NA - Effects of snow conditions on the predator-prey interaction between hare and lynx

It is believed that snow conditions influence the predator-prey interaction between hare and lynx, but empirical evidence is needed to confirm this assumption. Two very promising data sources are already available. First, the 10-year dataset consisting of snow-tracking records of predators from the Kluane study. The dataset is based on over 4000 km of tracks of lynx and coyotes that were followed during one complete hare cycle. This rich dataset has already produced very basic measures of kill rates by th e predators in each year of the study, but new statistical procedures now provide the opportunity to explore the complicated interaction between changing snow conditions, prey density, and predator kill rates. Second, there is the further possibility to r elate local snow conditions to satellite-based measurements of snow properties, setting the stage for country-wide analyses. Combining diverse data into a useful whole is the purpose of the INTEGRATE project (funded through NFR) taking advantage of many r ecent advances in statistical modelling. The proposed workshop will profoundly extend the earlier collaboration between Norwegian and North American scientists (both Canadian and US scientists) on the analysis of the Canadian hare-lynx population cycle.