When the hare population increased what happened to the lynx population?

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Snowshoe hare is the primary food of the lynx. The population cycles of these two species are closely linked.

When hares are plentiful, lynx eat little else and take about two hares every three days.

Lynx prey upon mice, voles, squirrels, grouse, ptarmigan and carrion when hares are scarce. These food sources often do not meet the lynx's nutritional needs. Some lynx cannot maintain their body fat reserves on this type of diet and become more vulnerable to starvation or predation. Other lynx manage to remain healthy by using alternative prey and food sources when the hare population is low. When snowshoe hares are scarce, many lynx leave their home range in search of food.

Hare populations across most of the boreal forest experience dramatic fluctuations in a cycle that lasts 8-11 years. At the peak of the cycle, snowshoe hares can reach a density of up to 1500 animals per km2. The habitat cannot support this many animals. As predation increases and starvation sets in, the population starts to decline. 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. Since hares have several litters each year, the hare population increases rapidly. After a year or two at high densities, the hare cycle repeats itself.

The lynx population decline follows the snowshoe hare population crash after a lag of one to two years. As hare numbers start to decline, lynx continue to eat well because they can easily catch the starving hares.

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. This increases their vulnerability to predation.

Malnourishment has the most significant effect upon lynx reproduction and population levels. When females are in poor condition, fewer breed and not all of those bred produce litters. Litters are smaller, and most, if not all, of the few kittens born die soon after birth. This means that for a period of three to five years, few or no kittens survive to adulthood. Studies have shown the level of kittens in a lynx population may be zero at the population low and as high as 60 percent when t numbers increase. Low lynx population levels last for three or four years. When hares become plentiful again, the lynx population begins to increase as well.

The highs and lows of the lynx population cycle do not occur at the same time across the NWT. For example, in the early 1990s, lynx numbers peaked two years later in northwestern NWT than in the southwestern NWT.

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What happens to shadows as the seasons go from winter to summer?

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Answer:

Explanation:

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kotykmax [81]

The first statement is about CLIMATE and the second is about WEATHER.

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How hove volcanoes played a role in the formation of land above or below the water?

cluponka [151]

Volcanoes play an important role in creating land since they are the sources of magma, which once above ground normally cools to create new land. In the ocean, this land normally forms at divergent and convergent boundaries or hot spots. At divergent boundaries (where two plates move apart), magma constantly erupts along a trench deep below the ocean's surface. This magma rarely piles upward and instead is pushed to both sides of the trench. This is how new seafloor forms. Convergent boundaries can create island arcs like Indonesia as magma erupts bit by bit. Hot spots occur in the middle of plates. They are instances where the mantle pierces through the crust and begins to erupt directly onto to seafloor. Over time, these eruptions will pile up and create underwater volcanoes until they potentially make it above sea level, thereby forming an island. This is how Hawaii was and continues to be formed.

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2 years ago

Match the following cards:

GrogVix [38]

(1) underground water sources - A. aquifers

The aquifers can be described as underground water sources, or underground water reservoirs. They can be found all over the world, some being small, some medium-sized, while some are enormous. The water in the aquifers can be either freshwater or saline water, depending from where they get the water. In the past century, the aquifers have become very important, as with the new technology it has become much easier for the people to extract and use their water. They are used for drinking, irrigation, for the industry etc. Unfortunately, the management of the aquifers is usually not good, and more often is extracted from them than what can be replenished, resulting in constant decrease of their waters, which eventually ends up with drying out of the aquifers.

(2) triangular land at the mouth of a river - C. delta

The delta is a physical natural structure that has a triangular shape. This features are found at the mouths of the rivers, usually the larger ones. When a river enters another, larger body of water, its flow slows down and than it is countered and stops. As this happens, the river loses its velocity, so the sediment that the rivers drags with it is getting deposited. As the deposits build up more and more, sandy triangular feature is appearing at the mouth of the river, and because the deposits interfere with the flow of the river, it starts to branch out into several smaller ''sleeves'' until it enters the larger body of water.

(3) a steep cliff or slope usually caused by faulting or erosion - D. escarpment

The escarpment represents a steep cliff or steep slope which has formed because of the force of the faulting and the influence of the erosion. Another term used for this natural feature is scarp. The escarpment is very steep, vertical or almost vertical. It is a natural separation between two land masses that are leveled, but they have different heights, or rather elevations, so looking from big distance it may look like a giant, natural step. There a lot of escarpments around the world, and very often they are considered as very attractive. Some of the best known and most beautiful ones are located in South Africa and Australia.

(4) a seasonal change in air circulation patterns that result in heavy wind and rain - E. monsoon

The monsoons are seasonal changes in the air circulation patterns. They can be wet monsoons in one part of the year, and dry monsoons in the other part of the year. When the wet monsoons come over an area they bring in enormous amounts of rainfall and strong winds. The rainfall is in such a high amount that most of the places that are among the ones that receive the most rainfall annually are influenced by the monsoons, with northeastern India and Bangladesh being the most affected by them. In the other part of the year though, the dry monsoons bring in long lasting drought and hot weather, so the total opposite of the wet monsoons.

(5) a group of islands clustered together in a large body of water - B. archipelago

The archipelago represents a group of islands that have formed because of the same processes and are close to each other. The majority of the archipelagos have been formed by volcanic activity, resulting in a chain lake distribution of volcanic islands in a large body water. Much smaller percentage of the archipelagos have came to be because of the changes in the sea levels. The archipelagos tend to be very attractive tourist destinations, as they tend to be located at places with nice weather conditions, have beautiful nature, and nice beaches. Some of the most famous archipelagos are the Great Antilles, the Canaries, the Bahamas etc.

(6) referring to weather on the leeward side of a mountain - H. rain shadow

The rain shadow is a natural phenomenon that occurs on the leeward side of the mountain ranges. The mountain ranges are natural barriers which manage to stop the movement of the air masses. When an air mass comes toward a mountain range, it comes on the windward side. The air mass starts to build up, and if it has moisture in it, it will start to condensate, resulting in rainfall. The moisture will be spend on this side of the mountain, and only dry air mas will be left after the rainfall, which will continue moving down the other side of the mountain range, the leeward side. This dry air mass brings in dry winds, making the leeward side of the mountain range arid or semi-arid, and this process is often referred to as rain shadow.

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3 years ago