Hares, humans, and lynx activity rhythms: who avoids whom?

Abstract

Predator-prey interactions and human presence are among the key factors shaping large mammal activity patterns. In human-dominated landscapes, large carnivores must balance their activity rhythms between optimizing feeding opportunities and avoiding encounters with humans. In northeastern Turkey, the Caucasian lynx (Lynx lynx dinniki), a threatened subspecies of the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), occupies habitats that are heavily fragmented and dominated by human presence in the warm part of the year. Using camera traps and GPS-collar activity sensors, we investigated lynx circadian activity patterns across lunar phases and seasons. We compared the activity pattern of the lynx to the activity pattern of its primary prey, the European hare (Lepus europaeus), and humans. We found that during the warm season (May-October), lynx displayed a bimodal crepuscular activity pattern typical for this species and consistent with hare activity. During the cold season (November-April), both lynx and hares shifted to predominantly diurnal activity. During the full moon, hares reduced their activity due to the anti-predator behaviour, followed by a corresponding adjustment in lynx activity patterns. We conclude that lynx activity in our study area is an outcome of weather conditions, human presence and foraging behaviour. Our results also corroborate the suitability of camera trapping data in documenting multiple species' temporal activity patterns.