Research overview: lynx-coyote competition for snowshoe hares

An overview of the competitive relationship between Canada lynx and coyotes, both of which prey on snowshoe hares across much of the boreal forest. During hare highs the two predators overlap heavily in diet, but their differing adaptations to snow, with lynx favored in deep soft snow and coyotes in shallower conditions, partition their hunting and influence the outcome of the hare cycle. This survey synthesizes evidence on dietary overlap, functional and numerical responses of both predators to hares, and how coyote expansion may affect lynx through exploitative competition. It connects the Kluane and other boreal studies to questions about how a shared prey links competing carnivores. The topic illustrates how multiple predators sharing a key prey shape both the prey cycle and one another.