Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Accelerator Supplements

Concern exists over recent change in the distribution and abundance of animals, and understanding the determinants of species range limits is an important reserarch priority. This program will address mechanisms underlying range limits in lynx and eastern wolves; the southern range limit of lynx apparently is determined by habitat fragmentation, whereas the southern wolf distribution limit is defined by a hybrid zone with eastern coyotes. Lynx will be radio-collared using GPS transmitters along a habitat fragmentation gradient, and behavioural responses to fragmentation will be documented. Specifically, we will assess behavioural plasticity relevant to landscape fragmentation and habitat structure. Additional work will focus on understanding lynx-snowshoe hare dynamics in marginal habitat at the distributional edge. Eastern wolves and non-wolf hybrids will be monitored for space use and movement patterns. Survival monitoring of adults and pups, along with litter size assessment from den-site visits, will determine if hybrids have higher fitness than non-hybrids. Mate selection patterns will be assessed using genetic analysis. The ability of wolves to naturally exclude non-wolves from suitable habitat will be evaluated via simulated dispersal experiments. Both the lynx and eastern wolf projects will culminate with development of population models, parameterized with field data, that predict future distribution and range limits of each species.