Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania

Linas Balčiauskas, Laima Balčiauskienė, John A. Litvaitis and Eugenijus Tijušas
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Linas Balčiauskas: Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
Laima Balčiauskienė: Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Akademijos 2, 08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
John A. Litvaitis: Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, 105 Main Street, Durham, NH 03824, USA
Eugenijus Tijušas: Lithuanian Hunters and Fishers Association, M. Sleževičiaus 15, 06326 Vilnius, Lithuania

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-13

Abstract: By the early 2000s, Eurasian lynx ( Lynx lynx ) were nearly extirpated in Lithuania. To determine their status, we used snow-track counts in 2006–2012 and volunteer monitoring in 1999–2005 and 2015–2018. Using simple questionnaires, we collected incidental observations from hunters, foresters, and other interested citizens to estimate lynx distribution, abundance and extent of breeding. Citizen scientists provided 206 reports of 278 individual lynx that suggested expanding lynx distributions in central, western, southwestern, and southern parts of Lithuania. A decrease in range fragmentation has also been observed since 2015. Nationwide, the lynx population quadrupled from 2010 to 162 individuals in 2018. The number of breeding individuals reported was just seven in both 2007 and 2008, limited to two forests in the very north and central part of the country. This increased to 46 in 2015–2018. Our results indicate that the lynx population in Lithuania has increased and its conservation status should be reconsidered.

Keywords: large carnivores; volunteer monitoring; threatened species (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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