Canada Lynx and Climate Change in the Cascades

Canada Lynx are a Threatened Species in the United States, and have their southern range limit at several disjunct locations throughout the northern United States. Within Washington State, only about 50 lynx remain. As a cold-adapted and highly specialized predator, lynx are likely susceptible to the effects of climate change.  Warming temperatures may make it more difficult for lynx to catch their primary prey species (snowshoe hare), and bring them into increasing contact with warm-adapted competitors such as bobcats and coyotes. Our research project aims to use camera traps to study lynx ecology within the last remaining reproducing population in Washington. We will address three main goals: 1) test camera-traps as a method to document distribution and abundance of lynx, 2) examine key environmental drivers of large-scale lynx distribution patterns, and 3) examine spatial segregation and potential competition between lynx and warm adapted predators such as bobcats. This work started in 2014, and will continue through 2016.