Cyclic dynamics of snowshoe hares on a small island in the Yukon

Abstract

Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus) populations were monitored from 1977 to 2001 on Jacquot Island (5 km2) in Kluane Lake, southwestern Yukon, and on nearby mainland sites. Jacquot Island hares averaged twice the density of mainland control populations and, although they show 10-year cycles, fluctuate with much lower amplitude than mainland populations. Three separate intensive studies over 6 years attempted to determine what caused these differences. We tested two hypotheses to explain the dynamics. Reproductive rates of hares were similar on Jacquot Island and the mainland. Adult survival rates were higher on the island in most years, with the exception of years of population decline. Juvenile survival rates from 0 to 30 days of life were much higher on the island than on the mainland except for decline summers. The adult- and juvenile-survival differences between the island and the mainland were explained most consistently by predation. Improved survival on the island is correlated with a reduction in the numbers and types of predators found on Jacquot Island compared with the mainland. In particular, red squirrels were rare on Jacquot Island, arctic ground squirrels were absent, and the larger predators, like lynx and great-horned owls, were sporadic in occurrence on this small island.