.
“We are seeking photos of bobcats and lynx captured by trail cameras or conventional cameras from all corners of the province and from all time periods to help determine the current provincial distribution of each species,” said T.J. Gooliaf, who is part of the study.
“We think that bobcats are moving northwards and into higher elevations.”
The photos do not have to be great photography. They simply need to show a bobcat or lynx — or even just a part of one. Photos can be blurry or dark and don’t even have to clearly show which cat species is present.
When sending photos, please include both the date and location of each photo. Location should be as specific as possible: most preferred is UTM or LAT/LONG co-ordinates. If that information is not available, please provide the name of the nearest road or landmark (including distance and direction from road or landmark) or nearest town (including distance and direction from town) or watershed or management unit.
Bobcat
Bobcat
Photos will be used for data only (which species was where and when) and will not influence management decisions regarding hunting/trapping bag limits or season dates. Photos will not be published or shared with anyone without permission and photographers will retain ownership of their photos.
The results of this study will be shared with all those who are interested.
“Historically, bobcats and lynx have been typically separated by snow depth,” Gooliaf said. “Lynx have extremely long legs and large snowshoe-like paws, making them well adapted for travelling across deep snow. They are found in the boreal forests across Canada and Alaska, as well as the mountain ranges extending south into Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
“In contrast, bobcats are heavier, have small feet and sink into the snow. They are found throughout the deserts and grasslands of the contiguous United States, as well as southern Canada. However, climate change has led to earlier springs and lower snow levels in western North America,” Gooliaf said.
Canada Lynx
Canada Lynx
“As a result, suitable bobcat habitat may now be present in new areas of B.C. I am using photos of bobcats and lynx submitted by the public to help map the current provincial distribution of both species to determine if their ranges have shifted in response to climate change. I hypothesize that bobcats have moved northwards and into higher elevations.”
Photos, along with the date and location of where each was taken, can be emailed to tj.gooliaff@ubc.ca.
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High-Profile Publication Establishes Trent Grad Student as World-Class Ecological Researcher
Michael Peers' study on Canada lynx and bobcat makes cover of Proceedings of the Royal Society journal
Michael Peers is more than an M.Sc. candidate in Environmental and Life Sciences (ENLS) at Trent University. He is also an accomplished researcher and animal educator with a growing list of impressive credentials.
Now the international ecological community is taking notice of Mr. Peers’ ground-breaking research. His latest study entitled “Evidence for large-scale effects of competition: niche displacement in Canada lynx and bobcat,”is the lead article of the December 2013 issue of the widely respected journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society.
The study, which compared the Canada lynx and bobcat across North America, is the largest of its kind. Speaking of its impact, Mr. Peers’ supervisor Dr. Dennis Murray (www.dennismurray.ca), Canada Research Chair in Integrative Wildlife Conservation and professor of Biology at Trent University, says: “Michael’s work is the first to show that competition between two species can be detected at the scale of the entire geographic range of the species. This is unprecedented and gives us insight into how competition can cause a common response at a continental scale.”
Lynx hunting snowshoe hares
The Impacts of Climate Change
Mr. Peers worked on the study with Dr. Murray and Dr. Daniel Thornton, a former post-doctoral fellow in Prof. Murray’s lab and currently an adjunct assistant professor at Washington State University. The research demonstrates how increased competition, owing to climate change and expansion of bobcat into lynx range, may cause lynx to be more susceptible to changing climates by forcing southern lynx into the habitats where they are least likely to encounter bobcat.
“If Canada lynx are displaced to areas of high snow cover, these areas will be most affected by warming temperatures and will disappear in the southern lynx range,” says Mr. Peers. Dr. Murray continues, “Thus, it is a double whammy involving the effects of climate change on increased competition with bobcats, and the effects of climate change on deterioration of habitats that lynx are forced into as a result of increased competition.”
Prior to the release of this study, Mr. Peers has published several other papers that relate to his research interests involving distribution modelling to determine the factors that influence the large-scale distribution of species.
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Abstract
Determining the patterns, causes and consequences of
character displacement is central to our understanding
of competition in ecological communities. However, the
majority of competition research has occurred over
small spatial extents or focused on fine-scale
differences in morphology or behaviour.
Lynx hunting hare
The effects of competition on broad-scale distribution
and niche characteristics of species remain poorly
understood but critically important. Using range-wide
species distribution models, we evaluated whether
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) or bobcat
(Lynx rufus) were displaced in regions of sympatry.
Consistent with our prediction, we found that lynx
niches were less similar to those of bobcat in areas
of sympatry versus allopatry, with a stronger
reliance on snow cover driving lynx niche
divergence in the sympatric zone. By contrast,
bobcat increased niche breadth in zones of
sympatry, and bobcat niches were equally similar
to those of lynx in zones of sympatry and allopatry.
These findings suggest that competitively
disadvantaged species avoid competition at
large scales by restricting their niche to highly
suitable conditions, while superior competitors
expand the diversity of environments used. Our
results indicate that competition can manifest
within climatic niche space across species’
ranges, highlighting the importance of biotic
interactions occurring at large spatial scales
on niche dynamics.
character displacement is central to our understanding
of competition in ecological communities. However, the
majority of competition research has occurred over
small spatial extents or focused on fine-scale
differences in morphology or behaviour.
The effects of competition on broad-scale distribution
and niche characteristics of species remain poorly
understood but critically important. Using range-wide
species distribution models, we evaluated whether
Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) or bobcat
(Lynx rufus) were displaced in regions of sympatry.
Consistent with our prediction, we found that lynx
niches were less similar to those of bobcat in areas
of sympatry versus allopatry, with a stronger
reliance on snow cover driving lynx niche
divergence in the sympatric zone. By contrast,
bobcat increased niche breadth in zones of
sympatry, and bobcat niches were equally similar
to those of lynx in zones of sympatry and allopatry.
These findings suggest that competitively
disadvantaged species avoid competition at
large scales by restricting their niche to highly
suitable conditions, while superior competitors
expand the diversity of environments used. Our
results indicate that competition can manifest
within climatic niche space across species’
ranges, highlighting the importance of biotic
interactions occurring at large spatial scales
on niche dynamics.
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