Diet of Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx in the northern Dinaric Mountains (Slovenia and Croatia)

importance of edible dormouse Glis glis as alternative prey

Miha Krofel (Avtor), Đuro Huber (Avtor), Ivan Kos (Avtor)

Povzetek

The Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx (Linnaeus, 1758) is an opportunistic predator that usually selects the smallest ungulate available. Its diet varies considerably among different regions; therefore it is important to study lynx diet in different parts of the species’ range. We studied the diet of lynx from the endangered Dinaric population in Slovenia and Croatia by analyzing lynx scats, prey remains, and stomach contents. Dinaric lynx mainly killed European roe deer Capreolus capreolus (0.64 frequency of occurrence, 79 % of all consumed biomass), which were used more frequently during winter and spring. Ungulates were killed more often by adult males than by lynx of other age and sex groups. In contrast to studies from other regions, lynx in the northern Dinaric Mountains also frequently fed on the edible dormice Glis glis (0.18 18 frequency of occurrence, 7 % of all consumed biomass). This large rodent appears to be an important alternative prey, especially for females and young lynx, and was the reason for the highest use of rodents reported so far for the Eurasian lynx. Edible dormice in Dinaric forests have highly variable numbers of active animals. Seasonal and possibly annual variation in dormouse availability obviously affects lynx diet. This is a rare example where variability in the availability of the alternative prey and not the preferred prey leads to the dietary shift. This study confirms the opportunistic nature of Eurasian lynx and the regional variability of its 25 diet.

Ključne besede

food;predation;scat analysis;rodent;carnivore;

Podatki

Jezik:	Angleški jezik
Leto izida:	2011
Tipologija:	1.01 - Izvirni znanstveni članek
Organizacija:	UL BF - Biotehniška fakulteta
UDK:	591
COBISS:	2355535
ISSN:	0001-7051
Št. ogledov:	1297
Št. prenosov:	335
Ocena:	0 (0 glasov)
Metapodatki:

Ostali podatki

Sekundarni jezik:	Neznan jezik
Vrsta dela (COBISS):	Delo ni kategorizirano
Strani:	str. 315-322
Letnik:	ǂVol. ǂ56
Zvezek:	ǂno. ǂ4
Čas izdaje:	2011
DOI:	10.1007/s13364-011-0032-2
ID:	1446603