Canada lynx populations experience waves

The number of Canada lynx in Alaska rises and falls in response to the population numbers of snowshoe hares, their primary prey. New research has revealed that Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) experience a population wave, going through boom-and-bust cycles that last from 10 to 12 years. These cycles occur largely in response to similar cycles in snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus), which reproduce quickly before experiencing population crashes as their environments hit capacity and the animals run out of food. In the study, published recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found that when hares are scarcer, lynx reproduce less, survive less and move around more. These trends reverse when hares become more abundant.

Read more at Phys.Org.