Abstract
Home range size in birds and mammals appears to be influenced by a number of factors including food availability, body mass and population density. However, few studies have convincingly shown population density to influence the extent of space use in a population of free-ranging carnivores without a corresponding increase in food availability. We investigated the relative effects of food availability, body weight and increased density on the size of adult bobcat, Lynx rufus, home ranges and core areas in Mississippi, U.S.A. during 1989–1997. We observed an increase in population density and a decrease in annual mean home range and core area sizes for males and females during this 9-year study. Population density explained 64% and 56% of the variation in home range size for males and females, respectively, whereas food availability and body weight failed to explain the observed reduction in bobcat home range size. Population density was also the most important variable explaining variation in core areas for both sexes, although food availability also appeared to contribute to variation, especially for females. We suggest that population density should be considered along with energy acquisition and metabolic factors such as food availability and body size when investigating variability in home range and core area sizes of mammals.
Published Version
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