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Purpose
A variety of means have been developed to detect lynx and other carnivores. The
purpose of this protocol is to add reliability, efficacy, and representativeness to the
process of lynx detection. Each element of the protocol has been designed to achieve this
end.
Representativeness. While it can be argued that selective sampling (where one goes to
the "best" places and samples) may provide detections at lower cost, the data generated
using these methods is much less valuable. Non-representative surveys at best can
provide simple occurrence data. Other more meaningful metrics: where lynx are present
and absent, the habitat relationships of lynx, minimum viable population estimates, and
current range all require representative sampling. Hair-pad methods were chosen
because they allow sampling during the snow-free period, are durable, inexpensive, and
lightweight. A lightweight, inexpensive sampling scheme which could be implemented
in the summer was a necessity for representative sampling. Areas that are dangerous or
away from roads will not be representatively sampled in the winter, and very expensive
or high-maintenance detection stations can only be placed at a few locations.
Representative sampling requires unbiased and uniform placement rules for the sample
points. To this end, the protocol is grid-based and uses simple placement rules which
can be applied to most landscapes.
Efficacy. Even if sampling is representative, if detection rates are too low, the method
will fail the test of efficacy. To address this, we tested 5 commercial scent lures on wild
lynx in Canada to determine which lure produced the highest detection rate. While all
lures were "hit" by lynx, one lure, a combination of beaver castorium and catnip oil was
twice as effective as the others. Additionally, we made use of transects to sample lynx in
Canada. Over a 2-4 week period, we had hits on nearly half (35/78 = 45%) of these 5-
station line transects. Based on these results, we use line transects and the most effective
lure.
