🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Jedrzejewski and colleagues studied Eurasian lynx predation in Poland's Bialowieza Forest, quantifying kill rates, prey selection and the lynx's contribution to roe deer and red deer mortality. They f…

Jedrzejewski, W., Schmidt, K., Milkowski, L., Jedrzejewska, B. & Okarma, H. · Acta Theriologica · 1993

The companion to their numerical-response study, this paper measured how the kill rate of individual lynx and coyotes changed with snowshoe hare density across the Kluane cycle. O'Donoghue and colleag…

O'Donoghue, M., Boutin, S., Krebs, C.J., Zuleta, G., Murray, D.L. & Hofer, E.J. · Ecology · 1998

This large-scale Kluane field experiment in the Yukon manipulated food (supplemental feeding) and predation (predator exclusion fencing) across replicated one-square-kilometre blocks to dissect what d…

Krebs, C.J., Boutin, S., Boonstra, R., Sinclair, A.R.E. et al. · Science · 1995

Part of the Kluane Boreal Forest Ecosystem Project, this study tracked how lynx and coyote densities changed across a full snowshoe hare cycle. O'Donoghue and colleagues documented strong numerical re…

O'Donoghue, M., Boutin, S., Krebs, C.J. & Hofer, E.J. · Ecology · 1997

Stenseth and colleagues applied nonlinear time-series analysis to the long lynx fur-return records and hare data to ask what structures the famous cycle. They found that the lynx series is best descri…

Stenseth, N.C., Falck, W., Bjornstad, O.N. & Krebs, C.J. · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 1997

A survey of how the distribution and southern range limit of Canada lynx are governed by the availability and dynamics of snowshoe hares. Lynx are tightly tied to boreal forests where hares are abunda…

An overview of the predator-prey relationship between Eurasian lynx and roe deer, the lynx's principal prey across much of temperate Europe. Lynx are efficient solitary ambush hunters of small ungulat…

An overview of how the advent of GPS telemetry transformed estimation of kill rates for solitary cats such as pumas, leopards and lynx. The approach identifies spatial clusters of frequent locations,…

An overview of how the Iberian lynx, the world's most specialized felid predator, depends almost entirely on European rabbits, and how rabbit declines drive lynx conservation crises. Rabbits typically…

A survey of how cats do not take prey at random but select particular age and sex classes, with consequences for prey populations. Felids frequently kill disproportionately young, old or otherwise vul…

A survey of the role that secondary prey such as red squirrels, grouse and microtine rodents play in the dynamics of the snowshoe hare cycle and its lynx predators. When hares are abundant, predators…

A survey of the broad, adaptable diet of the bobcat, which lets this mid-sized felid thrive across diverse North American habitats. Bobcats specialize on lagomorphs such as cottontails and jackrabbits…

An overview of how a warming climate may disrupt the snowshoe hare cycle and the lynx that depend on it. Changes in snow cover threaten the seasonal camouflage of hares, potentially increasing their p…

A survey of how Holling's functional-response framework is applied to cats to describe how their per-capita kill rate changes with prey density. Most felids are thought to show a saturating Type II re…

A survey of the lethal interactions between cats and dogs that share prey and space, a major structuring force in carnivore communities. Lions and hyenas kill wild dogs and cheetahs; pumas and coyotes…

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…

An overview of how Canada lynx populations rise and fall in response to snowshoe hare abundance, the numerical-response half of the famous cycle. As hares increase, lynx reproduction and kitten surviv…

A survey of how felids exploit the seasonal pulse of newborn ungulates, a period of high vulnerability that can dominate annual recruitment losses. During calving and fawning seasons, abundant, hidden…

An overview of how the scent of felid predators alone can suppress prey foraging, movement and reproduction, demonstrating nonconsumptive effects without any direct attack. Prey detect chemical cues o…

An overview of how Canada lynx broaden their diet when snowshoe hares crash, a key feature of the boreal predator-prey cycle. Although lynx are hare specialists, during the hare decline and low they i…

An overview of how the prey cats select shifts through the year with prey vulnerability, migration, birth pulses and weather. Many felids exploit seasonal ungulate calving and fawning peaks, when abun…

A survey of how the Canada lynx's large, well-furred feet give it an advantage hunting snowshoe hares in deep, soft snow, and how snow conditions structure its competition with other predators. The ly…

An overview of documented cases in which cats kill more prey than they can eat, extending Kruuk's classic analysis to felids. Surplus killing in cats typically occurs when normal prey escape responses…

Kruuk documented and analyzed cases where carnivores kill far more prey than they can consume, challenging the assumption that predators only take what they need. Drawing on spotted hyena and other ca…

Kruuk, H. · Journal of Zoology · 1972

Holling's classic paper dissected predation into its component processes and introduced the functional response, the relationship between prey density and the number of prey killed per predator. He de…

Holling, C.S. · The Canadian Entomologist · 1959

A classic of population ecology, this paper assembled Hudson's Bay Company fur-return records spanning two centuries to document the now-iconic roughly ten-year oscillation in Canada lynx numbers. Elt…

Elton, C. & Nicholson, M. · Journal of Animal Ecology · 1942