Table of Contents
- 1 What term describes the relationship you see in the graph of the hare and the lynx population?
- 2 How are the snowshoe hare and the Canadian lynx linked together?
- 3 Are there more lynx than hares?
- 4 What caused the drop in the hare population between 1865 and 1870?
- 5 Will a lynx eat a hare?
- 6 What caused the decline of the lynx population?
- 7 What would happens if the snowshoe hare population goes down?
- 8 Can predators and prey evolve together?
- 9 What was the relationship between the Canada lynx and the snowshoe hare?
- 10 What was the rise and fall of the snowshoe hare?
What term describes the relationship you see in the graph of the hare and the lynx population?
predator/prey relationship
The predator/prey relationship explains that an increase in the snowshoe hare population (prey) leads to an increase in the lynx population (predator).
How are the snowshoe hare and the Canadian lynx linked together?
The snowshoe hare and the Canadian lynx in the boreal forests of North America show 9- to 11-year density cycles. These are generally assumed to be linked to each other because lynx are specialist predators on hares.
Are there more lynx than hares?
Answer: The lynx population increases as the hare population increases because there are more prey for the lynx to eat.
Why do the populations of Canadian lynx and snowshoe hare rise and fall together?
Canada lynx populations rise and fall with fluctuations in populations of snowshoe hares. Thus, when hares are abundant, lynx populations expand, and when the density of hares is reduced, lynx are forced to hunt ground squirrels, grouse, and foxes.
What happens to the lynx when their food supply decreases?
Their lack of fat reserves makes them less able to live through starvation and cold temperatures. Food shortages also cause behavioural changes such as increased roaming and loss of caution.
What caused the drop in the hare population between 1865 and 1870?
Why? The hare population decreased because more hare were getting eaten by the lynx.
Will a lynx eat a hare?
Predator and Prey Canada lynxes eat mostly snowshoe hares—which in turn are preyed on almost exclusively by Canada lynxes. This unusually tight predator-prey relationship means that when hare numbers change, so do lynx numbers (and vice versa), sometimes drastically.
What caused the decline of the lynx population?
When hares become scarce, lynx numbers also decline. Their lack of fat reserves makes them less able to live through starvation and cold temperatures. Food shortages also cause behavioural changes such as increased roaming and loss of caution.
What was the population of lynx in 1845?
28,000
| Case | Year | Hare Count |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1845 | 28,000 |
| 2 | 1846 | 25,000 |
| 3 | 1847 | 25,000 |
| 4 | 1848 | 25,000 |
How many Canadian lynx are left?
Currently, biologists estimate that fewer than 50 Canada lynx remain in Washington, potentially only a few dozen individuals.
What would happens if the snowshoe hare population goes down?
When the hare population reaches a low level, it stabilizes, for several years. The food plants slowly recover and the hare population starts to increase again. Since hares have several litters each year, the hare population increases rapidly.
Can predators and prey evolve together?
Predators and their prey evolve together. Over time, prey animals develop adaptations to help them avoid being eaten and predators develop strategies to make them more effective at catching their prey.
What was the relationship between the Canada lynx and the snowshoe hare?
The relationship between the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) and the snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) is considered a classic example of how interactions between a predator and its prey can influence population dynamics of the two species.
What happens to a hare when there is a lynx?
Continued predation due to high populations of lynx and other predators increases the hare population decline. When the hare population reaches a low level, it stabilizes, for several years. The food plants slowly recover and the hare population starts to increase again. This increases their vulnerability to predation.
What kind of prey does the Canada lynx have?
Amid the understory of North America’s boreal forests, the Canada lynx lies in wait for its favorite prey, the snowshoe hare. Positioning itself along one of the well-beaten trails connecting the hare’s feeding and nesting sites, the lynx sits patiently, its mottled gray coat camouflaging it in the brush.
What was the rise and fall of the snowshoe hare?
The rise and fall in numbers of snowshoe hares and Canada lynx was observed more than two hundred years ago by trappers working for Hudson’s Bay Company, which was once heavily involved in the fur trade. In the early 20th century, records of the number of lynx and hare pelts traded by Hudson’s Bay were analyzed by biologist Charles Gordon Hewitt.